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Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Is my partner overcharging my mum for work he has done?

568 replies

Lleeaahh1992 · 14/03/2021 19:33

My mums house was in a state of disrepair and needed plastering painting and lots of old furniture getting rid of her house hadnt had anything done to it for 25 years. My mum isnt in the best of health and is also a carer for my dad who is bed bound.

My partner offered to do the painting and get his dad to help him as his dad is a retired plasterer and painter. My partner isnt a painter but is pretty good at it, but he cant plaster thats why he was getting his dad to help. Anyway it turned out the housing association done the plastering so she only needed some things polyfilling and the house painting. He said he would get his dad anyway as it would be quicker that way.

It was agreed they would be paid £10 per hour each, he said they would probaly be working 10 hour days but if it varied they would only charge for the hours worked.

Anyway my mum waited two months for my partner to start as he kept putting it off but finally started last week and has just finished. The thing thats bothering me is most of the days he has worked, he has finished at a half hour or less so e.g 7.5 hours, 6.5 hours and so on and his dad only worked 3 days out of the 7. He has now said any day that he finished part way through the hour even by 10 minutes he is charging the full hour because thats how it works he says. So altogether he is charging for 6 lots of half hours that he didnt work, and 3 lots of half hours for his dad that his dad didn't work. And he is charging 39 pound for his dads travel for the 3 days he worked. So altogether it is £84 added onto the bill. Im not happy about this because he agreed with my mum he would only charge what they worked and said nothing about travel for his dad .

When iv broached it with him he has told me to keep out of it as he is the one sorting it out and he done some bits an bobs for free a few months ago like dismantling and removing furniture because my mum was struggling. Shall i stand my ground and say this is unfair and was not agreed to or just leave him to it?

OP posts:
Standrewsschool · 14/03/2021 20:09

Travelling for travel is out of order, unless agreed beforehand.

However, the agreement was to be paid per hours worked and that’s what happened. Your partner assumed he would be paid per full hour, even if only working for 45 minutes of that hour. However, unreasonable to charge full hour if only worked ten minutes extra.

M0rT · 14/03/2021 20:10

My cousins husband painted my three bed house for €700, walls and woodwork.
He is a professional painter and did it alone.
I can't imagine him charging her Mam!
There was no pressure put on him with charging me by the way, I was surprised at the discount he gave me.
He just sees her family as the same as his and charges accordingly.
Your DP is not someone I would want in my family!

StephenBelafonte · 14/03/2021 20:10

I think as you got the work done for cheap - £10 an hour for a tradesman is cheap - then i'd just pay the £84. Your mum got the work done cheaply, is it really worth falling out with family for the sake of £84? Really? Pick your battles.

WhenISnappedAndFarted · 14/03/2021 20:11

I wouldn't care if it caused issues, he's ripping your Mum off!

picklemewalnuts · 14/03/2021 20:11

The right thing to do is to work to the hour, or finish a bit early if you've over run another night. Not to charge a vulnerable relative extra.

cuparfull · 14/03/2021 20:11

Sack him he's taking the p...s and ripping your mum off. Why are you with him?
If your mum has any cash in her home, I wouldn't leave him alone in the house with your mum.

If more work needs doing, go onto the Nextdoor network local to you and ask your neighbours for recommendations. There are reputable people out there looking for work right now.

WisnaeMe · 14/03/2021 20:12

this is horrific .. honestly 😔

GrumpyHoonMain · 14/03/2021 20:14

I’d be dumping this sack of shit. Who charges their mil for work anyway and especially since he isn’t a professional. Kick him out and make sure all your joint friends know what a cunty fuck he is.

Gingerkittykat · 14/03/2021 20:14

I'm assuming he is declaring his earnings and paying tax and ni on them?

Alonelonelyloner · 14/03/2021 20:14

Wow
I'm really upset for you.
What an appalling shit of a man.

Lleeaahh1992 · 14/03/2021 20:14

Update, he has just come in after finishing work there, i said to him have u give my mum the quote yet an he looked all sheepish and said yes i said what is it , he said 1400, i said no way are u charging her 1400 its alot less an he got all angry saying well theres still a few hours work to do tomorrow and she wants curtain poles ect putting up so altogether its about 1400 i said have you even worked it out an he said no but its about that and she agreed to that at the start, i said no you estimated that but said you would only charge for hours worked, so i have just worked out the hours with the rounding up half hours and it comes to 780 pound then 230 for materials. So i have said no way are you charging her that an he just kept saying but this but that making excuses saying normal companies would charge 2 grand ect ect. She got 3 bedrooms done, the upstairs and downstairs hallway, small toilet and all the woodwork glossed. She didnt get the kitchen as the housing done that and she didnt get her living room as that is where my dad is in his bed and she doesnt want him disturbed. I am furious and my mum has apparently agreed to pay this no questions asked. Should i tell my mum?

