Partial Non-payment of an invoice - can I seek redress?

Sybarite

I wonder if someone can offer some advice please?

I've recently decided on a career change and having always wanted to extent my hobby - gardening - I'm starting garden design company.

My problem is this. On the back of a friend of a friend's recommendation, I've recently undertaken a design and implementation project for a couple in my local area.

I've completed 3/4 of the work - without receiving any complaints. I was then asked by my clients to submit a bill for materials and labour to date on the grounds that they wanted to delay the final phase - the planting - but would like to settle up.

I've done this, with a full breakdown of costs & informed my clients that receipts are available for every item if requested. I've also submitted my bill for designs and labour.

My problem is, that they are now disputing the initial materials budget they specified I should work within, and are stating that this figure was to include my time and labour, not just materials as was originally specified. As a result they view my labour/design charge as being 'over budget' and are refusing to pay all of it.

Obviously I've worked to the figures given and from my point of view am entirely within the budget.

Initially I was unsure how much to charge them for my fee and we had agreed that as this was a first job I'd base my bill on heavily discounted commercial rates. This is exactly what I've done, the final charge being 1/3 - 1/2 what you'd normally expect, which works out at a very reasonable £7 per hour.

In my last email from them - after some chasing on my part - they state that they have put a cheque in the post to cover materials, but have not paid the full amount I've invoiced for my labour - instead offering a lower amount which they see as 'generous'.

I'm obviously very angry about this; I think I'm going to receive a cheque for a derisery amount for 2 months very hard work. A former professional landscaper has also seen the site and concluded that the work carried out was to a high/professional standard.

In retrospect I've made a couple of mistakes in handling the clients.
1)The budgets were arranged verbally, so I don't have documents to backup my understanding of the billing arrangements/budget agreement. These were people I thought I could trust and this was an informal arrangement as it was a first job. So more fool me.

2)Part of the understanding in my taking on the job and offering such low rates was that I wanted 'before' and 'after' pics for a portfolio. I now have before - but as they no longer want me to finish the job I don't have any 'after' pics. So I don't get what I want from the project. I actually strongly suspect that they wanted me to do the hard landscaping so that they could do the planting themselves.

There are a couple of other issues to consider. I'm in the process of setting up as a sole-trader. I was not trading at the time this project was undertaken. While I would declare any earnt income, this was an informal arrangement so I had no indemnity insurance etc, I'm not sure if this makes any differencce to my situation.

My questions to money savers are these;

1) When the cheque arrives in the post should I open it and inspect it, return it straight away unopened or bank it and still persue the balance?

2) If it's significantly less than the invoice submitted, I believe my next step in seeking redress is a County Court Summons - obviously I don't want to go down this path if possible as it's costly and time-consuming.
Has anyone had to go through this process and can therefore advise me of likely costs and procedure?

3) Any other advice? I've since changed my working/billing practices and now confirm everything via email to avoid this sort of problem. All I'm attempting to do is obtain fair payment for work undertaken.

Thanks for any help offered.

HGLTsuperstar

So did you submit an initial estimate, which was agreed on, or did you do the work then send your bill, in which case you are on very tricky ground. Without any supporting evidence, going to the Small Claims Court will just be throwing more money away as the burden of proof is on you.
Repeat the golden rule: never lend money/make allowances for friends etc in business. DONT MIX PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL RELATIONSHIPS!
Sorry to sound tough, but you wont do it again, we all make mistakes, just make sure you learn from them

Sybarite

Thanks for your reply.

It is a lesson that has been learnt rather quickly I'm afraid - as I stated my practice has now changed and everything is confirmed via email and i have terms and conditions stating when and how payment is to take place.

In relation to your question - the budget for materials was firmly agreed upon. It was understood that my fee would be based on discounted regular rates at the conclusion of the job.

I suppose I'm more shocked than anything else, I put a lot of time and effort into this project and in my client's position I wouldn't dream of trying to wriggle out of a bill in this way.

I'm not particularly vindictive, but if the small claims court isn't a viable option the only other 'encouragement' I can think of is to let my client's work colleagues know how they behave, as this would be deeply embarassing in their particular respective professional environments.

Pennywise

I wouldn't say that County Court Action is a non-starter.

The fact there is no written agreement is just as much in your favour as theirs. Did you have any notes at all of what was discussed? Any scribblings at all? The court will consider anything within reason.

