Customer knocking me down on price for extra work he had to do

[calpol91]

A customer we did 2 jobs for has knocked 500 quid off my last bill because he had to patch a ceiling, after he'd plastered it then decided he wanted spot lights in there. He knocked the money off the bill for the second job, the first job was paid for in full even though all the work had been done.

Hes also billed us for repainting said room even though it wasn't painted while i was there.

The bill for the second job was alot bigger than planned as he added around 500 quids worth of extras, which hes obviously taken off.

He never mentioned a thing until the post arrived.... Where do i stand on this? £500 is obviously alot of money, and thats a fair chunk out of our profit!

 

[snowhead]

He should have given you the option of doing the repairs first.

 

[chrish_1977]

Have you got supplimentary estimates agreed for the extras?

 

[calpol91]

Well the repairs wouldn't have been needed if hed have done the job in the right order, eg let me wire up, then plaster...

And no but there was a verbal agreement. The initial estimate was just for standard pendant drops in each room, whereas he wanted 'posher' fittings which he decided much later on.

 

[Sintra]

Verbal agreements mean nothing mate get everything in writing then you can always bounce it back.

 

[calpol91]

Yeahh but its not about the extras, its the invoice he sent for patching up. In theory hes paid for the extras. Plus, the patching up wasnt £500 worth. I could have done it in 2 mins.

Also it says he had to reskim the ceiling in a bedroom, id not set foot in any bedroom as it was just a kitchen and bathroom refit.

 

[telectrix]

he's taking the p*ss. take a couple of large mates round with baseball bats. demand receipts for the work done to the value of £500.

 

[calpol91]

Lol thing is hes itll take afew of us to scare this bloke hes a 6.5ft rugby player. His shoulders are as wide as i am tall.....

 

[SPARTYKUS]

Well in that case he sounds a right one, and I hope there is a God of some sort watching.

 

[telectrix]

blacklist him. name and shame. go onto facebook and tell the world he's a shyster that welches on contractors.

 

[1shortcircuit]

Lol thing is hes itll take afew of us to scare this bloke hes a 6.5ft rugby player. His shoulders are as wide as i am tall.....

Truth be known he's probably a P***Y then.

So... What you gonna do??? Sounds to me like you've already answered your own question?

I'm going to get caught one day IF I don't pull my finger out and go back to using a written contract (some of which still aren't worth the paper they're written on) but this post just proves the scum exist.

Now I know plasterer's that work on £150 per day, so stick £50 quid on and counter claim the £300 quid. If he laughs in your face then kick him in the nuts AS HARD AS YOU POSSIBLY CAN.... If the giant turd doesn't hit the deck...... THEN RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN lol

DO NOT BOW Down on his say so, Bloody contest it and do everything possible to make sure you recoup as much as possible!

 

[trev]

Lol thing is hes itll take afew of us to scare this bloke hes a 6.5ft rugby player. His shoulders are as wide as i am tall.....

So he's using his size to intimidate you and it appears to be working. Write to him demanding the balance of what you're owed within 7 days or you'll issue county court proceedings. Obviously you may have to do it but in your position I'd be calling his bluff.

 

[calpol91]

Truth be known he's probably a P***Y then.

So... What you gonna do??? Sounds to me like you've already answered your own question?

I'm going to get caught one day IF I don't pull my finger out and go back to using a written contract (some of which still aren't worth the paper they're written on) but this post just proves the scum exist.

Now I know plasterer's that work on £150 per day, so stick £50 quid on and counter claim the £300 quid. If he laughs in your face then kick him in the nuts AS HARD AS YOU POSSIBLY CAN.... If the giant turd doesn't hit the deck...... THEN RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN lol

DO NOT BOW Down on his say so, Bloody contest it and do everything possible to make sure you recoup as much as possible!

Yeahh your definitely right ha especially with the ball kicking. Ill be good and send him a polite letter heres an invoice for the rest.

The numb freak had me drive over to the job to change a lightbulb even though the job was 40 miles away. He propper kicked off saying i should use better light bulbs and all sorts...

