Ripped off??

[Dan Maynard]

Eggs, are you selling to private individuals or businesses? If private then without the written quote you are also in danger of falling foul of Consumer Contract regulations as there are certain things you're obliged to inform customers. Easy T&C on all quotes once it's written but keeps everything covered.

[eggsarascal]

3 minutes ago, Dan Maynard said:

Eggs, are you selling to private individuals or businesses? If private then without the written quote you are also in danger of falling foul of Consumer Contract regulations as there are certain things you're obliged to inform customers. Easy T&C on all quotes once it's written but keeps everything covered.

Both, I'm subbing this week down in Kent on a verbal agreement, £450/day with payment before the job is finished, they pay their lads on the last Friday of the month so have told me to get my invoice in Thursday with Fridays work on it.

 

Last week I did four private jobs all on verbal agreements, they were smaller jobs ranging from £200-£400.

[felixthelogchopper]

9 hours ago, Squaredy said:

A contract is a contract, and does not have to be written.  But how do you prove what was agreed if it is not in writing?

 

If the plumber takes the OP to court for non-payment, the court will expect him to prove his claim - if it is just one person's word against another who knows how the court would rule.

If comes down to 'he said, she said' then the court would look at the work done and judge a value on market prices. It's always a bad idea to have no detail in writing for this very reason.

[Thesnarlingbadger]

I would be surprised if a courts rule when against the OP give the fact he was made to wait so long and source material himself. But then they also never fail to surprise so what do I know. I had a nightmare with a customer who didn’t pay a few years ago, I quoted the job, put it in writing and once the job was done and she was happy she said I’ll pay it this evening so I sent my invoice and hadn’t been sent payment two weeks later so I send her a friendly email, and get a reply a week later saying sorry She’s been on holiday but has paid now. Still nothing in the bank so I went round and asked politely and said I’d take cash or cheque if it was easier. She then said I was out of order and that she only rents the property and. It was not up to her to pay. I spoke to a friend of mine who is a lawyer and she said don’t bother chasing it as you won’t get paid as the tenant will plead poverty. Plus I’ll probably end up drumming up loads of fees in the process and end up with more of an issue. The job was only a few hundred but I was pissed off non the less.
That was in writing and all agreed with no mention of her not being the homeowner and I still lost out.

[Mr. Squirrel]

Sounds like a dodgy bam. A written quote is pretty basic, and getting you to order your own parts is just counter productive to doing a good job. It's like with tpo applications, yes the customer could do it, but I'd rather do it myself so that I know the wording is correct.

 

I had a plumber come check my boiler in December as it wasn't working at all. He said it might be sensor, so he ordered that in and fitted it the following week. Works fine now. He never invoiced me at all. I tried chasing him but he never returned my calls. Bloody plumbers...

[Mr. Squirrel]

I spoke too soon. Just got an invoice for £95 from the plumber. It's no an unfair price but the fact it took two and a half months for them to invoice me is a bit ridiculous...

[Matthew Storrs]

On 25/03/2019 at 22:55, eggsarascal said:

I guess so, I did a job Friday that I under priced, thought I would be done in about six hours, it took me 10. The customer asked if it was still the price I quoted, I said yes, drew my money and went home kicking myself, my mistake, my problem.

Agree- your long term reputation is far more important than losing out on a few hrs. Recent job took me 8 days over 5 I’d initially though- had to pay a lorry for 3 additional loads of stone to be transported- wasn’t really my fault, it was weather related but hey ho, put it down to experience.

[donnk]

letter detailing all the faults (in case you need it in court).

 

tell him via phone to fu** himself. £1000 for 2 days work. Having a laugh after messing you about for 3 months.

 

I'd have paid him £300 150/day and not a penny more.

 

so much scum 'tradesman' about.

[oldwoodcutter]

I would have smelt a rat much earlier on, after the 2nd excuse of not being able to come, he would have had his chips with me I’m afraid .

[felixthelogchopper]

Eh?