Advice on Service Payment of Bill

Learning_Curve

Hello, I hope this is the right forum to post this on.

Just looking for some advice. We have a damp problem in our house which has grown after we had a porch installed several years ago. We'd had a couple of workmen subsequently point out in passing, features of the porch that hadn't been done properly, so both these factors led us to fear the porch was substandard and affecting the main house damp-wise.

I sought out a local damp surveyor, they told me their hourly rate, which I thought was extortionate, so I said in my reply that I felt sure he could do the survey within an hour.

When he came, he was vague and seemed unsure on certain things and said he would go away and think about it more. When he had finished looking round he spent a 10-15 minutes explaining his thoughts to me and I asked a couple of questions. I didn't think anything about this at the time. He was at our house for maximum 45 minutes including his explanation. He said he would write up his findings and send it. His secretary emailed and said his report would be on it's way and what the fee would be for the time. I told her I was expecting it to be less.

When the report arrived, it was one of those ones which wasted significant space on describing irrelevant things, all I had wanted (which I was crystal clear in the initial email to his company as I went into detail explaining the issue) was to know whether the installation of the porch was responsible for the damp. The upshot of his approximately 3 page report was that most of the damp issue was condensation and recommended a shower extractor with a couple of other issues causing minor damp that he couldn't be certain about.

With his report he enclosed a standard schedule of charges listing rates and it had different hourly rates for different staff. He was signed off as a building surveyor and I had never been told any differently, the rate for building surveyors was significantly less than the one they were charging me. The rate they were charging me is for a director. At no time had they told me they had different rates for different levels of staff or told me he was a director. They had told me their rate and naturally I assumed this was a single going rate they charged as a company. They didn't tell me that typing the report (which obviously is typed by their admin) would be classed as the surveyors time, maybe I'm naive but I thought the fee was just the time he was surveying and because he gave me a verbal explanation which was straightforward, I assumed the report would be a single page letter anyway. I assumed therefore, that an hour would cover it all.

I emailed them and explained I felt the availability of different rates of staff should have been explained, that I was expecting it to be charged as an hour's work also and I offered to pay £30 odd pounds less than they were billing, as a midway point between what I should have been charged according to their schedule of charges and what they were asking.

I got a terse email back neither explaining, or apologising for none of their shortcomings and asking that I paid by the due date.

I have been trying to look up trades descriptions which doesn't appear to apply in this case and found there is something called the Consumer Rights Act but I can't seem to ascertain if this sort of thing is covered.

I feel they have been a bit dishonest, yes they told me their rate but did not tell me there were other rates available and I had said I expected it to be an hour's work, I didn't find out their final fee until afterwards.

Is it reasonable to offer a midway sum between the two? I see here: https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/consumer-rights-act

It says:

"Where the price is not agreed beforehand, the service must be provided for a reasonable price.

If the service you’re provided doesn’t satisfy these criteria, you’re entitled to the following remedies under the Consumer Rights Act:

The trader should either redo the element of the service that's inadequate, or perform the whole service again at no extra cost to you, within a reasonable time and without causing you significant inconvenience.

Or, in circumstances where the repeat performance is impossible, or can’t be done within a reasonable time or without causing significant inconvenience, you can claim a price reduction. Depending on how severe the failings are, this could be up to 100% of the cost, and the trader should refund you within 14 days of agreeing that you're entitled to a refund."

I personally think I am being pretty generous, because according to their paperwork I should be paying less than what I am offering.

Please could I have peoples' thoughts to know what the majority think? Many thanks.

agrinnall

My thought is that your post is too long for people to bother reading. If you want to leave all the detail in then do, but put a short version at the start.

Learning_Curve

Not quite sure how I could shorten it, there is vital information needed for people to give a considered response. I've found in the past when people ask me to shorten things and then I do they have countless questions, so I end up wishing I'd added more detail!

dj1471

I can't digest all of that either.

But fundamentally they can't charge anything they didn't make you aware of in advance. It sounds like you booked at a distance, in which case they should have given you T&Cs relating to the contract in a durable medium (email or paper). It sounds like they didn't do this.

Personally I'd pay what was agreed and let them start court action for the remainder - it doesn't sound like they have a leg to stand on.

Learning_Curve

Thanks, although they would say that they told me the hourly rate and I accepted it. On the face of it that's true, but doesn't account for the fact that they misled me over other rates being available, what the surveyor's role was, ignores that it was clear I expected it to be done in an hour (and it seems they have padded things out). If I pay what I offered, it's about £30 less than they are requiring. I know people can't say for sure either way, but is it likely he'd sue for that kind of amount? Does anyone know the Consumer Act well? Thanks again.

Learning_Curve

(No, you're right, they didn't give me any T&Cs up front and it was booked over email).

dj1471

You asked for the hourly rate, they should have given you the rate that would apply to your specific contract. You didn't book a director, you booked a surveyor. There is no basis for charging you a higher rate.

The cost of the report is not clear-cut. It's not unreasonable for them to charge for the time taken to produce it, how much time are they trying to bill for?

Given the court fee is £25 and they're not guaranteed to win I think it's unlikely they'd go beyond sending threatening letters for £30.

Learning_Curve

Thanks. They did give me a specific rate, they would argue. I have just checked the wording in their email and they say "The surveyor’s fee is charged at an hourly rate" and this is not the same rate as on their schedule of costs. There is a difference of £20 per hour. They are billing for one and a half hours at the higher rate. I calculated that the rate I should be being charged, even at 1.5 hours, is still less than I am offering (hence the midway point offer) compared to their higher rate. Appreciate the advice on the court fee as I didn't know that. If I didn't say so before, also their fees are not listed on their website. So it seems an unfair basis to do business, not transparent.