Invoiced for work that I never realised was carried out

BushBag

Last October I contacted my landlord as the communal Sky dish was faulty. He subsequently sent out the Maintenance Contractor to look at it.

The Maintenance Contractor has now invoiced me for the works as he is stating that the work carried out was within my flat and was repair to my apparatus.



How can they charge for something I didn’t even realise they had done? I was under the impression that all that was carried out by the engineer was:

• Tested the feed inside the flat
• The main works were that he repaired the loose connection in the loft from the communal dish

If we are being charged for the works inside the flat, they're effectively charging a hundred pounds to put an ammeter on a cable.

When the engineer left, he said “the sky should now work fine. All it was was a loose connection in the loft but now I’ve corrected it.…. if you have any other problems just get the number from on the notice board downstairs for us and give us a call because any works on the sky dish come under the maintenance charge and it’ll be done for free….”

2. Why would I pay for them to do it for me when I only asked for the communal Sky dish to be repaired? If there was a problem in my flat I would have got the company who installed the box to do for free.

At the end of the day they're invoicing me for works that I was under the impression were never carried out and never agreed to being done. They have no proof or evidence and the engineer never confirmed the situation before he left. :mad:

Any advice would be gratefully received.

hartcjhart

have you spoken to the landlord?

BushBag

Yes, he's of the opinion that if the Maintenance Contractor is saying the work was carried out within the flat to my apparatus then it's my problem.
I.e. if they can pin it on me then the landlord doesn't have to pay.

bap98189

Who installed the Sky dish and who does the receive belong to?

Heliflyguy

BushBag wrote: »

Last October I contacted my landlord as the communal Sky dish was faulty. He subsequently sent out the Maintenance Contractor to look at it.

The Maintenance Contractor has now invoiced me for the works as he is stating that the work carried out was within my flat and was repair to my apparatus.





How can they charge for something I didn’t even realise they had done? I was under the impression that all that was carried out by the engineer was:

• Tested the feed inside the flat
• The main works were that he repaired the loose connection in the loft from the communal dish

If we are being charged for the works inside the flat, they're effectively charging a hundred pounds to put an ammeter on a cable.

When the engineer left, he said “the sky should now work fine. All it was was a loose connection in the loft but now I’ve corrected it.…. if you have any other problems just get the number from on the notice board downstairs for us and give us a call because any works on the sky dish come under the maintenance charge and it’ll be done for free….”

2. Why would I pay for them to do it for me when I only asked for the communal Sky dish to be repaired? If there was a problem in my flat I would have got the company who installed the box to do for free.

At the end of the day they're invoicing me for works that I was under the impression were never carried out and never agreed to being done. They have no proof or evidence and the engineer never confirmed the situation before he left. :mad:

Any advice would be gratefully received.

Who installed the cable between the outlet in your flat and the connection in the loft, was that work done when Sky installed the box for you?
I would expect it to come down to who is responsible for that part of the system as thats were the problem was.

BushBag

The connection from my flat to the connection in the loft is part of the communal satelite apparatus, i.e. anything outside of our flat doesn't belong to us. This is all covered by the landlord.
At the end of the day, the maintenance engineer is basically saying something completly different to what actually happened and I am wondering what my rights are as a consumer.

As I am disagreeing with what they are saying and refusing to pay, is there anything that protects me from repurcusions?
I guess what i'm saying is if someone invoices me incorrectly for services that weren't carried out and I ignore it, will it just go away??!

hartcjhart

were you in the flat when the work was done? if so what did the engineer do exactly,If it was just a quick test then he went to the loft to fix the fault then really all you should pay for is the test and not the fix,

have you contacted the engineer to get a full detailed breakdown of the invoice and confirmation of work carried out in your flat?

BushBag

I was in the flat when the work was carried out and yes, all it was was a simple test of the line and then went ff to the loft.
I have been in touch with the Engineer and all they have stated is that the works were within the flat therefore I pay. Perhaps I should get a full detailed breakdown...
If in the meantime I refuse to pay could I be made to attend court for failing to pay an outstanding invoice? After all, I assume the Engineer has "rights"!?!

4743hudsonj

BushBag wrote: »

I was in the flat when the work was carried out and yes, all it was was a simple test of the line and then went ff to the loft.
I have been in touch with the Engineer and all they have stated is that the works were within the flat therefore I pay. Perhaps I should get a full detailed breakdown...
If in the meantime I refuse to pay could I be made to attend court for failing to pay an outstanding invoice? After all, I assume the Engineer has "rights"!?!

No part of a court hearing would involve showing a judge that you have made effort to resolve the issue out of court. Because you are in the process of disputing the claim and have asked them details, they couldnt possibly justify court. Because, if they are right then all they have to do is prove it yto you. So dont worry about that yet.

DVardysShadow

Ask contractor to produce your order for work to be done?

smcaul

Throw it back at your landlord, he contracted the engineer to visit, not you. You asked the landlord to remedy the problem. The engineers contract is with the landlord, not you - remind them of this and watch them disappear very quickly!!!