Seeking a recommendation for a good lawyer in Melbourne for home repair work dispute

Hi folks,

I'll try to keep this short, in a nutshell I am looking for a recommendation for a good lawyer in Melbourne to assist me with recovering about $15,000 from Jim's Roofing for replacing a section of my roof which still leaks very badly. On top of that, the compliance certificate I was issued by the roofing plumber they used is invalid because it is a forgery, so I am not covered either by my insurance company or the Victorian Builders Association. The roofing plumber has since been charged in the Melbourne Magistrates' Court and convicted of several offences relating to supplying myself and others with fraudulent compliance certificates. The issue is that Jim's is refusing to take any responsibility for supplying me with an uncertified roofing plumber and are saying that it's all the plumber's fault, even though from my perspective I never had a relationship with the plumber - my contract is on Jim's Roofing letterhead and signed by the franchise owner. I really want to get some legal assistance to help me get this resolved through VCAT or whatever channel is appropriate.

Longer version - a couple of years ago a section of roof at the back of our house started leaking water into the room, basically where the edge of that room meets the living room. The back room was built as an extension, so the main roof runs down and then joins the new roof section. After our insurance claim was rejected due to the roof not being compliant with Victorian building regulations (insufficient pitch for the material used), we engaged Jim's Roofing to fix the roof. They took off the old section of roof and replaced it with a different material that satisfies the building regulations, and supplied me with a compliance certificate. After they fixed the roof I then got a plasterer and painter to replace the damaged roof plasterboards.

However, a couple of months later, after a reasonable amount of rain, the new roof also started leaking, in more areas than the old section of roof. The leak is quite bad, I have video-recorded water pouring in and I can half fill a mop bucket every time it rains, sometimes more than a full bucket. I got the Jim's franchise owner to come out a couple of times and he applied some sealant, but it didn't make a difference. He then told me that he wasn't responsible for the issue (crazy!) and told me to get stuffed and stop contacting him. So I opened an issue with the Plumbing Industry Commission (now VBA), and this is when it was discovered that the Compliance Certificate issued by the roofing plumber Jim's used was a forgery and not valid.

The VBA then charged the roofing plumber and also passed on the criminal side of things to Victoria Police. It has taken a while (a couple of years), but he finally plead guilty to all charges. However, neither the VBA or Vic Police had any grounds to take action against Jim's Roofing.

So at this stage, I would think that I would be in good shape to try and recover the money I paid Jim's Roofing and money to repair the subsequent water damage to the roof plasterboard that has resulted from their ineffective repair work. But I would really love to get this sorted ASAP as it has been emotionally draining to keep pursuing this for the last couple of years. So rather than fumble my way through VCAT, I would be more than happy to pay for some legal assistance to get this over with quicker.

Thanks in advance for any advice you can give me, I'm really grateful! :)
 
Why not just run the action yourself if you feel like you can?

I'm not sure how a lawyer will make it run that much quicker?
 
Keep in mind that the police have investigated the plumber and this investigation would likely have spilled over into the franchise. If the police found they weren't at fault, the franchise will fall back on this as their defense.

This doesn't mean you don't have a case, but a "whinging" complaint simply isn't going to work. Better to start by speaking with the police who conducted the investigation and worth methodically through the case from there.

I'd be working from the contract to determine what their obligations are to complete the job, and possibly what their duty of care is. Did they fail in their duty of care to verify the licensing of their sub-contractor or are they also victims of fraud?

There's probably a case from the contractual side. Just don't try going down the emotive and hard done by route, keep it logical and relevant to the law or appropriate codes of practice and conduct.

I do know a solicitor with a specialist property background:
John McMillan
03 9480 1155

Just make sure that it's worth what it will cost.
 
Did you pay the plumber at all? Or directly to the roofer?
It does seem poor form for them to not help out.

What did the contract say was provided?

Most people dont really think too, but I guess this shows you really need to do a licence check plus check their insurance.
 
Thanks a lot for the replies folks, greatly appreciated.

thatbum - The issue is, I don't feel like I can run it myself. I have been through so many hoops and delays with the VBA investigation, and both the VBA and the police have given me a rather bleak outlook in terms of how long it takes to get financial compensation even if you are successful at VCAT. So I'd like to get assistance to ensure I don't stuff anything up and just get it resolved quicker.

Peter - thanks a lot for the recommendation, that's great. In terms of my standing, thanks for the advice about the hardship route. I have no legal experience, but was hoping that Jim's would have had a responsibility to screen their staff before they sent them out to perform any building works. Also, I never received a contract for the work, just a combined work order and tax invoice, and then the fraudulent compliance certificate. Which is another reason I'd like to discuss with a lawyer, because I forsee something like that potentially unravelling my whole claim.

bumskins - I only paid and dealt with the Jim's franchise manager, I did not engage with the plumber directly. And I agree, in hindsight I was a bit naive in assuming that they would only use a qualified plumber. In future I will definitely do as much background checking as possible on any people carrying out building works. The ironic thing is that I got 4 quotes for the work and paid more for Jim's rather than an individual, because of the perception that I would d be "safer" going with a known brand. I certainly feel like a tool now :).
 
Can't help with the Legal side,but there is a way to fix this problem and it,s very common when you join 2 roof sections on extensions by the sounds of this the problem will be 2 parts the flashing that was installed to link both roofs is not high enough going up into the original roof section and the section that spans the new roof is not set right you would have to reset with a new higher faced flashing maybe even going up into the first roof section 450mm and 400mm on the new foof area,plus the fall in roof may not allow the water to run fast enough into the gutters,any lic plumber will be able to spot this within 15 minutes once you rip one sheet up above the leak area,i'm unsure in VIC with Plumbing if roof plumbers have to be lic.

imho...
 
thats disgusting conduct by jims shab

a few years ago I was at the receiving end of rant by a jims antennae franchisor,

on paper it seems that since the guy was operating under the Jims banner, they should take full responsbility

you pay a premium price for the label and peace of mind
 
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