Instead, the insurance company said responsibility for the damage would be with the builder.
But six months after the collapse, the builder’s insurance company — Direct Line — said that it would not cover the cost, either. Direct Line said it had discovered three county court judgements (CCJs) against the builder’s name – and that these hadn’t been declared when the policy was taken out, so they wouldn’t pay out.
The builder said he was not informed about the CCJs and has since paid them off, while Mr Hobby has been unable to pursue his case further with Direct Line because he isn’t a customer of theirs. He also can’t take his case to the Financial Ombudsman for the same reason, and is hoping the builder will appeal care of them.
And now Mr Hobby and his family have moved back into home after using their life savings to renovate the house and having to borrow money off family. ‘The person most affected by this – which is me – actually has less rights than anyone. “How in the world did this occur? How did I wind up picking up the pieces here? It doesn’t seem fair.”
A spokesperson for: Direct Line Business Insurance said: “We are very sympathetic towards Mr Hobby's position, having been let down by his builder when he took out his insurance. As Mr Hobby is not a direct customer of ours we are unable to make comment against the specifics surrounding his policy which we cancelled and any questions should be asked of Mr Hobby’s builder.
“But when you buy business insurance we also need customers to give us accurate information and tell us material facts when we ask for them because it is what we use to decide whether we will take on the risk. “As soon as a policy is issued we have it laid out up front to the customer to tell us right away if any information is incorrect or the policy could be invalid, null and void.”
Mr Hobby discovered the builder through tradesman comparison website Rated People and said he was “confident” they had found someone to carry out the project.
Rated People said the builder in question had been taken off its books in September after “routine vetting and monitoring processes” and that it now checks for CCJs against individuals on its website. A spokesman said: “We don’t insure tradespeople ourselves so insurance companies have to do their own checks on a CCJ, whether the trader is signed up with an online platform like ours. “Our screening is the most important thing and it’s aided by continued oversight. As soon as a tradesperson has been brought on to our platform, they are monitored pretty aggressively where we're monitoring how courteous and professional their behavior is and from a work performance perspective and we react to any warning signs.
“When we are made aware of a claim, it doesn’t mean that the constitution prohibits liquor ads and stores. Our top priority is protecting homeowners and the many skilled tradespeople with hundreds of positive reviews on our site.”
