AIBU in questioning money charged?

[dizzydixies]

we've had some work done in the house recently and had the relevant workmen round to give us prices for the jobs

when the joiner was here he ASSURED me it would be a 2 day job (even though I queried it) and when he sent a quote we went ahead with the work. the job ran into 3 days, even with us doing part of the work for them, and the bill as just come in more than £250 over his initial quote

in the breakdown its because he's charging us for the extra labour time NOT materials etc

another tradesman told us he would do 3 jobs for £180 total and has dropped in his bill today for £255

so tell me please AIBU in questioning the extra? it seems like such a big difference on both of them AND DH and I budgeted for the work around the prices we were given for the work - a small contingency but certainly NOT £325 worth

Did you get the original quotes on paper?? If you did then I would NOT be paying the difference especially if he could not finish thhe work in thhe time quoted, this is his problem, not yours.

I only got the joiners quote on paper, not the other blokes and the joiners said estimate on it so I don't know if that counts in his favour?

what has really annoyed me is that I've already sent him off a cheque for the amount he originally quoted before the final bill arrived as they are a small firm and didn't want them to have money owing from us - esp as I was, for the most part please with the work.

It looks like you are maybe getting confused between 'quotation' and 'estimate' - they are different legally.

If it is a written quotation - and the word 'quote' or 'quotation' is written then that is the price he should charge. If something unforseen arises once the work has started, then he should tell you in advance of doing the work that it would have cost extra. If he chose to do extra work without telling you it would cost more, that's his tough luck! A quote is legalling binding so his problem not yours.

Unfortunately an estimate is just that - an estimate - and unless it was wildely inaccurate then there's not much you can do about the extra.

If it is a huge amount more, and given that he was adamant on the 2 days and then took three, you are quite within reason to ask him to explain why the estimate and the reality were so much different. However, I doubt you will get anywhere.

Good luck - I hope the work was worth it

were they quotes or estimates?

I would write a letter to the joiner and say that as you had queried the initial estimate of 2 days and were assured that it would run over, you will not be paying this extra as it is due to his own poor timescale that resulted in the extra day. Tell them that you have sent in the cheque for the original amount quoted and that you hope that this is satisfactory.

If they come back, detail the work that you did that they were supposed to do and say in light of this, you would be willing to offer them x amount in payment BUT that this is your final offer.

For the other tradesman, I would be asking him how his breakdown works and asking for a detailed explanation of why the price is so much higher than his original quote. If his explanation is unsatisfactory - write the same letter as above!

Dont let them get away with it without a fight!

x posts (or rather me not reading it all!)

estimate should be named guessimate

agree you need a quote, and should be for job done - if he says it willl take 2 days

ie if he does it in 1 day then he might make a profit, 2 days break even and 3 days he is at a loss

NEVER pay a worker per day, but for whole job

blondes, the quote was for the job but within that he had detailed the length of time it would take the men to do the work even though I felt he was being a tad optimistic - I've used this firm before and have always been happy with them which was why I felt comfortable enough querying his timescale.

beanieb - his letter says estimate on it for the first quote - I think my main problem is that I'm not paying for extra work etc but time it took them to do the job

we did part of the work for them and some of it was left incomplete so we could alter something else later on

I think I just feel that another £250 over is a huge difference (well it is to us) and that he should have spoken to me about it - he posted his final bill to the neighbours address, who were on holiday, so I've already sent a cheque for the original amount whilst the bill lay in their house until they came home

with the second chap it was agreed by mouth, no paperwork until he dropped in his bill day with an additional £75 on top of what he said he would do the work for

am getting a bit fed up doing business with local tradesman if this is how they work, I'll be looking further afield in future

kirstyJC the work was worth it up until the worry of trying to find another £300+ to fecking pay for it but thank you

they've taken advantage because you didn't know they ought to give you a 'quote.' you accepted an estimate.

ruddynorah I am a horribly naive person then and am not sure whether or not to roll over and play nice paying up or think feck it and go down in a blaze of glory

don't get me wrong, I'm all in favour of paying for a job well done etc and accept that there has to be a profit made here but >17% above estimate seems to be taking the piss slightly to me?

hello dixie they are taking the piss slightly so you need to speak to them and ask them to justify this hike in the price and draw his attention to your querying of the time thing. Tell him you will pay for the materials but not the extra time.