OP posts:
AfternoonToffee · 14/03/2021 20:15

@StephenBelafonte

I think as you got the work done for cheap - £10 an hour for a tradesman is cheap - then i'd just pay the £84. Your mum got the work done cheaply, is it really worth falling out with family for the sake of £84? Really? Pick your battles.
He is not a tradesman. We do not know if the hours charged equate to the work done. Travel costs were never agreed.

This is absolutely a battle that needs to be fought, preferably with him having his head chopped off at the end.

Twickerhun · 14/03/2021 20:16

Flip your partner sounds grim. Why is he controlling your involvement too in protecting your mum? I would be so so sad if my DH did that

notacooldad · 14/03/2021 20:16

£10 an hour seems incredibly cheap to me for this kind of work so I can’t see how he was trying to cheat her.
It is not his profession . It is just something he is good at.His dad is retired
He won't be paying taxes on it if it is a cash in hand job.
He is charging for hours he hasn't done.
He is telling his partner to keep out of it.
I would be looking at him with different eyes from now on.

Regularsizedrudy · 14/03/2021 20:16

He sounds like a scummy twat

Defmy · 14/03/2021 20:17

This would be the end of the relationship for me. What a horrible, horrible pair. Taking money from an elderly lady.

GreenlandTheMovie · 14/03/2021 20:17

@StephenBelafonte

I think as you got the work done for cheap - £10 an hour for a tradesman is cheap - then i'd just pay the £84. Your mum got the work done cheaply, is it really worth falling out with family for the sake of £84? Really? Pick your battles.
Well, for an unqualified, unskilled labourer, plus materials, its not "cheap". For the father, who is a proper plasterer(although only minor patching was required) and painter, its ok but not for a homer on which tax will almost certainly not be paid.

Its only cheap if you compare it to those type of scammers who pick on little old ladies and overcharge them for easy work.

This sort of thing tends to annoy people and eat away at them, so its really the OP's partner who should be picking his jobs more carefully.

Who wants a partner that makes money out of your family members anyway? Its not as if the OP is exactly benefitting from this, is she? its making her miserable and her mum's having to pay him nearly a £1000 for a job that should have cost about £450.

Onjnmoeiejducwoapy · 14/03/2021 20:17

WHAT THE FUCK

funnylittlefloozie · 14/03/2021 20:17

Is he declaring this income to the taxman? I bet he isn't. Does he even have a job?

ukgift2016 · 14/03/2021 20:17

What a disgusting man. How dare he.

Why are you allowing him to treat your own mother like this? Speak to your mother asap.

Onjnmoeiejducwoapy · 14/03/2021 20:18

HE LITERALLY THINKS he can rob your parents in front of you and you’ll just be fine with it? How can you even look at this sack fo shit? How can he think you have this little self respect? How can you even be having a conversation with him?

GreenlandTheMovie · 14/03/2021 20:18

@Lleeaahh1992

Update, he has just come in after finishing work there, i said to him have u give my mum the quote yet an he looked all sheepish and said yes i said what is it , he said 1400, i said no way are u charging her 1400 its alot less an he got all angry saying well theres still a few hours work to do tomorrow and she wants curtain poles ect putting up so altogether its about 1400 i said have you even worked it out an he said no but its about that and she agreed to that at the start, i said no you estimated that but said you would only charge for hours worked, so i have just worked out the hours with the rounding up half hours and it comes to 780 pound then 230 for materials. So i have said no way are you charging her that an he just kept saying but this but that making excuses saying normal companies would charge 2 grand ect ect. She got 3 bedrooms done, the upstairs and downstairs hallway, small toilet and all the woodwork glossed. She didnt get the kitchen as the housing done that and she didnt get her living room as that is where my dad is in his bed and she doesnt want him disturbed. I am furious and my mum has apparently agreed to pay this no questions asked. Should i tell my mum?
Phone the police on him OP and dump him.
Defmy · 14/03/2021 20:18

You should pay what you've worked out she owes, ignoring the travel nonsense, and dump him instantly.

FortunesFave · 14/03/2021 20:19

My DH made my Mum new windows and painted the entirety of her downstairs for nothing! He did it on weekends and his day off. Who charges their Mum or MIL!??

Onjnmoeiejducwoapy · 14/03/2021 20:20

Phone the police and have him removed from your house tonight. How the fuck can you be calm about this?