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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To have called out my gardener

230 replies

Whenindoubthugitout · 04/10/2025 11:26

I have had a gardener this year. I have been really pleased and happy with the work he has done.

I asked him to reseed my lawn. Which he agreed to do.
The price he quoted was for 2.5 days work.

he reseeded it within a day, and I asked if the price would be reduced to reflect that it hasn’t taken him as long.

he said that - whilst it was reduced slightly - he would come out and water it daily for me whilst we were away, and that this was reflected in the pricing - which was fine.

we have been away all week, and he sent me a text this morning telling me I was due him the full amount.

however - I have a ring doorbell - and he hasn’t been out all week. (Tbf - it’s rained every day)

I called him out, and said I was unhappy to be paying for a job he hasn’t carried out.

he has now backtracked and said - oh yeah - but I plan to do three more trips (cynically I don’t believe him) and that he just didn’t want to bother me on holiday.

Aibu -to think he is trying it on -and the extra 3 trips are now because I called him out. And if he had initially intended to do these - he would have said so upfront……

I feel really sad. And let down
and slightly stupid for trusting someone to do something whilst I wasn’t there.

OP posts:
Viviennemary · 04/10/2025 13:41

Whenindoubthugitout · 04/10/2025 11:36

But he hasn’t carried out the job. He said it included watering the grass every day, and he hasn’t been. Not once.

Show quote history

If it rained it didnt need to be watered. You sound really argumentative. The price was for the job which was done.

Dissappearedupmyownarse · 04/10/2025 13:45

Whenindoubthugitout · 04/10/2025 11:26

I have had a gardener this year. I have been really pleased and happy with the work he has done.

I asked him to reseed my lawn. Which he agreed to do.
The price he quoted was for 2.5 days work.

he reseeded it within a day, and I asked if the price would be reduced to reflect that it hasn’t taken him as long.

he said that - whilst it was reduced slightly - he would come out and water it daily for me whilst we were away, and that this was reflected in the pricing - which was fine.

we have been away all week, and he sent me a text this morning telling me I was due him the full amount.

however - I have a ring doorbell - and he hasn’t been out all week. (Tbf - it’s rained every day)

I called him out, and said I was unhappy to be paying for a job he hasn’t carried out.

he has now backtracked and said - oh yeah - but I plan to do three more trips (cynically I don’t believe him) and that he just didn’t want to bother me on holiday.

Aibu -to think he is trying it on -and the extra 3 trips are now because I called him out. And if he had initially intended to do these - he would have said so upfront……

I feel really sad. And let down
and slightly stupid for trusting someone to do something whilst I wasn’t there.

Your post isn't going the way you'd hoped it would is it?
Would you be happy to pay him if he'd strung the job out over 2.5 days and still got the same result?
I also guarantee if it had taken him 3 days to complete, you wouldn't be volunteering to pay him another £125 because he had underestimated his time......
Just suck it up and pay him!

ComeTheMoment · 04/10/2025 13:47

FoggyFriday · 04/10/2025 12:19

You sound so tight!
Watching his coming and going, wanting to leave him short because he got the job done quicker, eugh pretty gross, id be advising him to dump you asap

@FoggyFriday How unkind! The OP is questioning the logic of the gardeners quote, given his hourly rate and the amount of time he put in on the job. It isn’t a matter of being “tight” and you are being borderline abusive.

youalright · 04/10/2025 13:48

If you was my client id be round ripping your front back up stop being difficult and pay the man his money

RandomMess · 04/10/2025 13:49

I would just pay him full day x 1, let him take it up with you for the remainder.

YoureNotGoingOutLikeThat · 04/10/2025 13:51

NamechangeRugby · 04/10/2025 12:14

Exactly this.

You are not engaging in a Zero Hours contract here. He would have had to pre-allocate time in his schedule to water your lawn if it had not rained - time which may have been far longer if the season had hit a really dry patch for your grass to survive & thrive.

It just happened to rain, but you had pre-booked his time regardless.

'Everyone has to eat' as the saying goes - the guy has to make a living whether it rains or not.

