I think I'm owed money, company think I owe them...

[norfolknights]

Hello, can you help?
We wanted to have a log burning stove fitted into an existing fireplace in our house so got a company to come out to us, assess the job and then send us a quote. We were happy with the quote (over £2000) so paid a £900 deposit.

When they came to fit the stove they discovered that their ladders weren't tall enough to reach our roof so we had to arrange for a cherry picker (at our expense - £200- bit annoyed at this, why didn't they assess the job properly and realise their ladders wouldnt reach...). They then discovered that that our chimney had a 'kink' so the flu liner they had wouldn't fit. DH suggested trying a smaller flu liner which they agreed to but which meant another day for fitting and another £200 for the cherry picker.

Unfortuantely that flu liner was also too big so we were forced to abandon the idea of having a stove and they refitted the ornamental fire that we originally had back into place. I was told they would contact us to settle up which I naively assumed would mean we would get some money back (i.e. we'd only be charged for their labour which was £300 per day for 1.5 days work).

I came back from work tonight to hear that they had called my DH to tell him we owe them £300 - so in total we would have paid them £1200 (and an additional £400 for the cherry picker) for nothing! I'm a bit annoyed.....

They claim they cant re-use some of the material they had bought for us but if thats the case, surely they should give me that material so I could at least try and sell it on?

Anybody know where I stand? Can I try and get some of my money back from them? Can they force me to pay more money?

Thank you!

I would want the £900 back, if they had assessed the job properly they would have know it couldn't be done and that would have been the end of it. They have charged you £900 and you have got nothing, that is ridiculous.

Thank you Nancy! But the question is, how would I get any money back from them? Smalls claim court? Never done anything like this before but I'm just gutted about how much money we've lost for nothing.

I agree with Nancy. It looks like they have failed to assess the job properly. You may need to get an independent report to show that the problems should have been found earlier. Should they have realised a cherry picker was needed? Should they have found the kink in your chimney when they assessed the job? Even if they shouldn't have found the kink at that point, should they have realised a smaller liner wouldn't work when it was found? If that report confirms that they should have detected the problems earlier (even if it is only some of the problems) I would go to the small claims court and claim everything - the £900 you have paid them and the £400 you forked out for a cherry picker. You don't need a solicitor for the small claims court.

I think I would look I to the small claims court, my mum used it against a big holiday company, she had never done anything like it either, I think it was all quite straight forward (can you prove you paid the £900?)
I would be included to also try and get some of the money back for the cherry picker too.
My family run a decorating company, my dad would never turn up on a job and then say our ladder os too short, customer must get a cherry picker, it's something they should have factored in when giving you the quote. They sound like a bunch of cowboys, I think I would threaten them with small claims and take it from there.

Thanks guys. I have a receipt for both the deposit and cherry picker so that's ok. I wonder if I could get another fireplace company to perform an independant assessment?