Charged for more that initially quoted

devotee

Hi this is a follow up from a thread I posted on diy + home section section https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3712551

I thought I better ask here, thanks!

So, I've had a survey, agreed with the S/E that the fees would be no more than 250+vat (no more to me sounds like it might be less?), so on that basis they were charging me an hourly rate of 75ph. I got that in email.

The guy came, stayed for 15-20 mins, looked at the proposed door openings and left. Got a letter back written in gobbledygook with the ready made sheets of lintels info, the lintels I needed were ticked and that was it.

So this morning the bill arrives to......393.75 +vat.... a grand total of 472.50!!!!! 5.25hours of work!

Now he's charging me for emails before I appointed him! The letter was one page long, so let's say it took him half an hour to type. His office is close by. Where are the other hours???

I called to speak to the person who actually sent me the invoice to dispute it. I emailed the surveyor's original quote so I expect a callback.

Really, can they do this? And what can I actually do?

If I were to quote people for a job as in it would be no more than 300, then it simply implies that it will either be 300 or less? What do other people think?

ThumbRemote

Realistically, if you pay the originally agreed price, he's going to have to pursue you for the rest. This is likely to depend on whether he thinks he has a good case.

If you've got a price in an email, and nothing else has changed, tell them where to stick the increase!

devotee

Thanks! It's a relief!

I actually expected to be invoiced for less than £250, so imagine my surprise to receive a bill for almost double that!