Deposit paid and now price increased

ant70

I wanted to ask a question which I think may be very common at present and wanted to know my options please?

1. In Nov 2020 I agreed to purchase some windows and doors for our house and paid a deposit of 50%. At that point we were only given the quote and no contract or T&C's were supplied or anything signed.

2. We had some delays with the build due to Covid etc and we only had the openings measured a year later in Nov 2021. I did keep in touch with the company during that time and let them know the progress. During the recent site visit, the company director who attended said that he would have to re-quote the whole job because he has had a number of material price increases in the last year. 

3. The re-quoted costs are significantly higher and have added £4,500 to the total price of £13k

4. The original quotes did not mention how long they were valid for, but the re-quotes now say 'only valid for 30 days'.

5. I have had a conversation with the director and he says that he has not added anything for labour, only material costs which he claims he ‘has’ to pass on.

Question. Do I have the right to hold them to the original price? What do you think I should do?

SaverRate

ant70 said:

I wanted to ask a question which I think may be very common at present and wanted to know my options please?

1. In Nov 2020 I agreed to purchase some windows and doors for our house and paid a deposit of 50%. At that point we were only given the quote and no contract or T&C's were supplied or anything signed.

2. We had some delays with the build due to Covid etc and we only had the openings measured a year later in Nov 2021. I did keep in touch with the company during that time and let them know the progress. During the recent site visit, the company director who attended said that he would have to re-quote the whole job because he has had a number of material price increases in the last year. 

3. The re-quoted costs are significantly higher and have added £4,500 to the total price of £13k

4. The original quotes did not mention how long they were valid for, but the re-quotes now say 'only valid for 30 days'.

5. I have had a conversation with the director and he says that he has not added anything for labour, only material costs which he claims he ‘has’ to pass on.

Question. Do I have the right to hold them to the original price? What do you think I should do?

Get other companies in to quote then compare and possibly go back to the director. You can try and hold them to the original price but they can also turn around and say here's your 50% deposit back find someone else!

user1977

I doubt you could claim it was a firm, binding quotation if they hadn't even measured properly at that point.

Sandtree

You also say the delays were at your end/not the window companies fault... it doesnt seem reasonable to think that an indicative price will be held for over 12 months particularly how much the world has changed in the last 18 months.

Aylesbury_Duck

No, you don't have a right to hold them to the original quote.  They can simply return your deposit and cancel the contract.

mattyprice4004

Have a look at material price rises - it's not a surprise at all. 
You'll need to either come to a deal, or ask them to return the deposit. 

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Was it a "non-refundable deposit"? 

If it was wouldn't them be able to adjust the terms or cancel without penalty be an imbalance in the contract? 

Ergates

I don't think you can force them to carry out the work for the original price - especially as most places will state that quotes are only valid for a certain period.  They're not lying about material price increases - the cost of building supplies have gone up significantly.

But, you should be able to get a refund of your deposit.

Exodi

The real decision will be between requesting the deposit back or having them do the work at the new price.

Given the new price they've quoted, I very much doubt they'd be willing to do all the work for virtually nothing at the old price.

As others have said, the 12 month+ delay was not the builders doing and it's no secret that material costs have soared.

Ergates

Exodi said:

The real decision will be between requesting the deposit back or having them do the work at the new price.

Given the new price they've quoted, I very much doubt they'd be willing to do all the work for virtually nothing at the old price.

As others have said, the 12 month+ delay was not the builders doing and it's no secret that material costs have soared.

Given the price increase as a proportion of the price, they'd not be doing it for next to nothing, they'd be doing it at a significant loss.

ant70

Thanks all for your comments. As a newbie to the forum it's been great to get everyones feedback and has really helped us make a decision.