Dispute over plumbing charges (sorry so long)

Morricl

My OH is a plumber. He has been plumber for Mr C for 5 years. Recently Mr C commissioned OH to do extensive work on adaptation of property and agreed price verbally beforehand. This was £150 per day @ £18.75 per hour. OH sent bill but he felt price was too steep so reduced it to £17.50 per hour. I have advised him to jobs for total cost but he and many of the customers prefer this hourly rate. So he sends a bill for £980 with breakdown of hours done so far - interim bill as large job.

He gets letter this morning from Mr C Senior (who turns out is paying not Mr C Jnr : "I consider your charge of £17.50 to be excessive at £35,000 per year for a basic 40 hour week. This is more than twice what I pay some men or earn myself. Two builders quoted me £15 per hour for tradesmen to whom they presumably pay £14 which I consider to be reasonable. The price of houses is falling so higher wages cannot be paid. There is a bad time coming for everyone. I enclose my cheque for £840 which I trust you will accept as above the local rate."

So he has decided to pay my OH £140 below the bill. The cheek is unbelievable. :eek:. OH says he does not want to go through Small Claims but will bank cheque and refuse to go back and finish job - in writing. Any comments gratefully received.

steve1980

If he banks the cheque then he accepts the payment made to him and contractually has to finish the job.

You need to think about whether it's worth going through the hassle of the small claims route. Also was there any contract signed to confirm rates of pay at the outset, if not then he doesn't have a leg to stand on.

C_Mababejive

his man accepted the quotation and as long as the invoices are in line with that quote then they still stnad. The other person needs to mind his own business and stop making invalid arguments which have nothing to do with this verbal contract. OH should not take the payment but should return it with a coering letter stating that his charges are as quoted. If the job is incomplete,he may wish to meet the person whom he is doing the work for to discuss further,clarify and record on paper what has already been agreed.

Do not accept this situation. Litigate if necessary.

Morricl

No there was not any contract signed to confirm rates of pay at the outset. Steve when you say "If he banks the cheque then he accepts the payment made to him and contractually has to finish the job." - has invoiced for works done so far not for the remainder of the work - does this make a difference?

Morricl

He is worried that if he does not take this payment he will not get anything at all. OH dislikes confrontation or hassle and does not want to go to court. He said this job would be trouble from onset and he wants out.

hippyadam

Your OH needs to write to Mr C Snr stating he accepts the cheque as part payment and will bank it accordingly. That leaves your OH the option to collect the remainder when the work is finished...

Or if it were me, i would bank the cheque and leave it at that. Getting the remaining £140 is bound to be a nightmare by the sounds of it...

Morricl

hippyadam - he's not bothered about the £140. He wants to bank the cheque and end the contract. In my opinion the customer has defaulted on the verbal contract and my husband should be able to withdraw but l don't know if legally he can do this or not and with no written contract it is difficult............... He does have previous invoices paid by Mr C Jnr.

steve1980

Morricl wrote: »

no written contract it is difficult

This is the issue, it's one persons word against the other.

Jowo_2

Morricl wrote: »

hippyadam - he's not bothered about the £140. He wants to bank the cheque and end the contract. In my opinion the customer has defaulted on the verbal contract and my husband should be able to withdraw but l don't know if legally he can do this or not and with no written contract it is difficult............... He does have previous invoices paid by Mr C Jnr.

A verbal agreement isn't worth the paper it's written on, is one phrase I've heard about this. Previous invoices are irrelevant.

He risks being taken to court by the client for not finishing the work. I wouldn't commit this course of action (saying he won't come back and finish the job) in writing as that's merely providing the stingy client with evidence about the verbal contract!

Your OH should learn a lesson from this and always provide a written quote that the customer signs to say they accept before commencing work.

I think the client's father is cheeky to refuse to pay on the grounds that he thinks it ought to have because it's more than other people charge - he ought to have sorted out a cheaper workman, then!

Also, it's the person who commissioned the work that's the client, I would guess, not the interfering parent who is picking up the bill?!

paddyrg

BTW your OH has my sympathy for dealing with a complete a'hole. Just make sure he is paid for the work he has done, and leave them to make alternative arrangements for finishing/snagging if required. You quoted and delivered a service to a price. If the client didn't want that service/price, they shouldn't have contracted your OH. If they think they can retrospectively decide a price because they can get it cheaper elsewhere, we're all out of a job as some useless guffer will do a shoddy job for a fiver an hour.

firstinflight

An oral contract is just as binding as a written one. Obviously though, it becomes difficult because there's no record of the agreement.

The contract was to carry out the agreed work for the agreed price. Mr C Sr does not appear to be disputing the hours worked, just the hourly rate. In fact he seems to acknowledge that £17.50 was the rate agreed by his son, and furthermore if the prior invoices paid by the son are at £17.50ph then this is further evidence that this was the agreed rate. By paying at a lower rate than agreed, Mr C Jr has breached the contract.

Banking the cheque as part payment for the invoice does not create any obligation to finish the job, as the other side is already in breach by not paying the agreed price for work done to date.

The contract is with Mr C Jr, not his father. Bank the cheque, then send Mr C Jr an acknowledgement, along with an invoice for the outstanding balance, stating that work will not continue until the outstanding balance is cleared.

Of course, it's not actually worth trying to persue the £140 so just walk away and for goodness' sake get things in writing next time!