should I pay an incomplete quote

matthewg

Hi, 1st time poster! I have looked on forum but have not found any threads similar!

I am hoping someone can advise what our position is........

I obtained a quote from a company to repair some heavy automated wooden doors that had ceased working when moving into new premises. The company spent a couple of hours on site assessing the doors and provided me with a substantial quote to repair the doors,.A contract was agreed and a sign off from a Specific Director was placed in the contract by the supplier. The Doors have never worked! We have since received the initial quoted works invoice for payment, together with 2 further invoices for work seemingly carried out in addition to the original quote? at no time were any staff made aware that further visits were at additional cost we were only ever advised they did not have the necessary parts so would have to return. At no point have the doors ever been repaired. It is now that the doors are so heavy that the public now struggles to open out premises doors, we are looking to have these replaced with glass doors if we can not get these heavy doors repaired.

The company are now trying to invoice us for all the invoices, I have refused to make payment until the original quote/works are completed. We have now to deal with debt collectors calling up staff for payment.

What can we do ? I have been made aware that as they are refusing to complete the works I can instruct another company to complete the work & invoice the original company to pay? is this true ?

or does anyone else have any advice how to address this concern.

Many thanks in advance for any advice

WhyNot?

matthewg wrote: »

Hi, 1st time poster! I have looked on forum but have not found any threads similar!

I am hoping someone can advise what our position is........

I obtained a quote from a company to repair some heavy automated wooden doors that had ceased working when moving into new premises. The company spent a couple of hours on site assessing the doors and provided me with a substantial quote to repair the doors,.A contract was agreed and a sign off from a Specific Director was placed in the contract by the supplier. The Doors have never worked! We have since received the initial quoted works invoice for payment, together with 2 further invoices for work seemingly carried out in addition to the original quote? at no time were any staff made aware that further visits were at additional cost we were only ever advised they did not have the necessary parts so would have to return. At no point have the doors ever been repaired. It is now that the doors are so heavy that the public now struggles to open out premises doors, we are looking to have these replaced with glass doors if we can not get these heavy doors repaired.

The company are now trying to invoice us for all the invoices, I have refused to make payment until the original quote/works are completed. We have now to deal with debt collectors calling up staff for payment.

What can we do ? I have been made aware that as they are refusing to complete the works I can instruct another company to complete the work & invoice the original company to pay? is this true ?

or does anyone else have any advice how to address this concern.

Many thanks in advance for any advice

You need to refer to the contract you say was agreed.

What does it state therein about payment terms?

Why is the contractor no longer prepared to continue with the work they have started?
What does the contract say about that eventuality?

bris

As a business you don't have the same protection as a consumer would have.

Everything you need to rely on is in the contract, you need to read it carefully to see what it says. If in doubt consult a solicitor to read it for you.

If they have broke this contract then you can sue for this breach but generally the ones drafting the contract hold all the aces.


"What can we do ? I have been made aware that as they are refusing to complete the works I can instruct another company to complete the work & invoice the original company to pay? is this true ?"

You can do anything you want but the chances of getting them to pay are slim to none, again read the contract. Bottom line is if you instruct another company to complete the works you are liable to them and would need to sue the original company for the cost.

Mistral001

The problem with instructing another company to fix the doors are two-fold. Firstly, it will be difficult to get someone else in to do the work if they know that you are in dispute with the another company with regard to the doors and have not settled their bill. Secondly, if the issue came to court, your case against the first company would be weakened.