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!
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!