WARNING – NEIL DOVE / AJ JOINERY SERVICES
The job was in Bradford, BD6. Neil Dove works out of Alverthorpe, Wakefield and covers a large area across West Yorkshire including Bradford, Wakefield, Huddersfield and Pontefract.
Neil was contracted to build the extension shell and re-tile the roof, quoted at around 4–5 weeks. The render was added later, also through Neil, and should have added roughly another couple of weeks.
More than five months later, we’ve been left with an unfinished and leaking roof, incomplete guttering with no downpipes, unfinished render, ongoing scaffold costs and thousands of pounds of materials paid for but never delivered.
After months of excuses, no-shows, promised teams that never arrived and promised deliveries that never turned up, we’d had enough. I served Neil with a formal Notice to Complete and eventually terminated the contract on 6 August.
It gets worse.
A structural engineer has now inspected the extension and told us to STOP internal works while concerns with the walls Neil built are investigated and a remedial solution is agreed.
There is significant cracking in several areas of the blockwork, walls are not plumb, there’s a noticeable bulge in the gable wall and there are concerns around several elements of the structural restraint.
I’m currently obtaining the full reports and establishing exactly what needs correcting before I can continue the work inside.
The scaffolder has also told me Neil still hasn’t fully paid him for the job, again months after payment was due and despite Neil telling me throughout that he had paid the scaffold late fees.
Now I’m the one stuck paying weekly to keep the scaffold up, buying materials for the second time, trying to make the house watertight and sorting out the unfinished work and defects now being investigated.
I’ve added relevant, publicly available customer reviews and business records below so people can do their own due diligence. Unfortunately, I only found these after things started going wrong.
Don’t make the same mistake.
If you’re considering using Neil Dove / AJ Joinery Services, supplying him, subcontracting for him or working alongside him, I’d strongly suggest doing your homework first.
Checkatrade: (former company) https://www.checkatrade.com/trades/doveconstruction
Companies House: https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/officers/ehaSEUnTE6N731QHU_2tEvZbr48/appointments
IVA: https://www.insolvencydirect.bis.gov.uk/eiir/case-details/1/false/704951851/50059953/TmVpbCBEb3Zl
If you’ve had similar dealings with Neil Dove, please get in touch. I am gathering evidence and want to hear from anyone with relevant first-hand experience, whether you were a customer, trade, subcontractor or supplier.
I’m documenting everything, and I won’t let this one slide.