Extra invoice from builder 6 months after final invoices

Caroline_B

Building work completed last year, final invoicing paid in November & now payment of a new invoice is being demanded.

I had building work completed on my house last summer. The invoices submitted didn't match the original quotes, so I asked for clarifications. I was charged extra for various things (some valid) but I had also reduced the scope during the work, so I was also expecting reductions. Some work was shoddy & not as expected. The builder would not explain the invoices to me e.g.. I asked for a breakdown of materials vs labour and he would not split these out. The electrics invoice, for example, was a total figure & he would not tell me the day rate they had used. He used different terms on the quote vs the invoices. I was unable to reconcile invoicing back to the quotes or to the work that had & hadn't been completed.

I fully paid the invoices that reconciled and I part-paid every other invoice to show goodwill, but explained I needed the clarification & to understand where the overspend was. This never came & because they were withholding my warranties, certificates & fix of the snags, in November he reissued some replacement invoices and we agreed a 'final invoicing' value which I then paid. The email correspondence subject is 'final invoicing' and in the email he clearly says that final invoices have been sent & we agree snags will be completed, certificates sent (still not sent).

Now over 6 months later they have sent me a new invoice "sorry this is delayed". The invoice references work that was completed & basically missed from the final invoices. I do not think it is reasonable to send an invoice at any point after 'final invoicing' has been agreed & paid.

The builder has gone on to say that he knew the invoice was outstanding & knew I would dispute it but agreed the final invoicing with me "to get some money out of me". I find this highly unethical.

No paper contract was ever signed.

Can I fight this?

Aylesbury_Duck

You can dispute it, yes. You sound like someone who's kept a good eye on the detail so you've probably got records to show what was done, what was paid, etc. Do you think you genuinely owe the money? If so, he may pursue it and would probably be successful. If not, then challenge him to provide evidence of the shortfall and what it relates to.

lincroft1710

If you genuinely still owe money then you should pay. If he cannot justify the invoice, then you probably will not want to pay him and if he is adamant you owe the money and you did not pay then he would have to take you to court

He would have to prove to the court that his invoice correctly showed money was still owed by you.

Caroline_B

I don't believe I owe them. I paid over the odds for the whole project...the total payment was high for what they actually completed. E.g. some of the painting was terrible, skirting boards not fitted properly etc. I let them off loads of the snags so overall I think they got more than a reasonable price for what they did. There was work originally quoted that they didn't do (at my request to save money), but the invoices did not reduce proportionally with the work not completed.

It's also the principle that we agreed the final invoicing, I paid it & now he's demanding more. If I paid this then what's to stop him realising something else wasn't invoiced in another 6 months?

His invoicing is so vague - e.g. "decorating" "flooring" "electrical work" that it's impossible for me to know if there is anything else missing.

Aylesbury_Duck

Caroline_B wrote: »

I don't believe I owe them. I paid over the odds for the whole project...the total payment was high for what they actually completed. E.g. some of the painting was terrible, skirting boards not fitted properly etc. I let them off loads of the snags so overall I think they got more than a reasonable price for what they did. There was work originally quoted that they didn't do (at my request to save money), but the invoices did not reduce proportionally with the work not completed.

It's also the principle that we agreed the final invoicing, I paid it & now he's demanding more. If I paid this then what's to stop him realising something else wasn't invoiced in another 6 months?

His invoicing is so vague - e.g. "decorating" "flooring" "electrical work" that it's impossible for me to know if there is anything else missing.

With respect, you need to park the annoyance about paying over the odds or the principle of late invoicing and look at it objectively. You can't use what you think were overcharged items as justification for not paying a genuine later bill if it is indeed genuine. Principles won't get you far with this, either.

Does he have sufficient detail on these new invoices to suggest you do owe the money? If so, you have the choice between paying, challenging or simply not paying at all, but understanding that there's a chance he'll sue you and if he has reasonable evidence to suggest the money is owed, he might win. If he doesn't, then ask for the detail and if you're confident you don't owe the money and have evidence to suggest you have paid everything that is owed, you can relax in the knowledge that if he does take you to court, he's unlikely to succeed.