Construction company halts work despite overpayment

So first of all, you have my sympathy. This all sounds really bad. On the one hand your emotions, on the other hand the legal aspect. We only know a small part now, and only from you. That will probably all be true, but the law or the fraud is in the details, and you have to look at things objectively. We can’t do that here. I don’t know if you can still look at everything objectively.

Remember this thread and post it if necessary in other inquiries where things are tight. Anyway. Mentally it’s still going downhill, and that is fatal. Not just for the original poster, but there is still a family behind it!

I wrote down some keywords for myself... Regarding the excavation: that is completely normal, although a lot also means a lot of overhead costs. The removal of the excavation is very likely not contractually fixed (that would be extremely rare), so it always has to be paid by the builder. Especially in the special position basement. A building surveyor will notice such things if you hire him before the contract is signed. Also adding static special features like here massive walls instead of the cheap variant timber frame on the upper floor (we also have the cheap version, that’s about the term “cheap”). Such things can happen, and often this 5- or 10% buffer is used for exactly these things. That’s what the buffer is for. €5000 is completely proportional here now too. Boundary stone: even a boundary stone or a wall or whatever can sometimes be damaged by the earthworks contractor. These are all things that can happen during house construction. The 10 cm basement height or looking outside is also annoying, but there is always plan B in house construction. What do you think how someone who has to make a decision about guilt reacts when he hears about a damaged boundary stone or an error of 10 cm in a house height of 9 meters? Or with a building sum of over €450,000, what are €5000? The €17,000 are excavation, so they don’t even belong to that. These are my points now: neutral and without judgment. And now think about your anger.

I see it differently, I don’t want that guy to get away with it. What kind of justice is that? He pockets the money and we’re the fools? Not with me!

My top priority is to get my money back and put an end to this man’s business.

These thoughts won’t get you any further. Focus on your healthy family and reread the post by #63. If you get stuck here in something you can’t change (for example, I don’t see any fraud, you can refer to the deception paragraph all you want, but I’m not an expert), then your family life suffers, not just you alone. That may work for a year or two, but at some point, people don’t want to hear or live the tune of revenge anymore. I believe you are moving emotionally in the wrong direction, which affects the rest of your life.

First of all, you have my sympathy. Because this all doesn't sound good. On the one hand your emotions, on the other hand the legal matters. We only know a small part now, and that only from you. That is probably all true as well, but the law or the fraud lies in the details, and you have to look at the matter objectively. We can't do that here. I don't know if you can still look at everything objectively.

Remember this thread and possibly post it in other queries where things are tight. Anyway. Mentally it's still going downhill, and that is fatal. Not just for the OP, but there is still a family behind it!

I jotted down some keywords... Regarding the excavation: that is completely normal when a lot also means many ancillary costs. The disposal of the excavation is very likely not contractually agreed upon (that would be extremely rare), so always to be paid on the construction side. Especially in the special position 'basement.' A building surveyor notices such things if you engage him BEFORE signing the contract. Also the addition of static special features like here massive walls instead of the cheap version timber frame on the upper floor (we also have the cheap version, regarding the term "cheap"). Such things can happen and often this 5 or 10% buffer is exactly used up for such things. That is what you have this buffer for. €5,000 is now completely proportional. Boundary stone: a boundary stone or a wall or whatever can sometimes be damaged by the earthworker. These are all things that can happen during house construction. The 10 cm basement height or looking out is also annoying, but there is always plan B in house building. What do you think, how someone who has to make a decision about the blame reacts when they hear about a damaged boundary stone or the 10 cm error in a house height of 9 meters? Or with a construction sum of over €450,000, what is €5,000? The €17,000 is excavation, so it does not belong to that anyway. These are my points on this: neutral and without judgment. Now think about your anger.

These thoughts won't get you anywhere. Focus on your healthy family and read the post by #63 again. If you bite into something here that you cannot change (I don't see any fraud, for example, no matter how much you refer the deception paragraph to yourself, but I am not an expert), then your family life suffers, not just you alone. That may work for a year or two, but eventually people don't want to hear or live the whole revenge spiel anymore. I believe you are moving emotionally in the wrong direction, which affects your whole life.

Yeah sorry, I was a bit aggressive yesterday. But based on your factual wording you can see that many things can go wrong and you possibly have to add capital.

That is probably not available or not willing to be added here. Now everything is escalating which costs even more money.

Unfortunately it is a cheap general contractor, that is the main drawback in my opinion.

