Following on from www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3873320-AIBU-or-is-builder-taking-the-piss
Summary is builder sent £2400 bill for 6 day shoddy job. We asked for an itemised bill and have paid £1500. He reduced the bill by £400. We are refusing to pay the last £500 and he has just threatened to inform debt collectors...please read on.....
Builder sent itemised list of materials. Includes multipacks of screws, several new drill bits and various other items that I would have reasonably have expected the builder to have with him. Obviously he has taken all these with him to use on his next job (and presumably charge them too).
The builders merchants is a 50 minute round trip from our house. Over the course of a 6 day job he has gone 7 times - once twice on the same day. We have obviously been charged for the time. I fully expect to pay for time to purchase materials, but this was a simple job, they were briefed at the beginning and given a list. One trip, a maximum of 2 should have done it.
On his final bill he has included the materials +VAT and then added his own VAT to the top. We've checked with our previous builder who says this shouldn't happen. We've been charged VAT twice.
He also says that we have been charged for the travel time of his workmen from their homes to our house, hence the 8 hour day. I have never heard of a tradesperson charging for travel time, unless its a call out fee in an emergency.
We told him not to come back and fix the shoddy work, but advised him of it (specified the defects) and have also advised that his carpenter ruined our brand new carpet by not putting down a dust sheet.
We have paid the bill based on the hours we think are due. There is £500 outstanding.
Received a letter from him today saying that he will contact a debt recovery company if we haven't settled the bill by the end of the month. We can pay the bill, but we dispute the hours done, we've been double charged for VAT and he's ruined a £500 brand new carpet.
What do we do?