Not paying for garden work

[gardendramas5]

I’m pretty sure I’m not being unreasonable but I just want to see what other people think.

I purchased my house December last year. It was empty for at least 2 years (ex rental)

The previous owners kept the front and back garden tidy whilst it was on the market, no idea if it was them that did the work or if they paid someone. Both gardens are quite large. I started doing all of this myself when I took ownership.

Anyway, I’ve been away for the last week with family and came home on Wednesday to freshly cut grass, weeds pulled etc. I asked my neighbours if they had seen anyone but they were at work. It turns out that the previous owners hired a company to do the work and hadn’t notified them that they’d sold the house last year. I only found this out yesterday as the gardener turned up with the invoice. I explained I wasn’t aware of this arrangement and that he would have to invoice the previous owners for the work (I was polite and apologised for the inconvenience but made it clear I hadn’t asked for this work to be done and wasn’t prepared to pay for it either)

He knocked on again this morning and explained that he’d spoken to them yesterday and that they agreed to pay half (because it was their error) but that I should pay the rest because I’m the one benefiting from the work. I told him no sorry I’m not paying and he needs to take it up with them.

I do feel bad for the gardener, but it’s their fault. I didn't ask for this. They were awkward during the conveyancing process too so this doesn’t surprise me. AIBU?

Pay him! You have the benefit of his work and are getting it half price. Gardeners are hard to find. Be a decent person.

My gardener charges £45 an hour and there's three of them so I can't imagine it's much of a bill. I would just pay it, you're new to the neighborhood and word will get around making it difficult to get a window cleaner, car washer and other services. But I'm a wimp.

Not its not fair the previous owners only pay half.
They knew they employed him and put him in a position where he lost 1/2 his wage.
Thats on them not the OP.

my sympathies are with the gardener who is vulnerably employed I would tell him sorry but they made the mistake and did not cancel you do they have to pay obviously

id get in contact with seller via their solicitor and tell them to pay up

id the gardener a favour if they dilly dally and big him up on social media so he gets more work and I’d pay him if they refused as that’s a kindness to him

sellers are utter knob heads

But he is running a business. He presumably has some sort of written contract with the ex owners and he should and could pursue them for payment. The OP probably gives to charities that she chooses to support.

Jesus, where do you live? Word will get round!

Besides, I wouldn't think badly of someone who didn't pay a gardener for work they hadn't agreed to.

How much are we talking £50 20?

People are encouraged not to move lawns in May. Id be extremely unhappy with random garden work, as we have a plan!

Its not on you to pay for something you didn't ask for.

A small village with strong community and an active FB site

If only £20-30 I’d pay the man and send sellers an invoice making it clear they dick heads

How much is it, did he do a good job? If not much and a good job, I'd be tempted to pay half to keep him on side - good gardeners are hard to get, and I would prefer to have the option of him coming back to do hedge trimming, any big jobs etc. But that's only if you want to - no obligation on you at all I wouldn't say.

I’d pay half to keep the peace. It won’t be that much money and a bad reputation amongst the trades is quickly spread. My neighbours have pissed off a number of tradesmen, gardeners and window cleaners by disputing payments, paying late and generally being difficult. They recently commented how expensive everything seemed to have become, seemingly unaware their reputation precedes them and are now subject to the “arsehole tax” put on by everyone that now comes to quote.

Depends, do you want to use him in the future? There might be a time that you want help with the garden. Is it worth paying half and leaving it on good terms, in case you ever need him?

I'd be quite happy to get home from a week away to find the grass cut. I think paying depends how much work has been done and what it cost. If they cut the grass and it was £40 and I was asked to pay £20 id pay. If it was lots of work and it was £200 and I'm expected to pay £100 I wouldn't pay.

Unless you live on a massive estate and we're talking a bill of hundreds, yabu.

Pick your battles. Just pay the twenty or thirty quid or whatever it is. You've got a half price lawn-mow, move on.

Apart from anything, I really don't think it's worth being this stubborn and difficult with a local gardener, of all people. All of your new neighbours will absolutely get to hear about it if the bill goes unpaid and it will colour opinions of you for a long time.

I've lived here for six years and I still remember the new window cleaner warning me about number 5 who had apparently refused to return Steve next doors battery charger 🤣 I've never had any issues with number 5 but I'd STILL be wary if he asked to borrow something!

You don’t have any obligation to pay anything. You didn’t have a contract with him.

Years ago we found ourselves in a very similar situation. Someone ordered a service to be carried out on an item of property that we owned- we knew nothing about it until we got the bill. We refused to pay, the service provider took us to small claims and we lost. We had to pay.

Are you sure the gardener isn't trying to con you? Mid May is VERY late for the first gardening visit of the year. They should have been doing the lawn since Easter at the latest. Likewise, there's been pruning, dead-heading etc to do for a few weeks now of the early flowering shrubs. "If" they are genuine, they should have realised that "someone else" has already mowed the lawn since they last did last Autumn!

It's a pretty common scam for "some" unscrupulous workmen to do work that no one has asked them to do and then they try to persuade you to pay them. Very easy if this gardener knew that someone new has moved into a house!

Wow, forget payment, as a keen gardener I'd be absolutely furious if someone had done my gardening. It's no mow May for a start! Tell him you want compensation for the damage he's done and he'll quickly vanish. I'm amazed he wouldn't check at the start of the season that the arrangement was still in place.

YANBU

Having a gardener is a luxury that many people gladly pay for and benefit from.

But lots of people are not in a situation to employ a gardener - whether they like to do the gardening themselves, they can't afford/don't see it as a priority in their household budget, or simply don't care if their garden is wild and overgrown.

You can't simply say that somebody has benefited and so they should just pay up anyway. As for those saying that it isn't that much money, you have no idea at all of how significant that amount of money is to another person. For all you know, OP could be needing to use a food bank to feed her charity - yet she's magically supposed to have a chunky sum set aside to shell out on unnecessary and unwanted gardening?!

It's not that much whether you are BU or not. Legally this has nothing to do with you, you havent contracted the gardener, the previous owners did. They must pay the full bill.

You never asked for this 'benefit' so no I wouldn't pay. The gardener must have known the property was on sale and should have confirmed or texted the previous owners and they should have notified him of the sale, it's not like it happened overnight!
I wouldn't pay, obviously staying polite to them all but firm.

There are some people who call themselves gardeners when all they do is cut off grass and pull out shrubs. No real skill or knowledge of plants.

But why should OP want "goodwill"? Goodwill for who? She wont be using the gardener again as she wants to do her own gardening, so why should she be out of pocket?

Goodwill is for companies that want people to keep using them.