Being taken to small claims - advice

freyamae

I posted a couple of weeks ago about our kitchen and floor fitter adding additional charges to his final bill that we are disputing. I far as I was concerned I was asking for a quote whereas he insists it was an estimate. At each email exchange he has contradicted himself and now insists we've have been charged at far lower than his normal daily rate and he cannot go any lower. We have paid the original amount agreed already and offered to pay 50% of what he is asking as a good will gesture but he has refused.

It is now 8 days after his final demand and he has informed us he will be taking us to smalll claims. I honestly find it doubtful he will win as the judge will be able to see I have been reasonable and challenged these additional costs. Any advice on how I can best prepare my case and what sort of things I need to include.

DoaM

It's difficult to prepare a defence before a claim is even made ... and I suspect that's all it was. Has he sent you a Letter Before Action? (Whilst not mandatory, it's expected to have been sent prior to a claim being raised, and a judge may look less kindly at a claimant - especially a business - that doesn't follow procedure).

You'll know what you need IF a claim is raised and you receive the particulars of claim. In the meantime file and index all your evidence and correspondence.

I suspect you'll not receive a claim and it's just a threat to try and coerce you into paying him what he wants. How much are we talking about? (The claim would be the amount he's looking for, plus the claim filing fee and hearing fee [if it got that far], plus minor reasonable costs - up to maybe £100. If he did claim and lost then you wouldn't pay anything - in fact HE would have to pay YOU your reasonable costs - again up to £100. [Costs have to be accounted for - stationery, postage, loss of wages for attending a hearing]).

SouthUKMan

Try not to worry about it. What's the very worst thing that can happen? The alleged 'tradesperson' is awarded a few hundred pounds and costs - which are quite limited through the small claims court. You already know what he's after, it's a few hundred quid (ok, money is tight for me - but it's still hardly the end of the world!). The very best scenario is that you walk out of court with a clear conscience and proven to be right.

A couple of quick thoughts to ponder. It seems that the central point to your case is whether you were provided with a quote or an estimate. In the eyes of the law (while the customer does have to accept a certain amount of responsibility), the onus is on the tradesperson to be the knowledgeable 'partner'. You, as the customer, are not expected to have any specialist knowledge. The tradesperson has an obligation to be clear from the start whether he provided a quote or an estimate.

On this note - although it is a bit like bolting the stable door after the horse has bolted - I would be very tempted to ring round a dozen or so kitchen fitters in your region and ask them if they provide quotes or estimates when they price jobs. Make a clear record of what business you called, when you called, who you spoke to and what their answer was. What I'm getting at here is if for example 11 out of 12 fitters said "we always provide quotes and in fact it is industry practice to do so", then you might be able to use this in your own defence because you had a "reasonable expectation that you were being provided with a quote". It's a bit weak... but everything helps

steampowered

The judge would look at the email exchange from the perspective of a 'reasonable person' to decide whether the quote/estimate was fixed or not.

If the quote/estimate was not fixed, the tradesman would be entitled to a reasonable sum for the work, and the judge would have to decide what a reasonable sum would be.

It doesn't really matter what you thought or he thought. It only matters what a reasonable observer would think.

m0bov

Easy, what did the paperwork say when he gave you the quote/estimate?

freyamae

Thanks everyone I haven't received a letter before action as yet. The original conversation was " I will do it for £2500" I have an email which is labelled kitchen quote, he only mentioned estimate after I questions the invoice. The first invoice was £3377 then when we sent a consumer act template letter from citizens advice with full and final payment he suddenly realised he had made a mistake with his costings and sent a revised and much more official in once for £3077. I have offered a compromise of £300 just to finish this but he has refused so the amount he is taking to court for is £577. Its not that I can't afford it, its that I don't agree with what he is charging for and the fact he never mentioned this costs prior to finishing. We have several tradesmen around lately as we have had an extension and everyone else has been paid what we owed in full with no issues.

arcon5

He made a final demand for payment and said he'll take you to court otherwise. That's pretty much your letter before action. Small claims court isn't rigid and the mere fact it isn't titled such will have no impact on the outcome. Even him not sending that will have no impact on the outcome, it will just effect whether court costs are awarded or not if he wins, but that's not the case here

freyamae

arcon5 wrote: »

He made a final demand for payment and said he'll take you to court otherwise.

No he made a final demand for payment and then when that time was up told us he was taking us to court afterwards.