Builder took the deposit. Now he's gone quiet.
You paid to secure a start date. The date came and went. The messages get shorter, then stop. A formal letter before action — the step a court expects before a claim — is usually what changes the tone. Yours is written free, today.
If your messages look like this…
Three messages, one tick. No reply since the deposit cleared.
Alongside the money itself, courts may award simple interest on money you have been kept out of — commonly 8% a year under the County Courts Act 1984 — and the court fee is typically added to a successful claim. Interest is discretionary. The letter sets this out so the other side can see what ignoring it costs.
How people describe it when they reach us
The sorts of things people tell us. Illustrative, based on patterns in the cases that reach us.
Your legal rights when a builder takes a deposit and doesn't start
In England and Wales a builder who takes money for a job is bound by the contract that money was paid under, and — where you are a consumer — by the Consumer Rights Act 2015. Not starting at all is usually the simplest case: the money was paid for something that never happened.
Case lawContract law — breach of contractFailing to do what was paid for may amount to breach of contract.
A job, a purchase or a loan is typically analysed as a contract. If one side does not perform a central promise — work not done, money not repaid, goods not handed over — a court may find a breach and will then consider what loss flowed from it. The measure is normally the money you are out of pocket, proved with evidence.
ActConsumer Rights Act 2015, s.52A service must usually be performed within a reasonable time if no time was agreed.
Where the contract does not fix a time for the service, section 52 generally implies a term that the trader will perform it within a reasonable time. What is reasonable is a question of fact — a job that stalls for months with no good explanation may be treated as a breach.
Read it on legislation.gov.uk ↗ActConsumer Rights Act 2015, s.62An unfair term in a consumer contract is generally not binding on the consumer.
Section 62 usually provides that a term is unfair if, contrary to good faith, it causes a significant imbalance in the parties' rights to the consumer's detriment. Non-refundable deposits, cancellation charges and one-sided small print may be examined against this test; courts typically look at how prominent the term was and whether the consumer had a real chance to see it.
Read it on legislation.gov.uk ↗ActConsumer Rights Act 2015, s.54If a service isn't done properly, the usual remedies are repeat performance or a price reduction.
Section 54 generally sets out the consumer's remedies where a service breaches the statutory terms: the right to require repeat performance, and, where that is impossible or not done in a reasonable time, the right to a price reduction. Courts may also consider damages for loss caused, depending on the circumstances.
Read it on legislation.gov.uk ↗This is general information about the law in England and Wales, not advice about your case. Which provisions apply, and how, depends on the facts.
Four things you'll hear. None of them end it.
Then the materials are yours, or the money is. A deposit paid for a job that never started is normally recoverable; if materials were genuinely bought for your job, the letter asks for them or their value.
A promise with no date is not a start. The letter fixes one: perform by a date, or return the deposit within 14 days. Either answer moves you on.
A quote, a bank transfer and a start date is a contract. Written terms help, but the law does not require a signed document for an agreement to bind.
The letter is the step before that, and most builders know it. It sets out the claim, the sum and the deadline in the form a court expects. Many disputes end here.
Five things worth gathering now
The letter first. Court only if they ignore it.
Your side, your words
What happened, what was agreed, what you are out of pocket. We ask what a court would ask, so the letter says what a court would need to hear.
Written for you, free
A formal letter before action with a 14-day deadline, setting out what is owed and why. You see it at no charge. Posting it by tracked mail and watching the deadline is £15.
Court claim, prepared
If the deadline passes: one tap turns the letter into a small claim, drafted, checked and filed. The £15 comes off our fee. The decision is the court's.
What JustClaim is: we prepare and file the paperwork for your claim, for a fixed price shown before you pay. We're not a law firm, this isn't legal advice, and no outcome is ever guaranteed — what you get is the strongest honest version of your case, properly made.
Questions people in this exact spot ask
Can I get a deposit back from a builder who never started?
Usually, yes. A deposit paid for work that never began is money paid for nothing received, and a court would normally order it returned unless the builder can show it was genuinely spent on your job — materials you can have, for example. A letter before action asking for it by a fixed date is the first step.
How long should I wait before sending a letter?
There is no fixed rule, but once a promised start date has passed and messages are being ignored, waiting rarely helps. The letter gives them 14 days; that is usually a fairer deadline than the ones they have already missed.
I only have the builder's mobile number and first name. Is that enough?
It is a start, not enough on its own. The letter has to go to a name and an address. A trading name on a van, a Companies House entry, an invoice, a Checkatrade or Facebook page usually get you there — tell us what you have and we'll say what it needs.
What happens if they ignore the letter?
Then you have done what the court's pre-action rules expect, and the letter becomes the basis of a small claim. One tap turns it into a claim we prepare and file; the court fee depends on the amount. The letter fee comes off our fee.
How much does it cost if it goes to court?
If the letter is ignored, a court claim has a court fee set by the amount: £35 up to £300, £50 up to £500, £70 up to £1,000, £115 up to £3,000. If you win, the fee is normally added to what the other side is ordered to pay. Our fixed price is shown before you pay anything.
Is the letter really free?
Yes. Tell us what happened and the letter before action is written and shown to you at no charge. If you want us to post it by tracked mail and watch the 14-day deadline, that is £15, shown before you pay — and it comes off our fee if it later becomes a court claim.
Deposit gone, builder gone?
Tell us what happened. The letter before action is written free and shown to you today; posting it and watching the deadline is £15.
Write the letter — free →