Don't know if I should pay invoice

[Coopsmommy]

I have a rental property and about 6 weeks ago I asked a tradesman if he could take a look at a job that needed doing. He didn't turn up on day he promised or any day that week. So contacted him and he said he forgot but would go round that week which he didn't so 3 weeks have passed and my husband is due time off so he was just going to go round to see if could fix problem. Then suddenly I receive a message and invoice saying the work has been completed and an invoice to be paid in 4 days. It isn't cheap at £160 so not sure how to handle this.

He fixed it so pay him. He can take you to the small claims court if not.

Don't be stupid I wouldn't leave tenants with no heating for 6 weeks it was a cosmetic issue. Trust me there are not enough hours in the day to sit and wait on people to turn up when agreed. It works both ways.

Trust me there are not enough hours in the day to sit and wait on people to turn up when agreed. It works both ways.

I agree. Don’t use him again.

There is no way we’d get away with that.

We’d bill you our minimum call out (£70 plus VAT) which would cover the first hour if it was something that needed diagnosing). If it was just a case of popping in for a few minutes it would be £35 plus VAT.

We would never proceed without the client’s say so.

We’d bill you our minimum call out (£70 plus VAT) which would cover the first hour if it was something that needed diagnosing). If it was just a case of popping in for a few minutes it would be £35 plus VAT.

Thank God not everyone does this.

The mistake OP made was using a bloke ‘two doors down’.
Ordinary decent tradesmen come and quote properly for the job.

I’m referring to the £35 + VAT to come and look for a ‘few minutes’.
Local tradesmen do this when they come to give a quote.

Local tradesmen DON’T do this when they come to give a quote.

@LondonlovesLola

Local tradesmen DON’T do this when they come to give a quote.

I think it depends. I’m a designer and work with trades a lot and I have some that do charge and some that won’t. For new customers the all charge a call out fee to have a look for a quote.

I hate this OP. I have rejected invoices before because they don't have a purchase order reference. He doesn't have one because you never gave the go ahead.

Op if your husband fixed it after giving up on the workman, what did the workman actually do when he did show up?

@Coopsmommy

So I asked him to look at a fireplace to see if it could be fixed. He didn't go round on the days he said then turned up 6 weeks after initial contact and just went ahead and fixed it without asking me if I wanted the job done. If he had contacted me to say yes it can be fixed this is what needs to be done then I could have made the decision myself as to whether to go ahead or not. Instead I now have to pay out £160 with 4 days to do it. I will grudgingly pay it but to me there is a big difference between can you let me know if it can be fixed and just go round and fix it.

How did he get in to do it?