Plumber Invoice 2 years late.

Yan

So 2 years ago I finished renovating my house. As part of this work I had a plumber do some plumbing. He was rather difficult to work with coming and going at strange times never easy to get in when I really needed to, despite nearly at times dumping him for another plumber he eventually got the work done minus the last remaining small job to fit the perminant soil stack at the rear of the property, currently we've got a temporary grey plastic one.

Two years have gone by and he just called mentioning he hasnt invoiced me yet, im like erm ye you havnt how much do you need? He said he didnt know and would have to work it out so im like 'erm ok' and just awaiting his invoice now.

Theres a few things up wtih this.

• Firstly its 2 years late! When he did the work I kept saying, i need to know how much this is going to cost etc as he really hadnt given me any clear idea at the time.
• Secondly I'm not happy with the job he did, always unreliable and hard to get on site
• Thirdly I've no idea what hes going to charge me and what if he charges too much!
• And lastly I'm currently in the process of moving and do not have funds available to pay any large bills.

So does he have a leg to fall back on asking for payment this late and do I have a leg to stand on in terms of arguing any invoice he produces?

p.s. the toilet he fitted as part of the work is leaking from the cistern feed and was fixed to the floor with cealent that has come loose, pretty shoddy work.

Meepster

He has 6 years to claim payment...

bengalknights

AS above he does have 6 years to claim the money, if you can dig out the quotes etc then he shouldnt charge you more than that plus while the invoice is outstanding you could get him to do correction work before making payment.

keystone

Firstly as others have already stated the debt would not become statute barred until 6 years have passed (cheques are valid for 6 years under the same law despite the fact that most people think its only 6 months and that it is bank practice to reject if over 6 months) so you are legally obliged to settle the invoice once you have received it. You may be lucky and on previous form he leaves it another 4 years before doing anything in which case you wil be in the clear. Don't hold your breath though.

Secondly you need to give him the opportunity, on a one time basis only and within a stated fixed timescale (say 2 weeks) to complete the work to a satisfactory standard or you reserve the right to negotiate the invoice.

Thirdly whether he has completed the work or not he IS entitled to be paid for what he has done (subject to the 6 year rule above). So you cannot arbitrarily decide that you will not pay any or all of the invoice despite its lateness.

So you should write to him (not email and not phone) preferably by signed4 (recorded) delivery giving him a time limit to complete the work and submit his invoice.

HTH

Cheers

1984ReturnsForReal_2

Tough luck.

Pay him.

vax2002

I would just remind him, the reason he did not invoice was because he vanished and did not complete the contract.

docmatt

You've had 2 years to get him back and rectify any work you wern't happy with.

All you can do is pay the invoice.

Yorkie1

Yes you cannot get out of paying for his work as others have said, but wait until the invoice arrives. Check what it covers. If he's included stuff which he didn't complete or didn't do properly then you have room for negotiation - perhaps either knock off what it will cost to fix or ensure he fixes it to your satisfaction before you pay it.

I'm not sure about the VAT position - if he's included it in relation to goods purchased or work carried out - whether it should be at the rate when the items were bought / installed etc, and work was done, rather than the date of invoice (i.e. if the applicable rates of VAT have changed in the meantime). For example, if he bought something 2 years ago and paid VAT at 17.5%, whether he should invoice you for that, or at VAT 20%.

Also reflect on whether he's charging you at his current daily work rate or at the rate which was valid / quoted on 2 years ago. I wouldn't have thought he could make a profit on you simply by delaying his invoice.

macman

You've had the work done with 2 years interest free credit-so what are you complaining about?
If some aspects of the work are unsatisfactory then you've had had 2 years to contact him about it.
If you did not agree a firm price for the job then you can hardly complain now.

keystone

Yorkie1 wrote: »

I'm not sure about the VAT position

OP doesn't get to pay VAT twice.

If he was unregistered for VAT then the VAT was paid when the goods were purchased, contractor hasn't claimed it back and it won't affect the OP.

If he remains unregistered for VAT now the same obtains for materials purchased at the time and it still won't affect the OP.

If he was unregistered for VAT at the time the quote was given and VAT was not mentioned on the quote then the quote is deemed to have included VAT if chargeable.

If he is currently registered for VAT (or was then) then HMRC will expect to receive VAT at todays rate for an invoice raised now because that is what counts. The contractor has no choice because he cannot backdate the invoice as it would have to have been shown in his accounts as an asset two years ago (and probably written off as a bad debt last year) and he would have had to have paid any VAT due to HMRC for the tax year concerned irrespective of whether he had received payment against the invoice.

If he is registered for VAT then the OPs invoice should show it at 20% and he should pay it at that level. Of course the contractor could be nice (considering tis his incompetance here) and discount the invoice such that the OP would not have to pay any more in pure £ terms than he would have done 2 years ago. But then the contractor will be out of pocket to the tune of 2½% - tough on him..

Also reflect on whether he's charging you at his current daily work rate or at the rate which was valid / quoted on 2 years ago. I wouldn't have thought he could make a profit on you simply by delaying his invoice.

Under no circumstances should the OP accept an invoice based on hours worked at todays daily rate. He should pay no more than the (net of VAT) total of the quote of two years ago.

Cheers