Locksmith

Is It Fair To Be Charged For Work That Didn’t Fix The Problem?

Anonymous user 15/03/2024 - 2.39 PM

I hired someone to fix the lock on an pvc front door that wouldn’t hold shut when pushed closed and would only latch closed if the handle was pushed up after pushing the door closed. When he came to quote for the work, the door did actually latch shut when pushed closed but I explained that this was not usually the case and usually the handle had to be pushed up for the door to hold in place. He told me it didn’t matter as he would change the lock. I also told him that while I was getting this job done I might as well get him to change the handle and letterbox at the same time to make the door look better. I was away when he did the work but he invoiced me for the work with the message that the work had all been done. Speaking with my son who was at home, he said the workman had done the work but had told him something couldn’t be fixed. On questioning the locksmith he then told me he had changed the cylinder but the door mechanism was faulty and needed to be changed if I wanted the door to lock. He told me a new mechanism would cost around £300 if he was able to get hold of the same mechanism (which seemed doubtful). He told me he also changed the handle and letterbox and asked me to pay him asap. This has left me with a door with the exact same problem it had before the work was done but with a new lock that doesn’t work and a new handle and letterbox. This is on a door that will now need to be thrown away and replaced with a new one (which seems better value than £300 + labour for a new mechanism). I would have expected a decent tradesman to have realised the problem with the door mechanism if not at the time of quoting for the work then at least while fitting the cylinder and then stopped the work, put the old cylinder back and told me about the problem and asked if I still wanted the handle and letterbox changed as it would cost so much to fix the door mechanism. I would expect him then to charge me no more than reasonable labour for the work he had done (he was already at the house doing an additional £240 of work that I had no issue with). Instead he wants to be paid the full amount. I understand that work has been done to change the cylinder, letterbox and handle but the door still has the problem I hired him to fix and I do not understand why he continued replacing the letterbox and handle on a door that he must have known would need to be replaced. Any thoughts on how much I should pay him? The quote was £180 and he is asking me to pay the full amount. Thanks for any advice/comments.