As someone who has had to reseed their lawn themselves, without the help of a gardener, I think you are being massively unreasonable.

Show quote history

Agree with this. At the time of booking the job in, he would not have known it would rain in the days after the reseeding so would have had to factor in time to travel to your property and water the lawn adequately. That is time he reserved and would not have been able to take on other jobs for that specific time required. Perhaps he could have reduced the final invoice as a goodwill gesture but he'd already reduced it once. There was no compulsion for you to accept his quote.

I think you'll both chalk this up as lesson learned even if you don't retain him. He should provide a detailed written quote of materials, time taken to do different stages of the task in man hours (helpfully stating that extra labour was required). And you should request one so that you don't feel put in a position to question what you are paying for.

As someone who has seeded large patches of lawn with a ton of prep it was a PITA and if I had the money I would have gladly paid someone else to do it.

ComeTheMoment · 04/10/2025 13:51

I have been in a similar position OP. Earlier this year we had someone come and revive our front garden, which required a bit of skilled cutting back. He told us his hourly rate was £55 (which is steep but he had good credentials and we live in a pricey area in the south-east) and we were paying for his expertise. The amount he quoted for represented nine hours work and he was done in less than six. We did pay because we we were happy with the job, it was a one off, and we didn’t want a confrontation when the job had been well done because that would’ve taken the edge off it. That didn’t mean we thought it was fair.

NeelyOHara · 04/10/2025 14:00

Ignore all the bitchy comments OP, I totally understand. When you trust a tradesman, and you then realise that perhaps they aren’t quite the good egg you thought they were it makes you feel foolish, and you question your own judgement.
It’s unpleasant, and unsettling.

Coconutter24 · 04/10/2025 14:05

GAJLY · 04/10/2025 13:00

I agree with you completely. He's charging by the day/half day. So I'd pay him for the one day only. He was being very devious.

Show quote history

He said it would be £600 for the work possibly needing 2 days, he didn’t say it will be £600 for 2 days work

Original poster
Whenindoubthugitout · 04/10/2025 14:08

Thank you for everyone’s valuable insight.

going forward when asking for a quote/estimate I will ask for a proper breakdown.

i have taken on board all comments, apart from tge character assassination, which I don’t think were fair.

I know I am good to my workmen - because all of them are happy to come out to me at short notice when I have an emergency.

However with most others, they have been engaged at price per job, and the gardener and I worked on pph. (All materials had been paid for upfront) And the second guy didn’t make an appearance. (Previously I have paid him hourly too).

I made a presumption.

I hace learned my lesson.
he has been paid.

end

OP posts:
DiscoBob · 04/10/2025 14:13

Tel him you don't need any more trips relating to the new lawn so will just pay for the day he did on it. That's perfectly reasonable and I doubt he would want to stop coming there because of it?

ChocolateCinderToffee · 04/10/2025 14:13

£30 an hour? I pay the guy who does mine half that!

cooldarkroom · 04/10/2025 14:22

DiscoBob · 04/10/2025 14:13

Tel him you don't need any more trips relating to the new lawn so will just pay for the day he did on it. That's perfectly reasonable and I doubt he would want to stop coming there because of it?

Agreed, then see if he keeps demanding payment. (He knows he’s taken the piss, God did the watering for him, & there weren't two blokes on the job)
If he “goes along quietly “, I would keep him. Because up till now he has been reliable & you were happy.
Is isn’t t easy to find a good gardener

Manxexile · 04/10/2025 14:27

@Whenindoubthugitout - "... However with most others, they have been engaged at price per job, and the gardener and I worked on pph. (All materials had been paid for upfront) And the second guy didn’t make an appearance. (Previously I have paid him hourly too)... "

Now I'm getting more confused(?) Are you saying that the materials had all been paid for upfront and that their cost was not included in the £600 (reduced to £500)?

MinglyMadly · 04/10/2025 14:37

Whenindoubthugitout · 04/10/2025 12:01

This is exactly what he said

“I’ve booked in for the 26th, possibly need 2 days at it, one of the days with a hand so expecting Labour & waste removal of moss/thatch to be £600”

he came alone - he did the main job in a day.

