Incorrect Invoice / Dispute over damage to electrical cable

davidmcn

garth549 said:

Do you have legal cover on your home insurance?  If so that's your best point of call by far.

Home insurance legal cover isn't going to cover your business's liabilities.

Ectophile

Smartlucinda said:

What outcome are you looking for?  In your initial post you seemed to be suggesting that there was an administrative problem around the invoices.  Now it seems you're trying to avoid paying altogether.

I'm looking to understand whether my partner is actually liable or not, given the evidence in possession of both parties, and to what extent. I guess I was trying to understand whether the continuing administrative errors add weight/justification for denial of liability (although I'm hearing loud and clear that it doesn't). There are processes regarding correct invoicing found on the gov. uk website (invoicing and taking payments from customers) which haven't been followed in this situation, so why should we play by the rules when they aren't?  Whether it would have been 'worded correctly' (i.e. he was held liable under the correct legislation at least!) or not we would still be contesting the amount. It just doesn't feel right to be billed over £700 for a cable that was laid too shallowly and was exposed via careful-hand digging as stipulated by HSG; it only adds salt to the wound that the administrative errors keep on rolling in. 

You seem to be trying to weasel out of paying using a technicality.

I would have thought that you would be better off arguing that your partner was not negligent because he had no way of knowing that the cable was there, and he was taking appropriate care when digging the hole.  If he wasn't negligent, then he isn't liable.

Smartlucinda

@Ectophile, very fair comments. There was never any intention to 'weasel' but instead to understand whether there was even any point arguing about using safe digging practices when he wasn't even being held negligible under the correct legislation initially and even when that was corrected the guidelines are written in favour of the power companies anyway. 

garth549

davidmcn said:

garth549 said:

Do you have legal cover on your home insurance?  If so that's your best point of call by far.

Home insurance legal cover isn't going to cover your business's liabilities.

Sorry missed the point about it being a business job