paying over the quote?

grantperson

i have recently had some plumbing work done on my home the original quote i was given was £5200 "+ a couple of hundred for unseen difficulties" I was told this as this was a type of system they had not installed before. I paid in regular instalments. However when the job was completed the plumber came up with a final bill near £8000. I have paid him 6000 which i think is reasonable but i don't think it's fair to pay him that much as he made no indication that it had gone up by that much at any point.

when he itemised his bill he put down that his workmen had been there for 18 days when they had only been there 12.

The other problem i have is that the system does not work that well and does not seem to be suitable for what i wanted.

I am very reluctant to pay him the last bit for these 2 reasons. I have no written quote except the one at the end and have not signed anything

any advice? anyone know someone to contact to get some advice?

thanks for any response

Grant

themacster

If you've got no record of an agreed price then you are only liable to pay a fair and reasonable price for what has been done - they can't dictate what to charge you and if they're claiming 18 days and it only took 12 then this is fraudulent. Also if what they have provided is not what you asked for then they're in breach of contract and they need to put the system right. The fact they've done work and you've paid them is evidence enough that a contract exists, albeit verbal.

Without knowing exacty what you asked them to install it is difficult to be more specific. He may claim the original quote excluded VAT - did he mention VAT at all? Is it a reputable firm? It's quite normal to allow a contingency for unforeseen works, but he should have kept you informed of any changes - its not really fair to just dump a bill thats over 50% higher than the quote in your hands.

dave82_2

Its a tough one as you only have an invoice by the sounds of it and no written quote everything was agreed verbally. I would challange him on the 18 days and say you know they only worked 12 and ask is this a mistake on the invoice.

Might be worth posting his breakdown, roughly what area of the country and exactly what has been done to see if anyone thinks his final price is ok or way off.

grantperson

thanks for the response it is very helpfull to get others opinions.

the original quote was to install a thermal store, linked to a log burner and boiler which they have done. They did not do any of the electrics and they have not signed the work off which. there is a fairly long run form the log burner to the thermal store. they installed pumps from the log burner, boiler and to the radiators. The thermal store is capable of adding solar heating pipes at a later date.

i did get a quote from another company and they quoted 12000 which included the log burner 1200, all the electrics, and the solar panels. i wish i had gone with them in the 1st place as they seemed to know a lot more about what they were doing. when the plumber in question said he could do it for slightly less as i worked out without electrics, log burner and solar panels, and he was recommended, i went with him.

dave82_2

If the other quote was for 12k it sounds like 8k might not be that bad! There are a few key issues here though

1. Never allow anyone to start work without a written quote and agreement that any aditional costs will be discussed and explained along the way before they are undertaken.

2. You need to raise the discepincy about the 18 days of work when there was only 12 done. This doesn't need to be an agressive or confrontationalm conversation.

I would say you would like to discuss the invoice as you have a couple of concerns with it. Firstly that it is so much hire than the original estimate (you can't really call it a quote as it wasn't formalised on paper) Secondly you belive there is an error in the charge for 18 days labour when they only worked 12.

If it all works it sounds like 8k might still be resonable however the vast difference in his estimate and final invoice don't seem to be!

themacster

I can't comment on the technicalities of your system, but if they just did the plumbing works, who did the electrics, wood burner and solar panels and what did/will they cost? In what way is it not working as it should and is it an easy job to correct it? They need to be given the opportunity to put the system right so it works properly. If they don't agree to do that, you may be wise to get them to agree to the 12 days in lieu 18, pay the reduced price and cut your losses, maybe ask the other firm back to see if they can rectify things and finish it off.

grantperson

thanks again for all the responses

the log burner cost 1200
the electrics about 700
the solar panels have not been installed but i imagine they would be around 3-4k to install into the system from what i have seen
and to get someone to sign the work off i will need to pay another £200 i imagine. that makes 8000 well over the original companies quote which is why i think i am fair at saying 6k is enough as this is still above what the other company quoted for the work they have completed.

does any one know if the plumber has a legal case to demand more money of me?

thanks again to everybody that has helped

themacster

No he hasn't - in the absence of any evidenced quotation he can only claim what is "fair and reasonable". If he's saying 18 days and it only took 12 he'll have a hard job making that stand up in court - it would be based on how long a competent person would reasonably be expected to take over it plus materials, any plant, overheads and profit.

dave82_2

He could argue that the 18 days is 18 man days of time say 1 man for 6 days and two men for 6 days = 18 man days but only 12 calendar days on site. I would just ask him to explain it.

alexlyne

dave82 wrote: »

He could argue that the 18 days is 18 man days of time say 1 man for 6 days and two men for 6 days = 18 man days but only 12 calendar days on site. I would just ask him to explain it.

or a man day is 7.5 hours, but they were there for 10 hours a day (or pick a figure that would make the sums add up)

Inactive

A quotation for work is fairly useless if it isn't documented.