Hi this is my first but hopefully not my last post on here. My name is Shirley and we live most of the year half hour from Limoges. I hope someone can give me some much needed advice. We need a new roof so last year we met an English builder who e mailed a devi we decided to go ahead this year and paid a deposit however we have not signed any agreement or devi. We have arranged two dates and he hasnt turned up to start the work on either of these we now face another leaky Winter. We have now found a reliable builder and are quite happy that he will complete the works on the dates we want. So can I ask for my deposit back? Any advice would be appreciated.

Hello shurl
Bit confused, why would you pay a deposit but not sign the devis? The devis is your contract. Always good to have a contract in place before you hand any money over...
I would certainly ask for the money back, pronto. And I'm crossing everything on your behalf that your Brit builder is still around. They tend to come and go so good luck.

+1
Since the costs of manpower and materials are continually increasing, I believe there's a deadline for acceptance of a devis, so if it's dated last year, it shouldn't be valid any more, anyway.
Has the English builder cashed your cheque? If so, then you must obviously ask for your money back, and be prepared for legal action if he doesn't reimburse you. If he hasn't cashed it, then you should oppose that cheque, just in case...
And welcome to the Forum!

Thank you and I hope I can be help in some way in this forum

Each to his own I suppose, but why on earth rely on a foreign builder to do a job that any French builder would be delighted to do, and probably better? If your British builder is registered in France, then you ought to be able to get your money back without too much trouble, possibly after going through the courts though. If he isn't registered in France then the chances are he's a cowboy, so get Dom in...
The best way to look at it is to put it down to experience. We live and learn, and losing money means that never again will you hand over cash without having signed the devis, and preferably before the work has begun. So in the long run it'll save you money.
Best of luck chasing this bloke up. Let us know how it goes.

PB I agree with everything you say, except the ease of recovery through the courts. We were in a similar position, but were advised by the avocat that although we COULD institute proceedings, the likelihood was that the builder had everything in somebodty else's name.
If so, the court was likely to take the view that as he had no money and we did, we would be classed as rich and able to take the hit.
Even if they found in our favour, we were told it would still be up to us to actually recover the money. The total cost would far exceed the loss.

So we did as you say, and chalked it up to experience.

What about naming and shaming this Brit who didn't turn up? Is that allowed on the forum? Might help others. Trouble is when you first get here and are not too fluent in the language, it seems easier to employ an English speaker. It's only later on that you realise what a terrible and expensive mistake this is. Good luck anyway.

Whether or not the forum rules allow it, I think it would be a tad unwise.

Thank you and just a quick update he has promised us our money back. We will wait and see!