You have receipts to back up the materials purchased, so there should be no argument that a straight recharge is not reasonable. Did the customer ever give you cause for concern that you were using too many materials? Did you buy the cheapest possible? The court will look favourably if you can show you didn't over-spend compared with the work done.

As for time, do you have an accurate log of your time spent, i.e. dates, times, etc. Again, if you do, excellent. Were the customers present at the time you did some, or all, of the work - if so, they clearly knew how long you were taking. Charging £7 per hour is hardly unreasonable - sounds way too cheap to me. The court will consider how reasonable your fees are.

Did the customer ever tell you they were worried about what you were doing? If not, again the court will look favourably on you.

You have to remember that the Court officials are accustomed to dealing with this sort of complaint between householder and tradesman. From what you have said, it sounds as if you are being completely reasonable with the amount invoiced and if the court can be persuaded of that, then you should do OK.

Wait to see what the cheque amounts to though - unless it is a lot less, it's probably not worth the time, cost and effort to go to court.

Sybarite

Thanks for the subsequent reply.

I do have some scribblings and generally either the clients or their nanny were present when I went to the site.

Materials were sourced as cheaply as I could find them - I used granite and reclaimed tiles for a pathway, the clients knew these would be relatively expensive, but again everything was within budget.

At no point did they express any concern at the quantity time being spent on the project or with the design, quality of work etc. Their only real complaint was regarding the installation of garden lighting - they specified the wired variety but didn't like transformers and wires once they were installed running from the inside of the house (even though these were consealed behind furniture and the wiring neatly clipped to the skirting board). I removed everything within 24hrs of being notified that they were unhappy as requested, didn't charge for installation in the final invoice and there were no further grumbles.

I actually think that they thought they'd take advantage of my goodwill, get me to do the hard landscaping and complete the 'easy' bit as they see it, the planting, having asked for a planting design plan and species list.

I agree that £7 is very, very reasonable for what I've done for them and the trouble I've taken, which is why I'm so shocked and feel I need to stick up for myself in this instance.

Thanks again for your suggestions

bestyman

I feel very sorry for you . I have 20 years self employment as a plumber and its always the rich people who take the P. , to them its one big game playing with your livelyhood. It would seem that they have taken advantage of your good nature. £7 an hour is way too cheap , Id have thought £20 was nearer the mark.

A similar thing happened to me years ago. I quoted a customer £500 for a new water main. The job changed slightly but was more or less as quoted. After the work was done she refused to pay on the grounds that the cost was too much .
I turned up at her house with a CCJ aplication form and asked her for my £500. When she refused to pay I asked her why and she said that no price was agreed beforehand for this work. I asked her if she was 100% sure no price was agreed and she said yes.
I then told her that she would be getting a bill for £1,200 as no price was agreed before and thats what Im charging. She then changed her tune and said `NO, you said it would be £500. `OK` I said `give me the £500`. She gave me £500 and I walked away grinning.

Sybarite

I've actually received a cheque for 2/3 of my invoiced fees - will it count against me if I bank payment and still persue the final 1/3 or should I leave the cheque uncashed?

Anyone with past experience?

Thanks

WHA

If there is any covering letter or any writing on the cheque to the effect of "in full and final settlement" then don't bank it. Otherwise it is merely a payment on account and you should bank it if you need the money - if it is small enough for you to live without, then don't bank it anyway. Start the county court procedure asap - but you need to write and tell the customer and give them enough time/notice before lodging the claim form at the court - and of course, tell them you're going to do so.

MDUK

I wouldn't start trying to undermine them with colleagues, that could land you in all sorts of bother and you probably won't get your money. CCJ's are not that diffulcult to do, you can even do them online now.

I have used them twice, once online and once on paper and got my money both times. One was someone i thought i knew, but continually lied to me about payment, in the end i took him to court.

Think very carefully about the pros and cons for you and them, if you still think it is the right course of action and the cons don't outweigh the pros then write to them advising that unless you receive the outstanding amount of £whatever within 7 days you will start legal proceedings to recover the money.

skintchick

If you bank the cheque it could be construed by the court as you accepting it as full and final payment - DON'T bank it, but do hold onto it, threaten small claims, if they don't pay then pursue it through the court, it only costs £20 or so.

£7 an hour is derisory and they are taking the mickey.

I had my back garden landscaped (by some shysters I have to say) and it cost me £3k not including planting (which is not the easy bit IMHO as I still aint finished doing it three years on!). Garden design is expensive and they must realise that.

If you take it to court, get quotes for the same design from other firms to back up your claim - I'm sure they'll be happy to help if you explain the situation.