Show quote history

So he told you what he expected and the price he quoted was an estimate based on what he expected.

It wasn't a firm quote it was a time based estimate plus materials.

I would have challenged this too and I think you had every reason to. I'd have an honest and matter of fact conversation about it and them decide what to do from there. You may just have to suck it up and pay.

MinglyMadly · 04/10/2025 14:39

ChocolateCinderToffee · 04/10/2025 14:13

£30 an hour? I pay the guy who does mine half that!

£15 an hour equates to below minimum wage for a self employed person.

Original poster
Whenindoubthugitout · 04/10/2025 14:41

Manxexile · 04/10/2025 14:27

@Whenindoubthugitout - "... However with most others, they have been engaged at price per job, and the gardener and I worked on pph. (All materials had been paid for upfront) And the second guy didn’t make an appearance. (Previously I have paid him hourly too)... "

Now I'm getting more confused(?) Are you saying that the materials had all been paid for upfront and that their cost was not included in the £600 (reduced to £500)?

Edited

The materials were paid for in July. He then said it was too hot to do - and we pushed the job to September at his request-

tbh - I will be crucified by both sides if I tell you how much I paid for machinery - top soil and grass seed.

OP posts:
GentleJadeOP · 04/10/2025 14:59

Whenindoubthugitout · 04/10/2025 11:37

I pay him by the hour, £30 per hour - or a daily rate of £250.

that’s our agreement
he told me the job would be approx £500
but hasn’t actually done that work.

That is a lot! Is he qualified in some way ? I bet you could find a much cheaper gardener

PGmicstand · 04/10/2025 15:02

PencilsInSpace · 04/10/2025 11:35

If you agreed a price for a specific job then you should pay him.

And what about if the specific job stated has not been carried out?

PsychoHotSauce · 04/10/2025 15:10

Whenindoubthugitout · 04/10/2025 11:41

I pay him for the hours he works
he hasn’t worked the hours.

You're conflating two entirely different types of contract.

Hourly pay = you pay for the hours worked.
Fixed price = you pay for the completed job. It really makes no difference how long (or short) it took, it's a job price.

You need to get away from the 2.5 days work in your head and focus on the specific services agreed. Assuming the 3 visits promised were via text (even if only after you complained) and not verbally promised, then that's what he's claiming the agreement for the fixed fee work was. He hasn't done those visits.

Technically speaking he's not entitled to any payment at all until he's completed every service within the fixed fee, but most reasonable people come to an agreement to vary the contract and just pay for what he's done.

Imo he's a chancer and any gardener is aware of the weather forecasts. He thought he would inflate the fixed fee, and the rain would do that part of the work for him.

You can offer him a day's pay for the work he actually did, and point out that he hasn't done the three visits that were included within the price. I wouldn't use him again either.

sundaychairtree · 04/10/2025 15:18

Whenindoubthugitout · 04/10/2025 11:36

But he hasn’t carried out the job. He said it included watering the grass every day, and he hasn’t been. Not once.

Show quote history

Bit thats because it rained do watering wasn't needed- and might have waterlogged it

Cadenza12 · 04/10/2025 15:21

OP - you need to read The Ragged Trousered Philanthropist. You and a few others on this thread.

Howmanycatsistoomany · 04/10/2025 15:23

clipboardz · 04/10/2025 11:49

I think hes been really cheeky here and a bit stupid.

Agree. I would pay it OP and then get another gardener.

Yep, me too.

Blusteryskies · 04/10/2025 15:33

Whenindoubthugitout · 04/10/2025 11:41

I pay him for the hours he works
he hasn’t worked the hours.

Yes, but certain things are priced by the job not the hours. The question is, is it a good price for the job done? And is it competitively priced?

Lots of people price by the job and get he job done well and quickly. Many price by the hour and fanny around for days to get the same amount of money out of you.

Saracen · 04/10/2025 15:34

You described it as a quote, which means it is a fixed price regardless of how long it takes. If it was an estimate, that's different, and could be adjusted up or down depending how long it actually took.

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