Bathroom Fitter asking for more than quotation

discountmummy

I was quoted the following:

Quotation to fit customer supplied toilet and basin in downstairs cloakroom, fit customer supplied bathroom suite in family bathroom, leave toilet and basin in existing locations, tile areas as specified, supply all necessary materials to complete job:

Labour: £1275 + vat @ 17.5% (£223.12) = £1498.12
Materials: £224.07 + vat @ 17.5% (£39.21) = £263.28

-Quotation does not include any bath, basin or shower wastes (these may come with sanitary ware), does not include a new radiator if required, does not include radiator valves for towel warmer (these may be supplied with it). If mosaic tiles are purchased for family bathroom an additional cost will be applied.

today i recieved an invoice for £3347.19 , he has stated that additional works because i had alot of damaged goods that had to be replaced can you charge extra for this? he also stated that he quoted for 7 days (not stated on the quote) and mine took over 15.

I think id like to know where i stand on complications that arise when fitting a new bathroom and what they should and should charge, i did request skirting boards upstairs and downstairs but if hes had to replace a soil pipe branch should he charge extra labour?

robv_3

The question you need to ask him is why it took longer and what parts, eg

o- came in to fit something *you* supplied and it was broken / incorrect. If he needed to source it or come back another day then you will get changed more.
o- Anything that may have not been visible, eg sorting out pipework that was incorrectly installed previously, eg pipes running uphill.
o- extras you asked for?
o- etc

daveyjp

Another lack of communication issue with builders and clients. As soon as he was having problems he should have contacted you. At the very least I'd want a FULL invoice listing exactly what the new price is made up of.

MarcoM

discountmummy wrote: »

I was quoted the following:

Quotation to fit customer supplied toilet and basin in downstairs cloakroom, fit customer supplied bathroom suite in family bathroom, leave toilet and basin in existing locations, tile areas as specified, supply all necessary materials to complete job:

Labour: £1275 + vat @ 17.5% (£223.12) = £1498.12
Materials: £224.07 + vat @ 17.5% (£39.21) = £263.28

-Quotation does not include any bath, basin or shower wastes (these may come with sanitary ware), does not include a new radiator if required, does not include radiator valves for towel warmer (these may be supplied with it). If mosaic tiles are purchased for family bathroom an additional cost will be applied.

today i recieved an invoice for £3347.19 , he has stated that additional works because i had alot of damaged goods that had to be replaced can you charge extra for this? he also stated that he quoted for 7 days (not stated on the quote) and mine took over 15.

I think id like to know where i stand on complications that arise when fitting a new bathroom and what they should and should charge, i did request skirting boards upstairs and downstairs but if hes had to replace a soil pipe branch should he charge extra labour?

:eek: twice the original quotation? Something's wrong there imho.

But still there must have been some sort of breakdown in communication between you and the tradesman.
In all fairness things can come up during jobs. I've been warned by a tiler I'm using that when old bathrooms are ripped out you can find mould in places and depending on the extent it may need fixing (ie. a rotted flooboard under a bath) at extra cost.
Some guys will tell you at quotation stage what could go wrong during a job it all depends on their experience.

Really he should have rung you when he found out the problems but if the complications were there he may still have been honest with you albeit not very communicative so if the costs he is quoting are right he needs paying as you would have had to sort it anyway. Make sure that what he is charging needed doing. The downside is that some of the damage could have been paid by your house insurance if you had informed them of the problem.

All imho.

retrocircles

discountmummy wrote: »

today i recieved an invoice for £3347.19 , he has stated that additional works because i had alot of damaged goods that had to be replaced can you charge extra for this? he also stated that he quoted for 7 days (not stated on the quote) and mine took over 15.

I think id like to know where i stand on complications that arise when fitting a new bathroom and what they should and should charge, i did request skirting boards upstairs and downstairs but if hes had to replace a soil pipe branch should he charge extra labour?

before replacing ANYTHING he should have consulted you. if you items were in fact 'damaged' he should have said to you, well these could do with replacing, would you like me to replace them? he should not just go & do it on his own accord! you DID NOT request him to do anything other than what was discussed.

fair enough if it was an extra couple of hundred pounds IF he could justify the cost to you. but double the quote? i don't think so. i'd be calling him to say you'll pay the quoted amount or you're going to a regulation authority. he might change his mind then!

i'd also mention the extra 7 days work. that YOU should be entitled to a discount on the labour price because he didn't work to what was agreed.

i think he's got a bit of cheek to be honest, double the price & it took him double the time?! i don't think so...

FairyElephant_2

Hiya,

Unless you agreed to him doing the extra work, he is on dodgy ground here!

As the wife of a tradesman, I know full well that jobs can always turn out to be larger and more complicated than first thought, but when this happened he should have told you and got your go-ahead as the work went on. My DH would never proceed with unquoted work without agreement from the customer, and working in the building trade myself, we would never accept our sub-contractors doing this.

As others have said, I'd write & let him know you are not happy with the bill, don't understand the extras and will consider making payment if he gives you a full and detailed statement in writing to explain. Then you can take a view as to whether the 'extra' work was necessary, and if he has charged you fairly for it.

I had similar with a builder I employed a few years back, and after much wrangling I ended up paying him half the 'extra' costs he wanted, but only after I had a very detailed bill for the 'extras' and a good explanation of why it had taken extra time (I'd tried to get hold of him and ask why the job was taking so long, but he was never there himself, he sent subbies round, and he didn't return my calls!).

I'm sure it can be sorted out by being calm and resonable, but please don't just give in and pay iy until you are happy with the explanations and the costs.

Good luck!

FE