Can my Landscape Gardener, of whom I am in Legal dispute with, threaten to come and take down my fence and smash up my garden?

It seems you have two issues here. A payment dispute and their threats to gain access to your property to recover goods. In the first instance they have recourse to the small claims court to recover your debt. In case they do this keep records of all correspondence and take time-stamped photographs as evidence. Both parties will be offered professional mediation before going to court. This will be conducted over the phone and you will not speak to each other. In the second instance, the legal situation is determined by the Sale of Goods Act 1979, and the default position *unless there’s a contract between the parties to alter this* is that ownership (title) to the goods passes to the customer upon delivery. The goods no longer belong to them. They will face serious charges for theft, trespass and criminal damage. They have rather stupidly sent you documentary evidence of their criminal intent. Show this to the police immediately. Good luck.

I am no legal expert, but they have no right to enter your house or garden unless you invite them in yourself, which clearly in this case you would not be! Therefore if they then gain illegal entry e.g. by climbing over the fence, then they are committing trespass and you are within your rights to call the police. Similarly if they start removing the fence then they are committing vandalism/criminal damage and you can sue them for negilgence. It maybe worth checking your house insurance policy to see if you have legal cover as your best option would be to register your dissatisfaction with the company, firstly by writing to them and then pursuing them for the cost of putting the work right. This can be done through the small claims court. If it goes to court, the judge will almost certainly rule in your favour as the companies behaviour is unreasonable and the case is judged solely on the balance of probabilities, i.e. had they completed the job to standard or rectified the defects to your satisfaction then you would have no issue with paying any money outstanding.

hi there dooing landscaping for few years i know you made few mistakes along the way 1)you never leave and hire people to do jobs for you 2)i,m surprised that they will come back to reclaim the fencing(only one reason,they are not paid in full) 3)if you dont have a contract written saying all the aspects covered then you will loose despite everyone says diferent 4)if you want high quality then you must pay high premiums large fencing companies reclaimed their fences back in order to recover and reduce cost from their loss,most of the companies are entitled to send legal documents to clients in order to have the payments completed on time our advice is :reason with them to agree on comon things(don't get picky do)and try to sort between the two of you,if you call the police they will stop them to get access but with no contract is your obligation to deal with the company as is a civil matter and they are entitled to get paid or to take their goods away in order to reduce loss if you are not happy with the quality of work then you must proceed action against them and that will cost you 10 times more and another thing is that they will knock on your door daily for their money(cowboys) wish you luck regards peter

In all the years I've dealt with many clients and not one has a bad word to say about my work. I'm sorry to say this but either you or your builder clearly do not see eye to eye Don't let your self be intimidated, call him/ her and express the faults in the work. Give a dead line to rectify any works your not happy with. And ultimately do not pay up front for any works. A good landscaper only asks for material deposit

i dont think your gardener would be aloud to go anywhere on ur property unless invited ,if he does it wld be classed trespassing on private property and if he was to use aggression then the term wld be atempted agravated burglary and if im right and he comes round more than twice i think ur permited to take an injungtion out on him

They have no right taking any of the fencing down and the fact that they are threatening you like that says everything about their company! Take them to court and leave them bad feedback on every site they own so this doesn't keep happening to people, it's doesn't just affect customers it also affects decent hard working businesses across the country and should be stopped. Also definitely make sure you are home watching work progress next time and get a written quote and maybe contract if you think necessary and expect some company's to ask for material money upfront were not millionaires. Thanks

I would imagine title of transfer of goods comes into play here. On a normal JCT contract title of goods only transfer when the items have been installed and the subcontractor has applied for payment for fitting these items and been paid, its a commercial minefield. But I assume you never received a contract so as the guys said above. The items are on your property and it would be trespass to come and get them. Another reason to get agreed contracts for all works.

With no contract then they have no right. All goods are yours and property is only acessible with your permission.

Exactly as ESS has said.

I’m really sorry that you are in this situation. As stated above there are two separate issues. 1. Payment dispute. This can be tricky to navigate and I’d advise that you seek legal advice or contact citizens advice if you feel that the work has not been completed to an agreed standard. Keep all paper records, keep a written diary of any dealings with this company and take lots of photographs of any work you feel is substandard. Regardless of whether you legally have to to pay them the full amount or not, you are probably going to have to take it on the chin and get another company to correct the work 2. Threats to remove goods If you feel vulnerable in any way your first port of call should be the police. Go in person to your local station and take any letters they have sent you. If you have any threatening texts or voicemails you should take those with you too. The police should give you a reference number which you can use if you have to call them in the future should the company try to remove goods. My understanding is that once goods are delivered and installed then ownership passes to the customer. They don’t have a right to enter your property at all unless you give them permission. I would stick to written communication by recorded delivery with this company now. That way you have a record of everything said that cannot be disputed. Don’t answer the door to them or pick up the phone to their calls. Just tell them to put their complaint in writing as you are uncomfortable speaking to them directly. You will have to decide for yourself if it’s worth going through the small claims process. I don’t know what the sums involved are but it can cost more to go to court than to just accept it and move on. Mediation may be an option for you. This company also have the option to take you to small claims court. As long as you stick to written recorded communication and keep strict records then you should be fine. This kind of thing is never fun for anyone so I do feel for you. I hope you can resolve this soon. Best wishes Mark

I would take recorded later to police. If it's written as you've said. You will be on there system with a reference. No. Might be a good way of putting flee. In ear. At least one will feel better as will play on your mind.being on alert all of time.

They should not be allowed to enter your property without you being there like in a previous statement really you should have been there to watch them do the work that way any problems could of been settled there and then and there would have been no conflict after any how if there is an outstanding balance that you owe any money mind I'm not saying you do just IF then that will probably be why they are threading to come and take down the fence in there eyes it will be covering the cost of what you owe them I would just keep seeking legal advice and keep ringing the company who done it to try get a response and resolve this argument

As a trades man I believe that once the goods are on customer property they belong to the customer If they do any damage to the goods you can take them to court for criminal damage and trespassing

No they can not come back an damage any of your property

Im facing every day same issues there so many cowboy builders round the london i'm very sorry but this people will never come back even you get legal help it no way to catch them i have to many customers like this but if this company have still basing in london the we have legal adviser and solicitors we can help you make your garden good as well if you need our help please let me know .

Hi i would keep calling the company that carried out the work and try and resolve the dispute out of court. They have no right to enter your property and this would be seen as trespassing. As hard as it is try and let them rectify the work they have done. Hope this helps and good luck.

If all of your comments are 100% truthful, then they don`t have a leg to stand on. It is totally illegal to come to your house & the fence & paving, etc are now YOUR property.You are perfectly entitled by law to give them a deadline to come & rectify the contracted works, before giving the work to an alternate company & contra charging the cowboys.Your next step would then be small claims court, which you would win 100%, hope this helps, Chris M-W.

If you have no receipt to prove you have paid for the materials or the work then they are not allowed into your property to retrieve the panels However if they get permission from the adjacent neighbour to enter there property and remove the fence then they are able to get round it this way seeing as they will have a paper trace to show ownership of the fencing