Kitchen fitter charging 3 times original quote - help!

Holly_148

Update 23/05/2019


So there have been a few developments since my original post, so thought I'd share...


We wrote a letter to him at the end of April detailing our version of events and making an offer of settlement for the work that we reasonably believed was additional - £600.00
We also asked to see a copy of the BS safety certificate for the electrical work carried out - once we'd seen this, we would then be prepared to offer a settlement for this additional work - £1,200.00


We have only just recieved a response, which is from a solicitor that he's instructed to act on his behalf. This states that the letter was an attempt 'not to pay' - which is completely inaccurate, we have tried to make an offer of settlement. Plus it completely ignores our request for the electrical safety certificate.


I feel like this is another attempt to intimidate us into paying. I am now in the process of instructing a solicitor on our behalf as I feel we have no choice.


If my partner and I had a shadow of a doubt that we were in the wrong, then we would just pay it. But I strongly believe that he has been dishonest, treated us unfairly and has not acted in a professional manner what so ever. Therefore, if he were to take us to court, I believe we'd have a strong leg to stand on.


Wish us luck!!


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Hi,
I’m new to this forum so please be kind!
I’m looking for some help and advice...

My partner and I bought a kitchen from Wickes and bath suite. Wickes had quoted us £2,200 to fit the kitchen.
We spoke to our plumber about fitting the bathroom suite and he mentioned he could also do the kitchen as well for £3,000 - regrettably we didn’t get this quote in writing (which I’m now kicking myself for!)

We showed him the kitchen plans and advised him of what bathroom suite we’d purchased ready for him to start the work.

Half way through the work he asked for £3,000 in cash as he needed to pay the carpenter who was fitting the oak worktops. Which we paid him.

The work took much longer than expected. He started in December and didn’t finish until mid February. As he was fitting us in around other jobs, which he’d not made clear that this would be the case. Anyway, we were patient and let that go as we felt he was doing a thorough job.

He did keep mentioning that it would likely cost a bit more as he was having to carefully fit the units as the walls weren’t straight. But never at any point did he mention a price.

Today, nearly 5 months since the original quote, he’s now given us a bill for an extra £6,200 - on top of the £3,000 we’ve already paid and we’re quoted for.

I’m at a loss as to what to do... if he’d mentioned that it would likely cost significant more, at least 3 times the original quote then we would have asked him to stop the work!

I have no idea where we stand from a legal or consumer rights point of view. Any help or advice would be much appreciated as I’m tearing my hair out with worry!

Thanks

keith969

So your plumber said he'd fit the bathroom *and* the kitchen for £3000 - or did you mean he'd fit the kitchen for £3000 plus whatever for the bathroom?

£3k for fitting worktops sounds way over the top. Have you asked him for a breakdown of all the costs?

Chrishazle

Remind him that he gave you a quote, not an estimate. There's a significant difference, as a quote is a binding fixed price for a job, whereas an estimate is precisely that! Years ago I had a written quote to install some hifi stuff, it was not as simple as they thought, they sent me a larger bill which I refused as they'd given me a quote. I won without problem! However, if there are significant differences between the work quoted for - for example you amended the scope after the quote had been given - it would be more difficult to fight.

Holly_148

Thanks for your replies.

He quoted a total of £3,000 for the plumbing of the bathroom and fitting the kitchen.

It’s a rather small kitchen, gally style in a Victorian terrace. The kitchen itself cost £6500 so he’s charging us more to fit it than what we bought it for!

He has sent an itemised bill totalling £6,200 but has not stated what the £3,000 in cash we originally paid him has covered. It just seems ridiculous though, for example he’s charged £400 for installing one plug socket!

Only thing I’m concerned about is that we didn’t get the original quote in writing... it was done verbally. Which upon reflection, seems odd that as a professional he didn’t provide.

EssexExile

Have you only paid the £3000?
Is all the work done?

If yes & yes then you seem to have the upper hand.

JimmyChanga

Looks like he's trying it on. Dodgy tradesmen will see what a customer can wear. And since you've been patient with him over 3 months he thinks you're a soft touch.

I'm sure he declares all the cash in his tax return too. HMRC will be interested. :-)

Simply tell him that the final price is not as agreed. And that you are taking legal advice. Don't pay him a penny more.

All houses have uneven walls. That's standard when fitting kitchens. He's just trying to pull the wool over your eyes.

Fire_Fox

Holly_148 wrote: »

Hi,
I’m new to this forum so please be kind!
I’m looking for some help and advice...

