Invoice 38% in excess of quote!!!

almacmil

The architect we engaged to oversee the build of our new house has just sent an "invoice" for discussion". This is supplementatary to his quote and means an increase of 38%!! :eek:

He quoted £6750 ex VAT which included:

Design (I did most of that - he adapted it a little).
Drawings for planning application and building warrant (though not the fees).
Additional info for construction purposes, subject to an additional and agreed fee. (None required)
Prepare contract and tender docs, obtain tenders and advise on these.
Periodic site inspections to ensure compliance.
Issue of interim and final certificates.

He has now produced this "invoice for discussion" (for £2524 + VAT) citing extra work on the tenders (the initial 5 came in at between 163% and 221% more expensive than his estimate, so he got one more and tried for another) and for attendance on site and meeting with the contractor. :mad:

I'm kind of pee'd off especially as before I accepted his quote I asked how many site visits the quote covered and he replied "as many as it takes." Unfortunatley I didn't put it in writing.

I don't think I'm being unreasonable by refusing to pay more than his quote???

He did a good job (which he has been fully paid for, but we haven't had the final certificate yet), but I feel he is just trying to squeeze more because he recently found out that the Project Manager was on a good bit more than him!

Any comments or advice - esp from folk with contract experience.

rrwfotr

HI did you sign anything when you took him on? If so then it may stipulate certain clauses in the contact. If you have not signed anything and still have his original quote you should be ok. However it all depends if the extra work is reasonable and not trying it on. The crucial thing is if his charges are reasonable, if he decides to take you to court then these will be taken into consideration!!!

almacmil

Nothing signed, still got the quote!

It's difficult to guage "reasonable " as none of the contentious items stipulated quantities. Also, if he felt he was doing more visits than necessary, should he have said and warned us about extra charges?

rrwfotr

He is most probably trying it on then. I did major work to my house a year ago and to win contacts builders would come up with some really silly quotes to win business needless to say they tried it on after the job / during the job. What I did was simply showed them there quotes and said take me to court if you got a problem. Needless to say the builders didnt have a leg to stand on. At the end of the day it's wrong to screw people out of hard earned cash but when they take the p1ss what you meant to do.....?? If he is taking the **** then write to him and photocopy the quote and simply state to him that you think the charges are excessive keep a copy of the sent letter and if he disputes it then go to court I'm sure he won't want his firm in the courts esp if you have a quote for stated work.