Extras on invoice

[PotteryLottery]

Landscape gardener's invoice has"extras" of c.£900 not included in written estimate. This is about 15% of total cost.

I text him to find out what the extras are as I was not expecting any surprises and he replied the patio stones we chose were more expensive than in his quote. Estimate included all materials, labour, rubbish and VAT.

We had to choose different patio stones because our first choice was not available within a suitable timeframe.

To add insult to injury he has damaged said expensive stones by applying grouting dye incorrectly, but he is coming back with stain remover to hopefully fix this.

Any advice how to proceed? I can't believe he didn't OK any extras with us before proceeding.

So his estimate quoted for your original choice of stone which then turned out not to be available so you chose an alternative? Did you see the stones in real life, if so , did you not check on the cost then or did he just present you with a suitable alternative without informing you that the alternative was more expensive? To be honest, you have the patio in place now so I think you are going to have to pay the extra, but poor of him not to have Ok'ed it with you beforehand - and also to not clarify on the invoice what the extras were. On a side note, I wouldn't be paying the invoice before he corrects the damage from the dye.

I don't know exactly which stones he quoted for in estimate, it just said materials included, not a specific material name.

We chose new stones from brochure which doesn't have prices in.

AIBU to ask to see receipts for extras and ask to see his quote from supplier for original stone?

I had no idea stones were so expensive!

If he didn't tell you about the extra costs then if his quote states it is a quote and not an estimate then you could insist you will only pay what he quoted. Morally though if he has incurred additional costs - whether he told you or not - if you can afford it then it might be better to pay him the extra. But do ask for proof of the additional costs because £900 is a big difference. I would make the point to him face to face that he never told you what you chose was more expensive. You may be able to negotiate the extras down. He doesn't sound like much of a businessman.