Not paying for garden work

No.

Our window cleaner once broke his leg. He got a relative to drop out little notes through letter boxes to explain what had happened and that he'd not be cleaning the windows for a few months.

A few months later, he came round dropping notes through the doors telling us he was about to start again, appreciated that we may have found someone else, so if we wanted him to start again, just to either phone him, email him or leave the note stuck to the front window where he could see it.

He certainly didn't just rock up and clean everyone's window "assuming" we all wanted him to continue where he left of.

Any well organised gardener would have done likewise at the start of a new gardening season and certainly not just "assumed" that everyone still wanted him on the same basis after a break of several months.

Yes, I'm not actually stupid, it is very obvious what that poster is saying in as unpleasant and snippy a way as possible. The irony being they are probably quite nice in RL. Read my post. Did I tell OP what to do? Or did I say what I would do? Why would I pay half? Well, to me the gardening would have value. Mistakes happen, I've benefitted, I'd pay half. I'd not pay all because I'm not that nice!
If OP doesn't feel she has benefitted then she won't pay. Whatever. I really can't get upset about it.

You're not, by definition, living in an empty house that just needs to be kept halfway tidy.

It wouldn’t be every 5-6 months? My gardener finishes in October and doesn’t come back until mid March. Between March and October he’s here every week. It’s perfectly plausible that the previous owners didn’t want him back until mid May.

The gardener has a contract that he fulfilled. The house looking lived in or not has no bearing on the contract.

Good point.

Surely he could see the house was now lived in

I've been cutting my lawns since March

Tell the gardener to take it up with the previous owners as the contract is in their name. They failed to stop the contract so it’s their problem.

It's clear to you. It makes no sense to me to have a gardener contracted to come every 5 or 6 months. That's not how any gardener I have dealt with has functioned. I wasn't addressing the second paragraph to you personally, I was responding to your one word post that assumed a lot, saying "Seasons."

Not sure why you are addressing that second paragraph to me. Of course the OP shouldn't pay. But the fact the gardener didnt turn up from December to May is not unusual, especially in an empty house - it's clearly what the previous owner had contracted them for.

Nail on the head. No benefit at all in creating some "goodwill" for people you never see or need again. The gardener would create more goodwill for himself if he accepted he's made a mistake, leave the OP alone, and forget about it. There's more likelihood of the OP engaging him herself or recommending him to someone else in the future if he acted honourably and responsibly rather than going back to harass the OP! As it is, there's probably no way the OP will recommend him now. So the gardener has actually caused himself some "negative goodwill" by being a dick about all this!

A few people on this thread don't know the meaning of "goodwill" in a business transaction context.

The OP does not require goodwill with either the gardener or the previous house owners. You are essentially suggesting she give away her own money for a service and relationship she had no need for now or any need for in the future.

The point they are making is that the OP is no more liable, morally or legally, to pay the bill than you are. So if you are so upset about "the poor gardener" (who can and should get his money from the original owners who owe it to him), you pay.

We are midway through May. That is five and a half months since OP bought the house. It is also midway through a season. None of the timing makes sense.

And in any case, OP did not request and does not need a gardener's services or anyone to mow her lawns. It is up to him to chase it up with the previous owner who forgot to cancel his extremely odd 'schedule'.

Completely on the previous owners who owe the gardener for work they continued to contract.

Previous owners are CF's to think you should pay for their mistake.

Poor gardener though.

For those saying it’s not the gardeners fault - of course it is! He doesn’t work over winter, so when it comes to spring and he’s back working again, he should contact his clients and make sure they still want his services. It really is that simple - 1 phone call to each client. Similarly, in this particular case, the client should have contacted him and cancelled their contract. So the 50/50 split here is between the gardener and the previous owners.

That's quite the response. I can absolutely see why you wouldn't!!!!😂

Seasons!

.... why?

I mean forgetting criminal, they could certainly sue if they could prove damage and loss.
.

I absolutely wouldn't pay this. I do sympathise with the gardener but hopefully the old homeowners will do the right thing and pay his bill.

Block the access to the back garden and call the previous owner before doing everything.

Are you classy, then? I thought you were something else.