 

[monkeyelectric]

I would go and knock on his door and ask for it face to face, i've not had anyone withold money even for extras but it is worth putting any extras in writing for future

 

[UNG]

Just take his knees out with a baseball bat won't be playing rugby after that and certainly won't be chasing you

I have no respect for people / customers who won't pay up put the word out round the local traders how honest he isn't unfortunately some people don't keep a gentleman's agreement so everything has to go on paper or e-mail so you have a paper trail to take legal action with

 

[Guest55]

Trevs already given the correct response.
non-payment claim in court where bsing 6 ft 5 will be of little help.
and ask the customer to provide an invoice and breakdown for £500 of plastering repairs
he wont of course because its a £50 fix.
please tell me you've not given him any certs ?

 

[ipf]

Verbal agreements mean nothing mate get everything in writing then you can always bounce it back.

Wrong there Sintra. A verbal agreement is a contract.
Had a situation with a client who wouldn't pay the full amount. Took them to Small Claims and, basically, got full remuneration plus court costs. No written contract involved. Prove you've done the job to the value you charge and there is a good chance you'll win. A threat of small claims may just force them to pay, but try asking first.
And, just remember.....the bigger they come, etc. Good luck.

 

[Sintra]

Wrong their Sintra. A verbal agreement is a contract.
Had a situation with a client who wouldn't pay the full amount. Took them to Small Claims and, basically, got full remuneration plus court costs. No written contract involved. Prove you've done the job to the value you charge and there is a good chance you'll win. A threat of small claims may just force them to pay, but try asking first.
And, just remember.....the bigger they come,etc. Good luck.

Just very hard to prove a verbal agreement even took place. That's the point I am trying to make.

 

[calpol91]

The thing is hes paid for the extras. I dont need to prove that.

Its the invoice for 500 of apparent work. He didn't even do a full reskim, his plasterer just patched up. He then paid for that work.

I just think he's using that as an excuse not to pay for the lights we installed, but he hasnt denied the extras, so should it come to court, itll be about the £50 of work which was multiplied by 10....

 

[ipf]

Just very hard to prove a verbal agreement even took place. That's the point I am trying to make.

Understand what you're saying, but, how hard is it to prove the work took place ? Get the work details down on paper with your valuation and present it with times, dates, etc. then it's him against you over a table with a judge to decide.

 

[not clever]

Send the invoice back to the plasterer with a letter saying it seems to have been sent it to the wrong address & there was an agreement with the homeowner that you were not liable for the repairs post extras agreed to by the customer.

Or

Send a letter and an extra invoice for say £300 to the customer, on the letter state that you had unfortunately forgotten to add the inflated cost of undertaking extra work on your previous invoice.

 

[Stuuk1]

Take extensive photos of every single job you do, the more the better and save them all in a detailed folder on a large external hard drive.

Any comebacks and you now have proof e.g. The painted ceiling which wasn't painted when you finished your part of the job..

Before and after pictures are also a good idea.

 

[SAILOR48]

The thing is hes paid for the extras. I dont need to prove that.

Its the invoice for 500 of apparent work. He didn't even do a full reskim, his plasterer just patched up. He then paid for that work.

I just think he's using that as an excuse not to pay for the lights we installed, but he hasnt denied the extras, so should it come to court, itll be about the £50 of work which was multiplied by 10....

Just invoice as usual for the work to start the ball rolling and await his response
Try and get him to reply by email (It’s a good record of what’s gone on and costs nothing)
Don’t enter in to any correspondents about plastering etc just here is the invoice.
Give him 7 days to reply then send the invoice by recorded delivery.
If no response after another 7 days another invoice with a covering letter saying please pay or respond with any reason that he feels he should not pay (Repeat Try and get him to do it by email or in writing )
If no response same again with 14 day notice that you will go to the small claim court for payment (recorded delivery or email)
Ignore all replies about other works remedial etc, no get involved in discussions about any thing else, just the unpaid invoice.
Your aim is to get him to admit that you did some works (email or in writing) that there is a dispute with you and an unpaid bill. Not that the job was not done, or was not done to his satisfaction.
If he states as I understand, that you messed his ceiling up and he has hade to pay for it to be repaired, this would probably be his counter claim which is a different matter to your unpaid invoice.
Quote or not, if you can prove that you did some work which he asked you to do and is refusing to pay for he owes you money.
Let us know what happens.


Remember this always, don’t make friends with your customers and don’t make friends your customers