My partner and I bought a kitchen from Wickes and bath suite. Wickes had quoted us £2,200 to fit the kitchen. We spoke to our plumber about fitting the bathroom suite and he mentioned he could also do the kitchen as well for £3,000 - regrettably we didn’t get this quote in writing (which I’m now kicking myself for!)

We showed him the kitchen plans and advised him of what bathroom suite we’d purchased ready for him to start the work.

Half way through the work he asked for £3,000 in cash as he needed to pay the carpenter who was fitting the oak worktops. Which we paid him.

The work took much longer than expected. He started in December and didn’t finish until mid February. As he was fitting us in around other jobs, which he’d not made clear that this would be the case. Anyway, we were patient and let that go as we felt he was doing a thorough job.

He did keep mentioning that it would likely cost a bit more as he was having to carefully fit the units as the walls weren’t straight. But never at any point did he mention a price.

Today, nearly 5 months since the original quote, he’s now given us a bill for an extra £6,200 - on top of the £3,000 we’ve already paid and we’re quoted for.

I’m at a loss as to what to do... if he’d mentioned that it would likely cost significant more, at least 3 times the original quote then we would have asked him to stop the work!

I have no idea where we stand from a legal or consumer rights point of view. Any help or advice would be much appreciated as I’m tearing my hair out with worry!

Thanks

Welcome to MSE.

If the final invoice is not reasonable for the amount of work carried out by professionals you can - indeed should - formally dispute it. But please be very careful about your terminology and phraseology.

Your language here clearly indicates that you received a verbal estimate not a fixed price quote. Quotes are not mentioned, quotes are not neat round numbers, quotes do not increase based upon forseeable issues like walls that are not perfectly flat. It makes no sense that you paid the full amount, in cash, halfway through the job, for one tradesman.

I apologise if this reads as overly harsh. But I would rather I picked up on this now, than it be used against you by a rogue tradesman or their legal advisor.

Holly_148

That is really helpful advice thank you - will make sure to take that on board!

We made it very clear we wanted a quote for the job, never did we ask for an estimate. And we spoke at length about the quote Wickes had given us of £2,200 so we felt he was trying to help us out by offering to plumb the bathroom and do the kitchen for £3,000 inclusive.

As we’ve never paid for such work before (this is our first home) neither of us knew that quotes couldn’t be round numbers, nor did we think about getting this quote in writing... he had done work for us before on our boiler so naively felt we trusted him.

My partner called him last night and he was incredibly aggressive and actually threatened to come round and rip the kitchen out!!

My partner is calling citizens advice today to try and get some more advice so we’ll see what they say.

Thanks everyone for your replies, you’ve made me feel a lot better!

HHarry

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Welcome to MSE.

If the final invoice is not reasonable for the amount of work carried out by professionals you can - indeed should - formally dispute it. But please be very careful about your terminology and phraseology.

Your language here clearly indicates that you received a verbal estimate not a fixed price quote. Quotes are not mentioned, quotes are not neat round numbers, quotes do not increase based upon forseeable issues like walls that are not perfectly flat. It makes no sense that you paid the full amount, in cash, halfway through the job, for one tradesman.

I apologise if this reads as overly harsh. But I would rather I picked up on this now, than it be used against you by a rogue tradesman or their legal advisor.

Of couse quotes can be round numbers. And the price can change - but only with advance notice and careful consultation with the Customer.

I agree though that arguing this was a quote not an estimate is going to be tricky.

Alfrescodave

Holly_148 wrote: »

Thanks for your replies.

He quoted a total of £3,000 for the plumbing of the bathroom and fitting the kitchen.

He has sent an itemised bill totalling £6,200 but has not stated what the £3,000 in cash we originally paid him has covered. It just seems ridiculous though, for example he’s charged £400 for installing one plug socket!

Is it possible that the £3000 cash payment is included in the £6200 total? and that it is an accounting error - I've got my optimistic head on here.
Could you provide more of the itemised bill details so that people can offer advice as to where he has potentially overcharged you. This could be helpful to you if and when you go down the legal route, which appears to be a strong possibility.

scumboss

It is no surprise he is coming back for more. 3k to fit a kitchen and a bathroom. That sounds incredibly cheap. To give you an example I've had my kitchen just done and that was 9k - labour only. It is a large kitchen mind which involved a knock through. I'm currently having my bathroom done and that's 3.2k, again labour only.

Do you have legal cover with your home insurance? It might be worth giving them a ring.