If someone starts a job and messes up part way through, you are usually better off just junking them and writing the money off and taking on someone to put it right. Legal action gets costly and can take years. If they are a member of a professional body, you can contact them for assistance in resolving matters. You have to pay for work done correctly, not for work not done or done wrong. If a contractor/ worker doesn’t meet a deadline, that you have agreed to and put in writing, then you don’t have to pay them for extra time they take.

I’d tell the guy to go away and then start again with someone else, as they don’t seem to be doing anything. Get the plumber and electrician together, tell them what you want doing and have them go away and prepare a joint plan for getting it all done. Normally, a plumber or electrician will have contact they have worked with before and can work well together. Ask them for a reference from a previous job.

If this is for your home, you can hire anyone you want to out of the phone book. I have worked for multinationals where we pick a local name out of the phone book to carry out small jobs around the buildings. Don’t be courteous to people who aren’t.