Help needed with decorator dispute

YankeeDo

Hello everyone,

I am in a quandary and need some opinions on what to do. Several months ago I had 3 different people come to provide me with quotes on having a large painting job done in my house. After reviewing all of the options, I chose a decorator and the work started two weeks ago. This past Friday the decorator says she needs to have a word with me. According to her, she completely misjudged/underestimated how long the job was going to take (there's a large amount of dark wood being painted white - trim, multi-paned doors, cornice, moldings, stairs/spindles, etc along with several rooms having new emulsion...) and estimates it'll take an additional 5 days worth of work to complete the job. So we aren't talking about an extra couple hundred of ££'s, her new estimation is going to add over £1100 to my original quote. She said she isn't prepared to work for free (duh!) and she'll need to buy more white paint than originally estimated as well.

I'm not sure what to do. We have saved / budgeted quite awhile to have this job done and while I don't have that amount of money lurking in my back pocket, I'm also not prepared to not have the job finished, or anger her to the point that it's half completed or done half-arsed.

My quote was in writing, in the form of an email. I hate being stressed out about stupid stuff like this and I'm not good with confrontations! I just wanted some rooms to be painted to make our home look nice, the job was really straight forward, and now I have to deal with this unpleasant situation. Any suggestions or opinions would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

loracan1

Which are quotes and which estimates? You mention both.

YankeeDo

loracan1 wrote: »

Which are quotes and which estimates? You mention both.

Hi, sorry that was my mistake. I didn't mean to use these two words interchangeably - there were no "estimates". The entire job, itemised by room, was quoted for a specific amount of money.

nickj_2

if she has given you a quote then that is the price to pay , unless there are any unforeseen circumstances , an estimate is a rough cost of work to be carried out .
either way , being £1000 out on either a quote or estimate is not good enough . if she has mispriced the job then that is her problem , do not pay anything until the job is finished
if i do a job where there could be problems i tend to price high, it's always easier to tell a customer that the job's taken a couple of days less and i can knock a bit off , any jobs that take longer you have to take on the chin

LEJC

Just out of interest how did her quote compare to the others you got?
I assume you chose this decorator not just based on price...or was the decision to go with her quote because she was substantially cheaper than the other quotes you obtained?

5 days extra work does seem rather a lot to underestimate and I wonder what the other decorators estimated for their timescales

capeverde

YankeeDo wrote: »

Hello everyone,

I am in a quandary and need some opinions on what to do. Several months ago I had 3 different people come to provide me with quotes on having a large painting job done in my house. After reviewing all of the options, I chose a decorator and the work started two weeks ago. This past Friday the decorator says she needs to have a word with me. According to her, she completely misjudged/underestimated how long the job was going to take (there's a large amount of dark wood being painted white - trim, multi-paned doors, cornice, moldings, stairs/spindles, etc along with several rooms having new emulsion...) and estimates it'll take an additional 5 days worth of work to complete the job. So we aren't talking about an extra couple hundred of ££'s, her new estimation is going to add over £1100 to my original quote. She said she isn't prepared to work for free (duh!) and she'll need to buy more white paint than originally estimated as well.

I'm not sure what to do. We have saved / budgeted quite awhile to have this job done and while I don't have that amount of money lurking in my back pocket, I'm also not prepared to not have the job finished, or anger her to the point that it's half completed or done half-arsed.

My quote was in writing, in the form of an email. I hate being stressed out about stupid stuff like this and I'm not good with confrontations! I just wanted some rooms to be painted to make our home look nice, the job was really straight forward, and now I have to deal with this unpleasant situation. Any suggestions or opinions would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

Therein lies the problem. Joking aside, I would offer to pay directly for the extra paint, but insist that she honours the quotation she gave you for the labour, or you will seek to employ another decorator and recover your costs through the small claims court. Offering to pay materials is a way of meeting half way. It isn't your fault that she wasn't experienced enough to know how much time a job would take.

southcoastrgi

is there really more work or is she just slow ?

a quote is a fixed price to do a job unless something un-expected happens, this doesn't apply in your case she has just under priced it, her prob not yours

keystone

YankeeDo wrote: »

and estimates it'll take an additional 5 days worth of work to complete the job. So we aren't talking about an extra couple hundred of ££'s, her new estimation is going to add over £1100 to my original quote.

Even allowing £ 100 for the paint thats £ 200 a day. Give over. If she priced the work at that sort of level then she's got plenty of bunts to suck up some overs TBH.

She said she isn't prepared to work for free (duh!) and she'll need to buy more white paint than originally estimated as well.

Wrong!

I'm not sure what to do. We have saved / budgeted quite awhile to have this job done and while I don't have that amount of money lurking in my back pocket, I'm also not prepared to not have the job finished, or anger her to the point that it's half completed or done half-arsed.

Sounds like its about time she was more professional about it. her mistake. Her problem in a firm price quote scenario. We all make this sort of mistake somewhere along the line (usually right at the start) but as others have said she needs to take it on the chin and stop being prissy about it.

You need to have a reasoned conversation about it (a cuppa and a slice of cake often helps) but don't threaten anything. With a bit of luck she's had the weekend to think about how much of a daft bint she's been firstly at the quotation stage and secondly last Friday.

And don't pay anything until you have a resolution/agreed way forward either. Biggest lever you have and two weeks work already can't be simply flushed down the toilet from a business perspective.

Cheers

keystone

southcoastrgi wrote: »

is there really more work or is she just slow ?

Thought the same myself.

a quote is a fixed price to do a job unless something un-expected happens, this doesn't apply in your case she has just under priced it, her prob not yours

Quite.

Cheers

Leif

And when you speak to her, explain that she got the work because her quote was reasonable. If other quotes were compable, tell her about them. She should honour a quote, unless there is a reasonable excuse, and simply underestimating the work is not reasonable. After all, had she quoted the amended amount, you would never have employed her.

If her quote was cheapest by a lot, and her work is good, then you could take pity on her, on the grounds that you do not want to exploit her. And had you gone for the more expensive chap(ess) the work might not have been so good.

keystone

Leif

Thats very good advice.

Cheers