Liability for Bills after I move out

moggerz

not sure if my wife did. He said in his bill that he had been overwhelmed with paperwork that he'd only gotten round to our account now -and apologised for the delay. Not sure he needed us to call for a bill.

makapo

moggerz wrote: »

Well anyway thanks Guys - there wasnt an estimate as far as I remember (my wife deals with most of this sort of stuff), just a letter outlining his hourly rates (Which were high to be fair).

We asked him to do a few drawings to move the kitchen to the garage and a loft conversion. He came round took a few pictures, then came back with a few drawings. ...end of!! He did do an application but that was, as even he pointed out, rather a waste (I mean our builder told us this and even the council said this over the phone!!). The bill was sort of itemised, though not to what was done during those hours. Some by him and some by his ?assistant.

It was rather alot of hours for the output. Will look through the docs further.

I do like the idea of asking another architect and also going back to him with our own version of events. Right now the wrong address buys us abit of time!!

This seems pretty rum to me.

If you weren't happy with the work he was doing you should have terminated the contract. Not communicating with him, and moving away without giving him your forwarding address, and saying now that his having the wrong address buys you time -- it's not a good way to do business. Better to be straightforward with him, give him your new address, present your arguments for reducing the bill, and see if you can't come to an agreement that's acceptable to you both.

Tozer

Bottom line is you instructed him to do some work. Whether all of that work was needed, whether the hours were reasonable, whether he did it right is all part of an argument to reduce the bill. But not eliminate it altogether.

And your comment about a new address buying some time.... If he has to trace you, he will be able to add those fees to the claim. It also makes your arguments seem rather 'after the event'.

Face the problem now and agree the bill.

moggerz

hey chill out there - I have only just received the bill which is around 6-12months late!! Its not like I'm running away -besides I've only moved around the corner so chances are we may bump into each other. I was posting to look for advice. Half of my comments about running away etc. were facetious. Yes obviously we were naive with bill etc, we will know for next time. Not sure I need too much self-righteousness, thanks anyway.

thanks for your advice nonetheless.

ihatecaptcha

moggerz wrote: »

hey chill out there - I have only just received the bill which is around 6-12months late!! Its not like I'm running away -besides I've only moved around the corner so chances are we may bump into each other.

You're certainly being naive if you're assuming the architect doesn't know that you've moved and doesn't know your current address.

It would also be naive to assume that he isn't aware of this thread.

I was posting to look for advice.

moggerz wrote: »

never mind the ethics

You get what you pay for. Typically, ethics-free advice that you can rely on in court carries a sizeable price ticket.

moggerz

trust me -this guy is NOT aware of this thread and if he's gonna spend 12 months to send me a bill, you'd think he might check where I live. He just assumes that I haven't moved or if I had that I would get the letter eventually (us both being professionals).

I don't need the ethical dimension but your are free to point it out. I'm not sure if you have been to court but you can take it from me that this forum is a lot more pleasant environment to get advice from - and I was there as an invited expert.