I have been a victim of fraud by a cowboy builder and lost

To get rid of the builder, a letter terminating the contract on the ground of his breach of contract is sufficient but it, together with a narrative intimating a claim against the builder should be sent by your solicitor as a letter before action. As you describe the builder as a cowboy I doubt that a letter is going to be sufficient here and for that reason your solicitor should frame the letter with a view to following it up with a court action for recovery of the sums you have expended with a view to instructing someone else to put the work right. An action for this sort of money will have to proceed by way of Ordinary cause procedure in the Sheriff Court and that is a procedure which requires to be conducted by a solicitor experienced in building litigation. Happy to discuss further. I hope that helps. Please leave a positive rating so that I am credited for my time.

Yes that is correct. As regards ***** ***** you can send this yourself if you wish but you would be better in my opinion to let your solicitor do it and he can intimate a claim for you at the same time.