Contractor wants me to pay before supplying invoice

AlicePearl24

Hi, my double gazing contractor (a well established local firm) has recently completed a big job for us. We paid on the day of completion (£8k). Several weeks later they did a very small job replacing two obscured windows because the design they advised us to choose didn’t match the door they supplied ( they argued this was subjective, we compromised and agreed to pay for the glass, they agreed to fit the windows at no cost). This second job was completed one week ago. The company rang me after 2 days asking why I hadn’t paid and I told them I hadn’t yet received an invoice. They said they provide invoices only after payment and demanded payment over the phone there and then (£300). I refused and asked them to post or email an invoice and said I’d pay immediately by bank transfer on receipt. I was told I must go into the showroom the next day with my card and pay - and they could ‘show’ me the invoice first. I work and can’t into their office this week or next. They were was pretty aggressive, but I stuck to my guns. Since then I’ve had 3 phone messages demanding payment (remember, the job was only carried out 6 days ago), but they still refuse to send me an invoice. I have no paperwork at all relating to this second job and I’m sure they are required to send me an invoice before payment, but just want to check this. Any advice/thoughts very welcome. Thanks in advance.

Calpol4life

No they are not obligated to do so.

Why not just pay them over the phone like they have asked.

Aylesbury_Duck

Has the work been done to your satisfaction? Yes.

Are you potentially going to need their customer support over the next few years for a stuck lock, a blown unit, a loose handle, etc? Yes.

Pay them and stop trying to be clever about it. A good local firm is a godsend. People mucking them about puts smaller companies out of business and in 10 years' time you'll be paying one of the big glazing firms twice as much for the same thing, after enduring their awful sales processes.

prowla

The company should provide the invoice/bill which needs to be paid.


I don't understand why they would want to do it the other way 'round?

AlicePearl24

I’m not mucking them about actually- as I said I paid £8000 the day they did the first job. This job is just £300 and was only a week ago. And there are issues that weren’t worth mentioning - a little sharp practice was used to get us to change from an expensive obscured window to a cheap one at same cost to us. They were not transparent and the sleight of hand left a bad taste and the windows tuned out to a dreadful clash with the door. However we didn’t push this. There was also a pretty serious mistake on measurement which, though the bay windows fit, means they don’t match the specifications we requested. We haven’t even raised this as to rectify it would mean an entire refit and to be honest, I don’t want to impose that - or the inevitable battle about it - on them or us, partly because they are a local company. So I’m not unreasonable at all, just asking a question.

lucy03

Aylesbury_Duck wrote: »

Has the work been done to your satisfaction? Yes.

Are you potentially going to need their customer support over the next few years for a stuck lock, a blown unit, a loose handle, etc? Yes.

Pay them and stop trying to be clever about it. A good local firm is a godsend. People mucking them about puts smaller companies out of business and in 10 years' time you'll be paying one of the big glazing firms twice as much for the same thing, after enduring their awful sales processes.

I'm not sure how asking for an invoice before making a payment is "being clever about it". It doesn't seem unusual to ask a trader to send an invoice just confirming the price and the work done. This is a perfectly sensible thing to have to ensure that everything is as expected in terms of the work and the price. If a company can't be bothered to send an invoice by e-mail to give reassurance to a customer, I'd be surprised if they were willing to give excellent customer service down the line.

AlicePearl24

Me neither. Just seems odd!

davidmcn

AlicePearl24 wrote: »

Me neither. Just seems odd!

Maybe, but there's no legal requirement for them to provide an invoice. If you need a paper trail of what the payment is for, why not produce it yourself: "I am sending you £x for y" etc.

neilmcl

AlicePearl24 wrote: »

Me neither. Just seems odd!

Maybe but is it worth going through all this hassle to make a point? You agree you owe them the money so just pay it!

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Calpol4life wrote: »

No they are not obligated to do so.

.

That's correct but their only recourse against non payment is small claims and if OP can show they asked for the bill and the company refused it wouldn't go in the company's favour.

The money would still be owed but they might not be awarded costs for example.

When you have a customer who says I'm ready to give you £300 I just need a copy of the bill and the company are refusing something isn't right.

Probably becomes a point of principle for the customer and leaves a bad taste, having spent 8 grand in a competitive market where word of mouth is important it seems a stupid thing for the company to do.

hollydays

Perhaps they think you are stalling paying.