Conversions

Builder demanding extra payment 10 weeks after he walked off the job

Anonymous user 15/03/2024 - 2.30 PM

We had 3 quotes for a garage conversion. They all came in around £8,500 (including VAT). A local builder, recommended buy our electrician, agreed to match the prices we had already been quoted. The job was scheduled to take about 2 to 3 weeks, but in the end it took over 10 weeks, which was a disappointment, but we bit the bullet on that one. As the conversion went along there were a few extra jobs... ...building a box for the water softener, ...getting rid of some asbestos from the garage ceiling, ...putting in a small (1.5 metres) false ceiling (but not plastering it) to hide some pipes. One day, with no warning, our builder handed us a bill for £10,200 - this being £8500 plus VAT. Then he just walked off the site, leaving the job unfinished (a doorway needed fitting and plastering). Despite agreeing to match the other quotes, all of which included the VAT he was now wanting to charge us the VAT again. We paid him £9,700, which was an extra £1,200 to account for the extra jobs that he had done, and that we had said we would pay for. We said that he was welcome to come back and finish the job (plastering a ceiling) and we would then pay him the outstanding £500. After not hearing anything for 10 weeks we got someone else in to finish the job off. Our builder is now demanding the additional £500 that we withheld for the unfinished work. Should I pay this?