Mark Garnier MP has had a bad time with a builder. So much so that he got a private member’s bill going, named the Domestic Building Works (Consumer Protection) Bill. He later withdrew it after being encouraged by what industry minister Lee Rowley had to say about investigating the bill’s merits. I do hope that the minister will be careful in pursuing this. Garnier has said of the UK’s house extension sector that it “contains lurid and appalling stories of people’s lives ruined after taking on dodgy builders”, adding: “There are countless stories in the press, and TV shows have been made that specialise in such problems.”

Let me say again: be careful. I did several TV shows where it was a narrow thing as to whether it was the builder or the homeowner who was the bigger pain in the behind. To go further, these domestic building disputes, including the numerous disputes I have had to adjudicate, require the use of kid gloves – far more so than do commercial disputes and claims. It’s because Mr & Mrs Homeowner become emotionally distraught when their builder does not do what Mr & Mrs think ought to be done. And if they do not triumph in the adjudication, they are outraged – despite the fact that the tribunal is wholly objective, independent and impartial.

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