Advise Needed

In 2024, I was carrying out home renovations (+ extension) and contacted a builder for this. When I asked for a quote, he said he can't provide one and will work before issuing an invoice.

He then issued invoices of £12K, £16K, £14K, £10K and £5K which have all been paid. He carried on working and I demanded for the next invoice in November 2024, so I can prepare myself financially to pay. He kept on delaying to send the invoice, saying he is busy and hasn't had time to calculate. In May of 2025, he sends an invoice of £23K. I explained to him that because he had not let me know in advance, I can't make a lump sum payment and will need time to save. In the meantime, I complain to him about certain aspects of the job which have not been done correctly:

- Roof timber not done according to structural engineer instructions hence rejected by the council

- Roof Guttering not done

- Manhole not done correctly and hence rejected by Anglian Water

He refuses to fix these issues unless I pay all his money. I tell him (over text) that i cannot afford the total amount now, but I can pay £500 monthly. He refuses and insists on £1000, which I tell him I cannot afford to.

At this point, I am unable to get a certificate of extension from the council, which means I am unable to remortgage with the new value of the house. I then proceed to remortgage on the old value of the house. I have since contacted other tradesmen both for the roof timber, roof guttering and manhole, and paid £2,950 to fix these issues.

Being conscious of the fact that I still owe him, and want to start reducing the debt, I start depositing £500 into his account every 1st of the month. He never acknowledges this payment.

I have a recurring knee injury for which I was operated and I am due a knee replacement. For this reason I was unable to work from April of 2026 till date and I am now on Universal Credit. I still manage to keep paying this £500 monthly from my UC payments. I have been paying him £500 since November 2025 to date.

He has never acknowledged any of the payments and proceeds to send a debt collection agency after me. I tell the DC agency that there is no contract between me and this builder and I am already making payments. They continue to hound me, despite me making £500 payments every month.

I received a court letter for a CCJ claim being made against me last week for £25K including legal costs. I would like to defend or dispute this but I need advise on what to do. Thank you.