ok, we have all heard of awful bulgarian builders who have ripped people off or done shoddy work, but i watch cowboy builders every week on uk tv. I am amazed that a builder can leave a property in a lethal condition and take the money and run. some builders have had numerous companies who go bankrupt as its easy and restart another company. there does not seem to be any justice for the customer at all, even building inspectors know who they are but just condemn the work done and the owner has to pay for repairs, in a country that is supposed to be modern, the ordinary people are let down big style as this is not seen as criminal, yet it is, no doubt about it. the builder should go prison for ripping people off and not doing the job they were paid for. i do have some concerns for people paying the full amount in advance, but they do not always know the work is left unsafe. it should be criminal and dealt with properly. if you dont pay your taxes they will have you in no time. so wrong. dont call bulgaria yet they learnt it from the uk.

If your going to employ a builder do it on recommmendation,that way you know you are going to get a good job done,just like England if you find someone you have never heard of you pay your money and take a chance

mickhev wrote:

If your going to employ a builder do it on recommendation,that way you know you are going to get a good job done,just like England if you find someone you have never heard of you pay your money and take a chance

Agree with you Mike Although there are still no guarantees.

Oddy

I think where builders are concerned you will never get a guarantee and maybe more so in BG because lets face it a lot of Brits who moved over have suddenly become builders or caterers :Shocked:so your right Bernie

bulgaria is the only country i know where you can become anything you want to be, lawyer, builder, anything and no proof either. i would have thought in the uk there would have been some protection from such scandal as rougue builders who leave buildings in such an unsafe condition and take the money and run. in the uk there is a fine line with criminal behaviour and civil action and its the civil action you have to take, so no protection at all, and you wont win either cause they declare they are bankrupt and start another company in another name, so no recall. disgusting really and i am amazed this is allowed in what i saw as a civilised country. but not.

I think there is a problem in the thinking of some people when looking for a decent builder, there are some here but people refuse to take the advise of people, the obvious get recommendations have a look at the previous work,as you say there are times that builders make mistakes but you can have the quote notarized ,then they can not just run away they will be pursued by the law.I must say it does get very frustrating that some of the comments are made by the people that have had a bad experience but people keep saying the same old things you cant trust any one how on earth do we manage construction in the UK, if you cover all your basis then there are no problems, but one big problem is people will not pay for the right person ,qualifications people spend 3 to 5 years getting there certs but how can you get work when you say to some one it is this much and they go the the cheapest and have the work done and then when it goes wrong they moan you cant have it both ways, and i bet 90% of people on the site quoting regs etc have had work done by none trades person.As i have said in the past you cant by experience ,i have a company here and in the uk my uk company is NHBC reg to level C you cant bogit and scarper with these people,I have read lots of threads on all sights and there are some great advise, how to get your work done without fuss there is no excuse really i think perhaps i am missing some think ill keep plodding on

Recommendation is the only way in Bulgaria and the UK. Check quotations as well, 2 or 3 is best, I have always done this in the UK and Turkey where we are at the moment. Good news, we think we have sold our property here, so fingers crossed for the next few days.

good luck with your sale will keep my fingers crossed for you. Pixi

NHBC i had a house built with this guarantee , and we had to take them to the high court to get them to rectify the houses they had built for us . And that was in 1978 , it was open plan and there was 11 ton on the newel post , that's the post at the bottom of the stairs . It could of just collapsed .

johnbaz wrote:

NHBC i had a house built with this guarantee , and we had to take them to the high court to get them to rectify the houses they had built for us . And that was in 1978 , it was open plan and there was 11 ton on the newel post , that's the post at the bottom of the stairs . It could of just collapsed .

Its a good thing that a lot of things have changed since 1978

I dont think you will find they have . At least not for the better . Houses with NHBC where a regular spot on the cowboy builders show on the TV when i was in the UK , and i have only been over here 3 years .

You may be right? but we can't tar them all with the same brush

No you cant , but i know for a fact that this sort of thing goes on all the time , the size of the firm is unimportant . Do you remember the millennium bridge and the tilting train

This is true John but as Daisy said we can't assume all are the same there are some very good trades people in Bulgaria with or without a cert, but as with all things in Bulgaria recommendation is crucial and better still go and look at the tradesman's work

No i agree that is the case . I also would say that when you do a apprenticeship you spend a lot of time sweeping the floor and making the tea . But then i remember thing like hoover and the cheap flights to America and Texas diy with the free kitchens . what i am saying is not all cowboys come in small packets , and the biggest firm in the world can make a mistake . Rolls , and Boeing , and NASA as well , with the o rings . would you call them cowboys .