Kitchen fitter not honouring quote

Louise__3

Hi all 
I hired a fitter to refurbish my kitchen through checkatrade. I sent him the kitchen plans from Wren at the time of him coming to do the survey, stating that I would need the whole kitchen removed, plastered, tiled, painted and new units and appliances installed, per the plan. He then sent me a quote stating the following :

He started the job on Thursday this week, and when he arrived (an hour late), he said “I forgot to tell you that you will have to pay extra for the gas hob to be connected as I’m not gas safe registered”

i Argued that we agreed on the price based on all appliances being fitted, per the plan and his quote, and that it was extremely bad practice that he tells me of the extra charge on the day he started. He said, well I forgot. 

So I will obviously  need to get a gas safe plumber in to connect the hob, but wondering if I can deduct the charge for this from my fitters quote? If I have it in writing from him that installing all appliances is included, where do I stand on paying him? 

TELLIT01

If the new hob is in the same position as the old one, it will take a matter of minutes to connect the gas supply so the cost should be minimal.  Nonetheless I would deduct the cost if you pay the gas fitter direct because the cost was in the original quote.

Jack_Cork

I'd say he made an honest mistake and forgot to cost it in, it does happen so Iwould pay for the gas fitter. Or deduct the cost from his bill and hope he doesn't cut corners elsewhere to recoup the money

Mickey666

I’d say the discussion on day one just prior to starting the job probably constitutes a variation to the ‘contract’.
Yes, the original price included the gas fitting but (for whatever reason) the builder varied his quote before the job started.  The OP had a choice to accept the new terms or not proceed.  By proceeding in full knowledge of the revised terms, I’d suggest the OP will be deemed to have accepted those new terms and it would therefore be wrong to deduct any payment unless it was agreed with the builder.

Aspiration

OP I completely understand why you feel aggrieved as It would probably raise a lot of concerns for me!

That in mind, as a previous poster says hopefully it’s not a big move and small charge? Has he advised how much it will be? 

However, if you’ve chosen the kitchen fitter on a recommendation from someone reliable, know he’ll do a great job I would just accept the cost and have him focussed on doing a great job for you. The quality of his work would be the biggest thing for me. 

Hopefully it’s resolved relatively easily and you’re happy with the end product. 

Jeepers_Creepers

Every case is different, but I would put this one down to a genuine omission on his part. Yes, he said he'd fit 'all the appliances', but - D'oh! - he later realised that one item was 'gas' and was wise enough to not touch this.

It's an 'error'. The question is, what do you do about such an error? I like the personal aspect of his quote; "I will do this, I will do that..." - it's all pretty clear, and you should feel confident about what's covered. So my first gut response is, I'm glad he isn't doing the hob 'cos he clearly ain't GasSafe. It just strikes me as a genuine omission, and one that he brought to your attention right away. As a 'clued-up' customer, I think it would have crossed my mind to wonder who's going to do the gas hob - you haven't mentioned this, and I hope it ain't you... On the other hand, it was mainly his mistake, so perhaps he should swallow it, pal...?

All that work must come to a couple of £k at least? So we are now quibbling over what is likely a 30-minute connecting-up task, costing - ooh - £50 tops? Is this the way you want to start this professional relationship?

If you really begrudge coughing up this extra wee bit, a good approach could be to acknowledge that you understand that 'gas' shouldn't be touched by him, and you do accept it was a genuine omission. However, you were restricting yourself to a tight and fixed budget, so really didn't want additional expenditure; how about we split the cost of the gas hob install 50:50...?

Bottom line - he made an error, a small one, an easy one, BUT he ain't obliged to stick to the original quote; you cannot force him to. He is fully entitled to say 'sorry, if this is what happens with a genuine small error on my part, I think our relationship has broken down so I'm walking...'. It's not a situation you can hold him to. 

So I'd suggest looking at it as 'doing the right thing'. Ideally both of you. 

rach_k

Ask if he knows anybody who can do it.  Trades often know others they have worked with and would recommend and if you can get him to arrange it for you, you may get it a bit cheaper.

That said, it's such a small extra cost (you must have planned for some extra costs, they always crop up even in fairly small jobs!) and you're at the start of the work so it would be worth paying it to keep everything friendly.  If you make him pay it, he will be more tempted to make savings elsewhere, surely?  

Louise__3

Jeepers_Creepers said:

Every case is different, but I would put this one down to a genuine omission on his part. Yes, he said he'd fit 'all the appliances', but - D'oh! - he later realised that one item was 'gas' and was wise enough to not touch this.

