Client threatening to sue me for 'damages' caused during work

Ineedadviceman101

Initial post removed for confidentiality reasons.

Many thanks to those who have responded and offered great advice.

Manxman_in_exile

You could try asking a proper locksmith what would be a reasonable quote for this kind of thing.


I know my MiL had a UPVC door and the locking mechanism was really complicated.


Didn't your (ex) client seek a quote for the work the other guy did? I certainly would have!


It's not clear to me that you have any liability - but I may be wholly wrong.

photome

can you claim on your insurance


IMO you are liable but the customer had a duty to keep the costs reasonable, they may have been able to get a new door fitted for less than that

neilmcl

Do you not have PI Insurance?

scd3scd4

I don't think my new composite door cost much more with fitting.

bris

UPVC doors, I fix them all the time.


Part Between £40-£120, labour between 1 and 4 hours.


Your customer got ripped off by a rogue locksmith, you hear about these con men all the time.


The customer needed to shop about but instead paid way way over the odds. The courts know this.


Even if he did have a case he failed to mitigate the loss. Given the fact it was already a faulty door he doesn't have much of a case in the first place.


Your defence is simple, the problem was not in your area of expertise so you recommended a specialist in these doors. It no longer your problem.

Les79

bris wrote: »

Even if he did have a case he failed to mitigate the loss. Given the fact it was already a faulty door he doesn't have much of a case in the first place.


Your defence is simple, the problem was not in your area of expertise so you recommended a specialist in these doors. It no longer your problem.

Agree with you on the mitigation of loss point.


But not entirely convinced that it is a simple defence here... The problem was "during a routine lock change on a door, (old plastic door) a lock became lodged in the door as something may have slipped in the mechanism" - so it has come about due to the work carried out by OP. There seems to be a missing step of determining that an inherent fault already existed to absolve OP from responsibility (And/or the reason why OP didn't notice beforehand and refuse to carry out work on it)


I'm no expert mind you, so would suggest to OP that they go and get some proper advice because, depending on the specifics, liability could or could not be with OP here.

photome

bris wrote: »

UPVC doors, I fix them all the time.


Part Between £40-£120, labour between 1 and 4 hours.


Your customer got ripped off by a rogue locksmith, you hear about these con men all the time.


The customer needed to shop about but instead paid way way over the odds. The courts know this.


Even if he did have a case he failed to mitigate the loss. Given the fact it was already a faulty door he doesn't have much of a case in the first place.


Your defence is simple, the problem was not in your area of expertise so you recommended a specialist in these doors. It no longer your problem.

why was he doing the job in the first place then


he should have told the customer that and not started the job

scd3scd4

Have you a copy of the invoice to show work, parts and labour?

shaun_from_Africa

bris wrote: »

Your defence is simple, the problem was not in your area of expertise so you recommended a specialist in these doors. It no longer your problem.

Are you saying that any self employed person could start a job, then when that job went wrong, simply walk away with the excuse "Not my area of expertise mate, best you get a professional in to fix what I have done"?

What the OP should have done is to arrange (and pay for) a specialist to complete the job that they had started.

askmeaboutsofas

£800? Is the PVC repair guy a friend of theirs? Have they shown you a copy of the receipt? Has the door even been repaired, or are they just telling you that you owe them £800? Somebody is being ripped off here, before you get stuck into it try to find out whether it's you or your customer that's the victim.

If you have insurance, let them deal with it.
If you don't, you really need insurance! Talk to a few other local businesses who do specialise in PVC doors, and get a price from them for the job. Then inform the customer that you'll pay them that amount. If they want to take you to court at that point you should be fine, because you've already done the reasonable thing.
In future, don't start work on things you can't fix if they go wrong. And make sure you have insurance, because it can get very expensive - much more than £800 - if you mess up in someone's house.