Fence the wrong height

forumuser1665

Hello. I am after a bit of advice regarding a bit of fencing work we've had done at our house (which we own...maybe stating the obvious but I thought it was worth saying).

A week ago, I had a verbal quote from a fencing firm who visited the house. We talked about the height of the fence and I stressed I wanted it as tall as allowed - we agreed six ft x six ft panels with a gravel board underneath. I had a further conversation on the phone a few days later where we again talked about the height of the fence panels being six ft, and that I'd like them to go ahead and book our work in. We agreed verbally on the price.

The written quote never actually arrived as two nights ago I got a text message saying they'd had a cancellation and could do the job the next day (i.e. yesterday).

They duly turned up the following day, but this time the guy who'd done the quote and I'd spoken to on the phone was not present. I made sure they were set up with access and electricity source, and went to work. When I came back last night I noticed the fence panels were 5ft tall.

I have had a conversation with them this morning, and the claim is that they checked yesterday morning with me about the "total height" of the fence, but I do not recall the conversation, and certainly the word "total" was not used. Nothing was clearly discussed by way of checking anyway - in my mind the work to be done was already agreed and if necessary they could check with the other guy, or ask me to confirm what had been agreed the previous week.

It is possible he said "six foot?" to which I may have said yes, but there was no clarity as I would have been talking about the fence panels' height and he would have been talking about the total height. I am certain that I did not hear the word "total" at any point.

Now I don't want to be the awkward customer, but I'm in the situation where I have to accept something I didn't want, or I have to insist that they do it again as agreed. I feel sorry for them in that the standard of their workmanship is unquestionable, but there has been a breakdown in communication and I am not at fault. I would just like what was asked for in the first place.

Does anyone have an opinion? Is there another way this could be resolved?

Mojisola

forumuser1665 wrote: »

A week ago, I had a verbal quote from a fencing firm who visited the house. We talked about the height of the fence and I stressed I wanted it as tall as allowed - we agreed six ft x six ft panels with a gravel board underneath.

A fence should be a maximum of 2m - a 6' panel and a gravel board would be higher than this.

forumuser1665

I perhaps should have clarified we were replacing a short stretch (2.5 panels) on a corner which had been damaged by wind. The majority of the fence was still standing and is gravel board plus 6ft panels all the way along the side of the house.

The panels that were damaged were much higher and the agreement was that they would tie in with the rest of the existing fence.

Mojisola

https://www.planningportal.co.uk/info/200130/common_projects/20/fences_gates_and_garden_walls

You will need to apply for planning permission if you wish to erect or add to a fence, wall or gate and:
it would be over 1 metre high and next to a highway used by vehicles (or the footpath of such a highway); or over 2 metres high elsewhere;

forumuser1665

That says that we do not need to apply for planning permission if we are maintaining an existing fence, as long as we don't increase its height. The height of the fence is coming down as it was around 8ft-9ft tall before. I don't think we have an issue regarding planning permission.

forumuser1665

In any case, a six-inch gravel board would be an option if we did have to stay under two metres. This isn't what the question is about - it's not what was agreed is the point. :-)

Ganga

Well if the original fence is 6ft with gravel boards and the new replacement fence is only 5ft with gravel boards it will look bad,surely the fencing contractor must have noticed this when they started.
I would make them make good,can they listen back to the phone calls you made previous?

forumuser1665

It does look obviously wrong. It was discussed at length when doing the original quote that it should all be the same height. I'm disappointed that I wasn't around to look at it as I would have said something at an earlier stage, but I had gone to work before they even started digging holes for the posts.

Good idea about listening back to calls. The way it was left is that the one who installed is going to check with the one who quoted, where they will surely see 6ft panels on their notes. When they will call back if there's still a dispute I will suggest they listen to their calls if they can.

Mojisola

forumuser1665 wrote: »

It was discussed at length when doing the original quote that it should all be the same height.

If you clearly said this, then it is a mistake by the fencer - whether they would be wiling to correct it or try to fight it is another matter.

keith969

Have you paid them? If not, then you can refuse until they put things right.

forumuser1665

I haven't paid yet. I am open to suggestion and I do feel bad for them as this is an honest mistake. I'm mainly looking to see what advice people have and find out how others would act in this situation. This is definitely an honest mistake, and I would like to give them more business when the rest of the fence needs replacement in a few years, so I don't want to be nasty at all.