It depends on how the OP presented themselves. If you were similarly emotional with them, it could be the result of your behavior. It's not right on the part of the BU, but often the reaction. During my studies, the lecturer (a specialist lawyer in construction law) told me something interesting. In case of doubt, you simply sue the opposing party into bankruptcy. And that's exactly what the GU is doing right now. He is letting the OP bleed financially. Even with a judgment, he simply appeals. Sometimes he just doesn't care. For that, he simply uses the capital from your overpayment. So he defeats you with your own money. I’ll say it again: keep the damage low. You will NOT stop him. Say goodbye to that thought. Let the lawyer do their job and take care of your own stuff. Otherwise, you'll end up burned out and your family insolvent on the street.

I am currently reading the payment plan and that the OP here is a woman, the client. The payment plan is somewhat shifted, yes. But it resembles 90% of all payment plans I have ever seen – either online or here as well. The general contractor is thus also keeping within bounds. Dear OP: keep the strength for your family and finish building your house with this strength.

In case of doubt, you simply sue the opposing party into bankruptcy. And that is exactly what the general contractor is doing right now. He is bleeding the TE dry financially. Even with a verdict, he simply appeals. Sometimes he just doesn’t care. For that, he simply uses the capital from your overpayment. So he defeats you with your own money.

Interesting thesis, I like that.

What could also happen is that the construction company resumes work shortly before the court date, the judge recognizes the "goodwill" of the contractor, and nothing is ruled or settled. Cost assumption? No way.

I think we haven’t talked much about the details of the procedure yet, but it could also be possible that the TE loses the lawsuit.
Is the lawsuit for completion of the construction? That is far from the goal of punishing the contractor or getting the money back.

Please also be careful not to call him a fraudster, otherwise the next legal dispute with costs will arise, and that definitely cannot be won.

I jotted down some keywords...
Regarding the earthworks: this is completely normal, especially when a lot also means a lot of additional costs. The removal of the excavated material is very likely not contractually stipulated (that would be extremely rare), so it always has to be paid for by the builder. Especially in the special item basement. A building surveyor notices such things if you hire one BEFORE signing the contract.
Also, the addition of structural special features like here massive walls instead of the cheap version of timber studwork on the upper floor (we also have the cheap version, regarding the term "cheap"). Such things can happen and often this 5 or 10% buffer is exactly used up for these things. That’s what the buffer is for.
€5000 are now completely reasonable in proportion.
Boundary stone: also a boundary stone or a wall or whatever can sometimes be damaged by the earthworks contractor. These are all things that can happen during house construction.
The 10cm basement height or looking out is annoying, but there is always plan B in house construction.
What do you think, how does someone who has to make a decision about blame react when they hear about a damaged boundary stone or an error of 10 cm in a house height of 9 meters?
Or for a construction sum of over €450,000, what are €5000? The €17,000 is earthworks anyway, so doesn’t belong in that calculation.
These are my points on this: neutral and without judgment.
And now think about your anger.

From my point of view, this is the most objective post in the whole thread that hits the nail on the head.

After reading through the thread, I partly believe that you have drawn the wrong conclusions and made the wrong decisions in your new situation. I was able to follow many of your points myself in my building area,

- The civil engineer mistakenly excavated 70 cm more on 650 sqm at a neighbor’s property and disposed of it elsewhere. That cost €16k more than calculated.
- Another neighbor had to install sheet piles due to too steep a slope. Cost €15k. Without these, the general contractor (GC) would not have been allowed to continue.
- At my place, two boundary stones were pulled out and not replaced. The cost was borne by the shell construction contractor. Also, the structural engineer had to reinforce the supporting column around the chimney and then also reduce the upper floor ceiling thickness from 22 cm to 20 cm.
- A neighbor was sold a gas heating system by the GC even though there is no gas pipeline in the building area.
- etc. (and it goes on and on. All this with only 22 building plots)

None of the neighbors showed the GC the red card. Everyone initially bore the additional costs or had them documented in writing and later agreed on the additional costs with the GC.
For this reason, almost all affected parties now live in their houses.

The points mentioned above by ypg are facts that are unforeseen but can definitely happen and do not constitute a defect in terms of functionality. Moreover, there is no fixed price guarantee in house construction, let alone in earthworks. Your GC should have made this clear to you fairly before you signed the contract.

Everything else is speculation.

Due to the legal steps you have initiated, the construction site will probably have to remain idle for evidentiary reasons until the conclusion of the proceedings. You won’t be able to endure this 2-3-4 years, and it can take that long even if your lawyer tells you otherwise now (the longer it takes, the more money he sees from you).

The quickest way in my view would be a settlement resulting in the continuation of construction by the GC.

Any other direction will probably push you closer to personal bankruptcy, because the bank will not tolerate this for long either.

I wish you much strength going forward!