Reply With QuoteI’d be straight on the phone to the police. Surely it’s classed as theft?
Thought I'd question the TZ groupthink on this for a mate.
In a nutshell he's a builder and a client owes him a good few thousand quid. He's stopped working until it's resolved.
She's now changed the locks with loads of his and workers tools in there.
Where does he stand regarding getting them.? She's swerving all his texts and calls......
I’d be straight on the phone to the police. Surely it’s classed as theft?
Possibly make a case of theft I would have thought.
Cheers..
Jase
Surely theft of the tools I would've thought?
Mind you,if you were owed thousands of pounds and intended to stop work wouldn't you possibly consider removing your tools before announcing the fact to the client?
police first, you might get lucky and someone will accompany you to the address to reason with the individual.
Dangerous position for home owner as some lads i know wont see reason and would sort it directly.
Pretty sure that is a civil matter, so the police probably wont be interested.
The police certainly weren't interested when our horse lorry was 'impounded' by our landlord, but instead advised me to get a solicitor and write them a letter. They were however interested if I cut the gate lock off to retrieve it, as that was criminal damage.
Tread carefully!
Last edited by Maysie; 7th August 2019 at 14:29. Reason: corrected for clarity
And then presumably have the police calling at their houses? But good to know you have 'hard' mates.Originally Posted by MCFastybloke
You obviously don't have any builder friends! I know quite a few and the majority of them would be getting their tools back themselves, no tools =no work.
Veering off the essential topic here I know, but my curiosity has been piqued - what happened? Were you charged?
Work tools are work tools, that's one dangerous game depriving a man of his work tools, not least to say despicable. All guns blazing. I think basically if you tell the police you're getting your work tools back come what may, they may well accompany you.
A man's work tools are sacred.
i do know some hot heads, doesnt make them hard just stupid. Thirty five years of contruction contracting has seen me meet some very varied personalities.
Agree. I have tradespeople mates and family and they wouldn't have that patience. They would sort it themselves although not in the best way admittedly.
Possession is nine tenths and all that, maybe he could report them stolen, or just get them in the middle of the night, we all know the police can't recognise anyone in a hoodie
Recently I impounded and claimed some scaffolding left on one of my jobs by a builder who had made a balls of some work. I made it clear to him that my position was that I had a lien over the equipment, the value of which was less than what he owed me.
Then I found out that the rogue concerned had actually taken the scaffolding without permission from another builder’s yard. Needless to say the rightful owner wanted and got his stuff back.
Is the customer in this case disputing the quality of work already done?
There was a recent case of a builders firm who went round and dismantled all their work and removed their 'property', i.e. all the bricks, mortar, window's, etc, can't he do this type of claim via the courts to move this issue forward?
I believe the police were on scene for the above as well and kept the homeowner from doing anything during this!
No charges. When I initially spoke to the police about the issue, I told the police that if they didn't help to recover the vehicle then that is what I would have to as the landlord was located miles away (and they strongly advised me to take an alternative coarse of action).
Fortunately my wife had sorted it out herself before I got there.
Last edited by Maysie; 7th August 2019 at 14:16.
Retention of title would only be enforceable if it was in the contract and up front.
It's a civil dispute, pure and simple. It is not a Police matter, she will return said tools once the said dispute has been settled.
Once something is built it is part of the property and the supplier can't have a lien over it. If the builders had done that as you describe, it would have been a (civil) trespass and the builders liable for the damage they caused, it may also have been a criminal offence (aggravated trespass). If the police were overseeing this, they may have a problem.
Is he insured? They’ve been stolen so make a claim.
Didn’t stop these guys.
https://youtu.be/4FmAIGbgDek
He'll need a crime number in order to claim so he'd have to report it to the police first.
Even if they're 'not interested' won't they have to give him one?
While someone hasn't got their tools, through no fault of their own, they're presumably losing £250 a day? Politely (in writing) point this out to the lady and tell her you'll be claiming the £250 per day from her for every day she denies you your tools. Best get a solicitor to do it.
They have not been stolen.
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No, it is a Civil Dispute.
Who'd be so dim as to video their own criminal act?
Oh.
Lots of workers/employees own their own tools - those ones have been stolen.
Last edited by Dazzler; 7th August 2019 at 18:34.
No, they haven't. What the lady has done definitely isn't theft, legally speaking, as far as I can see. Amongst other things, theft requires an intent to permanently deprive the owner of their goods and it would seem that the lady does not intend this.
This is a civil matter. The builder should consult a lawyer and start writing letters to the lady demanding access to his tools, payment of money due, and perhaps a claim for his loss of income elsewhere. If his tools are valuable enough to make it worth it then he might even be able to get court order for their immediate return (there will be not-insignifcant legal costs associated with this). A lawyer can advise.
As a matter of interest, was this resolved? If so, how?
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