Chris Cowley wrote:
I think I would probably contact my local trading standards office in
those circumstances and ask them for advice. Even if the laminate on the
worktop was faulty (which I rather doubt, given everything else you've
written about this chap) I think anybody with the vaguest idea of
professional pride would at least hold their hands up and say "look, the
worktop was poorly constructed but I'm not going to charge for that" or
"I'll give you a heavy discount" or "let's contact Ikea and complain and
I'll try again with replacement worktops" or similar.

I spoke to an adviser from the local CAB today and they suggested that
I tell him I'll take him to county court if the matter isn't addressed
satisfactorily in 7days, which is what I did today. Based on a perusal
of Trading Standards website I don't think they can give me any more
assistance that the CAB.

In a way, I admire your reservedness and calm acceptance of the
situation. But if it was me I would name and shame the cowboy here for
starters, were it will be archived on google along with your links to
the photographs of his handiwork. I would also consider seeking
recompense through the appropriate channels - if nothing else maybe it
will teach him to take some pride in his work in future

It's a difficult one. I don't want to aggravate him too much at this
stage, in case his moral side is some how triggered by a letter I've
sent him However, I agree that in the long term the trader's name
should be archived for others to give a wide birth. I'll look at doing
it at a later stage.

Thanks
-Neil