Electrician Overcharged and Threatening

[MonsteraLover89]

I had a full rewire except kitchen done to which an electrician and his partner assesed and quoted me a price. The price was £3200. On the first day for some reason he still ended up chasing the kitchen walls and he said changing the wiring above as they were needed (without asking me) … I just said ok.

he finished the first fix and I paid him in full £3200 (hasnt done 2nd fix yet) . Two weeks later after he comes back from holiday he messages me and says I owe him another £800!! He said for the extra work done which I never consented to and in fact caused me more grief as I had to plaster the kitchen after. £800 is a big difference and I would have never agreed to that “extra” figure if I was asked, also he just fid the work without prior consent or pricing.

he is now threatening to not finish the second fix and to “remove” the extra work he did. Also he said there were extra sockets he did but we kept all the original / same sockets as when he came to quote. And I was never informed of extra costs.

My thinking is that he went on holiday, spent too much and now made up some excuse. What can I do if he doesn’t finish the work? I would actually prefer if he doesn’t come back as I would be worried he will damage something on purpose.

£800 is a big difference and I would have never agreed to that “extra” figure if I was asked, also he just fid the work without prior consent or pricing. He has agreed to reduce to £400 after yelling at me but thats still I feel like Im being taken for a ride and not the written quote.

Can I get him to refund some money legally if he doesn’t finish? He lives close by so I’m afraid to threaten legal action in that he’ll come damage the property or vehicles

Why on earth did you pay him the full amount before he had finished?

If you aren't willing to take legal action against him, you aren't going to get any money back. As for whether you are entitled to any, this could well turn into an argument about who said what. Your first paragraph says you said ok. The electrician may represent that as you agreeing to the extra work. The other question is whether the £3200 was an agreed fixed price or an estimate.

Maybe my fault true in believing in the good of other people and paying him. So my fault there you’re right.

I never agreed to pay extra or to do extra work, as I said he just did it without any consent. The quote is written down, and no where did he send a written quote prior to doing any “extra” work or even verbally advise me of any extra costs before doing or even after doing them. He just advised me TWO WEEKS after finishing I somehow owed him £800 (nice round figure also so clearly made up)

You may have a case to take legal action, but his version of events may be different to yours. If you want to go down that route, the first thing is to figure out how much you think he owes you and send him a letter before action, setting out the facts, listing the documents you will rely on and any documents you want from him, setting out how much money you want and how you have calculated that figure, giving him a reasonable time to respond (4 weeks is normal) and stating that you will take legal action without further notice if he doesn't provide a satisfactory response.