Money Moral Dilemma: Our floor fitter says he'll absorb unexpected extra costs - should we chip in?

2702

I have never had two quotes from any contractor so I find this scenario very strange. You chose the higher one to cover yourself for any unforeseen works so I would not be willing to pay any more.Also I would need to know exactly what the additional unforeseen materials /works are. Why were they unforeseen? Is he competent at what he does? why did he not foresee these works ? I would not pay anymore and I would not use him in the future.

Missy15

Given that when you get a quote, for any work done, that should be the price you pay.

Unless as I did recently, upgraded certain things as the work progressed.

I then accepted the uprated price at the end without question.

Not once in all my years of having tradesman in my home, have I ever had specific prices or receipts for every individual item needed.

I accept that you have to trust people to do the work to a high standard, you have to like them as well, but I am afraid good tradesmen still build in a contingency payment in the quote to cover unexpected costs that they may find, which they don't return if they don't use it.

Just say thank you so much for doing a such an excellent job, I will recommend you, use you again, give you good review etc, and don't feel guilty.

SStitanic

no, he’s said he’d absorb them leave it at that, if it was too much for him he’d ask for it, trades always do

RickyAH

I had new triple glazed windows fitted, the quote was for prices as of the day of the quote, any unforeseen price rises or unforeseen cost would be agreed on the fitting day. That was written in the quotation. He is a general builder not a window fitting company, but does do windows supplied by a major manufacturer (rehau).

Thankfully as 5 months passed from quote to fitting, the fitter advised that his suppliers costs had risen, but as he was a good customer of theirs, they charged him the price as quoted to him 5 months ago, so no price increase for me.

I know it sounds incredible to have found an honest builder, but they do exist! but you do have to wait months, as they are obviously quite busy.

cantbelieveit23

As I understand it, this was a quotation (not an estimate). Therefore, the two figures quoted should be considered minimum and maximum costs, and you should not feel obliged in any way to pay more.

If you have reasons why you think you should, then yes, ask for a breakdown of the extra costs (not including any added profit margin on the unexpected expenses).

Before you do that, be aware that you may be opening a can of worms, and you are admitting that there may be justification for paying more.

Rosa_Damascena

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81996357#Comment_81996357

I wouldn't be so quick to take this route. A tradesperson undertaking work without any profit is not sensible at all. If they can absorb the costs, it tells me that the quote was over-inflated in the first place.

If I was really happy with the work, I would pay a bonus. You realise the value of good tradespeople once you have had an encounter with a terrible one.

primrose_penguin

I think it is a bit naughty of him saying the extra materials are not cheap but that he would absorb them, of course it would make you feel guilty, but I don't think you should. You chose the higher quote so have already agreed to the extensive work, he is the professional so would have surely known the costs involved and if he was not sure should have written into the quote about unforeseen problems being extra, you would then have known what you were agreeing to. I wonder if he would have told you if the job had not entailed as much work as first thought and reduced the quote?? If it was me I would keep quiet and let him do the work and see for yourself if it looks as if extra work on top is being done, and if at the end you are really happy with the job he has done I would give him some extra money as a thank you.

Arctos

We aa version of the problem as we had been quoted for carpets and hard flooring by a well known outlet. They subcontracted to different fitters/tradespeople. The hard flooring that we had chosen proved to be unsuitable once the floor fitter had removed our old thermoplastic tiles. He also encountered a need to do additional preparation in one of the rooms which had not been identified by the outlet's "expert" salesman.

The outlet allowed us a more costly hard flooring option at no extra cost. We took pity on the tradesman who had not only taken an extra half a day to prepare, but also had to re-schedule his own bookings with other customers to finish the job. We paid him, including for his "overtime", at the end of phase 1 as per contract. Sadly, although he did the job, after phase 2, his parting shot was that he was not obliged to rehang the doors he had removed or re-instate kitchen unit kickboards that he had removed - and we later found that he had damaged some. We took this up with the supplier who seemed to shrug their shoulders and say that it was at the discretion of the subcontractor!

We regretted our decision to take pity on him! Neither he, nor the supplying outlet will get either any recommendations or further business from us.

kimwp

At the very least, cover the cost of the additional materials.

Ireen

Imagine it was the other way round.

You went for the higher quote and then it turns out the job was easier, cheaper and quicker to complete.

Would the the fitter have given you a discount?

Also, why were there two quotes for the same job and why did you pay for the higher one?

If you had chosen the cheaper quote would he not have done the job? Would it have been of a lesser quality?

Unless he mentioned, and you agreed to pay, possible unforseen costs at the outset, I would not agree and stick to the quote you have gone with and give him some really good reviews after he finnishes the job and you are happy with his work.

Some handymen/fitters etc. are very good at playing the violin and that comes from the wife of a handyman! :)