On Mon, 13 Feb 2006 14:41:31 +0000 John Rumm wrote :
It does not seem to be the LBA "way" - I get the impression they only
follow the legal route when they are unable to curtail/amend incorrect
work via advice and negotiation.

In my eight years as a BCO two people were prosecuted. One was a DIYer
who cut open a drain to build a manhole then lost interest. His
neighbours were not best pleased. Despite numerous letters, warnings and
pleadings from us he did nothing and we were left with no alternative but
to prosecute. The other was a 'professional' builder who removed a
chimney breast in a loft and supported the chimney over with a bit of
4x2. Again he was given the option to rectify it but didn't.

If the only fault had been the failure
to submit a BNA and the work was otherwise correct and done to standard
it seems unlikely they would have spent the time and effort.

Apart from anything else my understanding is that magistrates are less
than excited when presented with purely technical offences. If you
prosecute someone for failing to give notice and when asked have to admit
that the work appeared to be satisfactory you would probably get a
derisory amount in costs.

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