It's an 'error'. The question is, what do you do about such an error? I like the personal aspect of his quote; "I will do this, I will do that..." - it's all pretty clear, and you should feel confident about what's covered. So my first gut response is, I'm glad he isn't doing the hob 'cos he clearly ain't GasSafe. It just strikes me as a genuine omission, and one that he brought to your attention right away. As a 'clued-up' customer, I think it would have crossed my mind to wonder who's going to do the gas hob - you haven't mentioned this, and I hope it ain't you... On the other hand, it was mainly his mistake, so perhaps he should swallow it, pal...?

All that work must come to a couple of £k at least? So we are now quibbling over what is likely a 30-minute connecting-up task, costing - ooh - £50 tops? Is this the way you want to start this professional relationship?

If you really begrudge coughing up this extra wee bit, a good approach could be to acknowledge that you understand that 'gas' shouldn't be touched by him, and you do accept it was a genuine omission. However, you were restricting yourself to a tight and fixed budget, so really didn't want additional expenditure; how about we split the cost of the gas hob install 50:50...?

Bottom line - he made an error, a small one, an easy one, BUT he ain't obliged to stick to the original quote; you cannot force him to. He is fully entitled to say 'sorry, if this is what happens with a genuine small error on my part, I think our relationship has broken down so I'm walking...'. It's not a situation you can hold him to. 
. 

I t hink you’ll find you’re wrong there...from citizens advise “ After you say yes to a quote, it’s a binding agreement between you and the contractor, whether it’s written down or not. But having it in writing means you can check what you agreed and prove it if there’s a dispute later.”

my point is, i agreed to hire him based on his overall cost. I had others that were more expensive but based on his quote, went with him. The has fitter is an extra 150, which may be nothing to you but some of us have a budget. In addition to other extra expenses expected wit such works, this all adds up

the relationship is a 2 way thing..if I suddenly tell him I want him to do something else because i forgot to mention it, I expect him to charge me. It makes a nonsense of agreeing to and signing a quote. 

JIL

Louise__3 said:

Jeepers_Creepers said:

Every case is different, but I would put this one down to a genuine omission on his part. Yes, he said he'd fit 'all the appliances', but - D'oh! - he later realised that one item was 'gas' and was wise enough to not touch this.

It's an 'error'. The question is, what do you do about such an error? I like the personal aspect of his quote; "I will do this, I will do that..." - it's all pretty clear, and you should feel confident about what's covered. So my first gut response is, I'm glad he isn't doing the hob 'cos he clearly ain't GasSafe. It just strikes me as a genuine omission, and one that he brought to your attention right away. As a 'clued-up' customer, I think it would have crossed my mind to wonder who's going to do the gas hob - you haven't mentioned this, and I hope it ain't you... On the other hand, it was mainly his mistake, so perhaps he should swallow it, pal...?

All that work must come to a couple of £k at least? So we are now quibbling over what is likely a 30-minute connecting-up task, costing - ooh - £50 tops? Is this the way you want to start this professional relationship?

If you really begrudge coughing up this extra wee bit, a good approach could be to acknowledge that you understand that 'gas' shouldn't be touched by him, and you do accept it was a genuine omission. However, you were restricting yourself to a tight and fixed budget, so really didn't want additional expenditure; how about we split the cost of the gas hob install 50:50...?

Bottom line - he made an error, a small one, an easy one, BUT he ain't obliged to stick to the original quote; you cannot force him to. He is fully entitled to say 'sorry, if this is what happens with a genuine small error on my part, I think our relationship has broken down so I'm walking...'. It's not a situation you can hold him to. 
. 

I t hink you’ll find you’re wrong there...from citizens advise “ After you say yes to a quote, it’s a binding agreement between you and the contractor, whether it’s written down or not. But having it in writing means you can check what you agreed and prove it if there’s a dispute later.”

my point is, i agreed to hire him based on his overall cost. I had others that were more expensive but based on his quote, went with him. The has fitter is an extra 150, which may be nothing to you but some of us have a budget. In addition to other extra expenses expected wit such works, this all adds up

the relationship is a 2 way thing..if I suddenly tell him I want him to do something else because i forgot to mention it, I expect him to charge me. It makes a nonsense of agreeing to and signing a quote. 

I think JC is saying he can walk if he wishes.
Really good workmen are in demand at the moment. Is it really worth risking him walking as he made an error on the hob fitting?  £150 for the fitting does seem steep, who is arranging that? Could you speak to the kitchen fitter and tell him its left you in a tight corner and see if he has any contacts who can do it cheaper? With the gas safe qualification obviously.

Davesnave

Would you rather he realised his error, decided to keep quiet and did the gas fitting himself, or got a mate in as a favour who could wing it? Many tradesmen might do that, but the work wouldn't be Gas Safe certified.

You will note also that the quote was for fitting the appliances, not connecting them.

531063

As above quote was for fitting them, it does not mention connecting them