Jeff employs Sally, a builder, to build a shed in his garden to act as a home office. Jeff tells Sally that the shed must be well insulated as he will be working from the home office all year round. It must also have an electricity supply and a water supply as Jeff’s home office will be used for holding meetings with important clients so he will also want a toilet fitted.
Sally says that she will do the job for £15,000, Jeff accepts this quote and Sally builds the shed. Sally uses cheap insulation materials, she buys the toilet and pipework from a reclamation yard, although she does not tell Jeff this. Sally is not a qualified electrician but she installs the electrics and provides Jeff with a certificate of installation.
Sally finishes building the shed in November. The shed looks great so Jeff pays Sally the full £15,000. But when Jeff uses the shed he finds that it is too cold for him to work in.
The toilet leaks and he has noticed that it has a crack in the bowl. In addition every time Jeff has the laptop and printer working, if he needs to switch on the lights all of the electrics cut out.
Jeff has contacted Sally to advise her about this but she refuses to take any responsibility.
Jeff bought the printer for his home office online and paid £250 for it using his credit card. The printer was described as being superfast and producing high quality prints. Jeff is an architect and needs his maps and drawings printed very clearly to show clients.
Jeff has found that no matter what he does the prints are blurred. Jeff wants to get rid of the printer and buy a different one. But the trader that he bought it from has ceased to trade and Jeff does not know what to do.
Advise Jeff of any claim and any remedies that he may have against Sally using the Consumer Rights Act 2015. In addition advise Jeff what he can do about getting his money back for the printer. You should deal with the two scenarios separately.
