Allison - blackmailed by my builder - is it legal

Hi all

Just joined your forum as I have been told a few people on this site have had the same problem as me before and wondered if I could get some advice from anyone.

We have been on builders supply now for three years and our builder has sent all of us on the urbanisation a letter saying that he now has our Habitation certificates but we can't have them unless we pay him 1500 euros !!!   This was never agreed and we were told we would be on free supply until he finished the whole development, so I never signed any contract saying I would pay him.

My solicitor is pretty poor and has advised me that I have to pay him and that he "has the right to charge me". I disagree and although the building laws in Spain may differ to the UK, in any country in the world this proactice is blackmail in my eyes.

Can anyone advise me what I should do, I read some previous forums and a guy called Roy Howitt has given some advice to Masa vicitms of the same kind of scam...are you there Roy? please help me on this one if you can.  

many thanks

Allison

 Spam post or abuse? Please let us know

I'll just bump this one up for you Alison

Mark

 Spam post or abuse? Please let us know

  Hi Allison, can I just ask you is the solicitor you are using the one Masa  recommended, or have you got an independent one????.     Does Masa know about the builder charging you this??????     Pat

 Spam post or abuse? Please let us know

Hi Pat


Sorry if I have confused you, our property was not sold to us via Masa, I was just told that some Masa owners had experienced the same problems so I thought you may be able to advise me. Our solicitor was recommended by our agent (who has now conveniently forgotten all about us) and she is pretty poor, so much so that I am sacking her immediately.  Our urbanisation is over in Roldan, near the La Torre Golf resort , Polaris World. I just think it is so wrong how can he turn around and say we have to pay this?

Allison

 Spam post or abuse? Please let us know

Hi Allison 

Yes this is ilegal and I did help a group of  owners at Camposol the result being the bills were scrapped and the builder was taken away by the Guarda

I have mailed you but I need details of the development and builder via mail or PM, not on the forum please

 Spam post or abuse? Please let us know

I have responded off forum

 Spam post or abuse? Please let us know

RESULT !     DON´T PAY FOR  BUILDERS SUPPLY 

Just to let anyone know who may have the same problems I added to the forum back in September about builders supply and builders trying to get us to pay for it.....illegally.....well,  we held a meeting with our builder just yesterday and following the excellent advice I received from Roy at Inspectahome spain, which was that this practice IS in fact illegal, our builder backed down and agreed that we do not have to pay him the money afterall, and our builders supply has been left on until we get connected to the proper suppliers. 

Just goes to show he was chancing his arm to see if we would pay up, sad though that some of the elderly residents were ready to pay up the whole amount which was 1600 euros each, as they were not sure if it was illegal or the builder was in the right. A lot of them are on medication and have machines that they use and were terrified they would be left without supply if they did not pay up.

An excellent result, and one I would not have felt confident in achieving if I had not received the advice from Roy. So many thanks Roy and if anyone else has the same problems, I can highly recommend Roy at InspectahomeSpain. 

Ally

 Spam post or abuse? Please let us know

Well done Ally.

We had to pay our builder for water for more than two years, prior to obtaining our habitation certs, as he cut previous phases water off when they refused.

Wished we'd known it was illegal. 

These builders are taking thousands for all we have, it's darnright disgusting but they won't often be stopped.

 Spam post or abuse? Please let us know

Great result

Mark

 Spam post or abuse? Please let us know

Hi Ally

First of all thank you for your comments and we always appreachate getting feedback, especially when its good news

This is now the second time, including the development at Camposol, where the builder, once he realised that buyers knew their rights, has backed down from trying to charge for builders supply and turn off the generators

The facts are that, providing you know how to access it, Spain has an excellent consumer support system through people like OMIC and the complaints form system and often thigs can be resolved without having to go to Court

We do have a Q&A Guide that explains the process which I am happy to mail to people

 Spam post or abuse? Please let us know

That is.... EXCELLENT!!

Congrats, thousands of congratulations to both Roy and Ally.

Great!

Maria

 Spam post or abuse? Please let us know