Hi
We have just had a major renovation and extension of our house and have spent over £250,000 with the builder. He has stuck to his original quote, but we have now been presented a huge bill of extras. We have argued some extras were in the original quote and he has taken them off saying it was his mistake. I walked around the house with the electrician and plumber and we discussed the heating and electrical points. I wrongly assumed they were covered by the original quote as nobody mentioned money. We have had an additional out of the blue £6,000 for this. Other work the builder carried out which I asked him to do has added up to over £15,000, but stupidly no quote was given for the extras, they went ahead and did them. I feel physically sick as it is money we have don't have now. He has charged us 5 days labour to put some plyboard in the bathrooms over the underfloor heating so that Karndean could be laid. I was there that day and it took one man one day. He is having none of it and says it is what we owe him. I just wonder by me sourcing all the bathroom, kitchen, paint and flooring that he has missed out on the mark up so is getting us back now. When I mentioned if they could do some additional work like making a cupboard door fit, it was casually of course no problem. I had no idea what he was charging. A shame as the actual build is very good
Are you a tradesperson and able to answer this question?
Hi Tania,
Was there any contract or agreed terms of works presented to you initially before the commencing of works?
There should be a detailed specification outlining the works, cost and time of completion provided to you by the contractor that could act as a binding contract to both parties.
If that was indeed provided initially - the contractor has no right to ask further monetary value for the detailed works. As its the contractors responsibility to quote you right especially after a site evaluation was conducted.
Thus you are in within your rights not to pay further to the contractor by law if the case was escalated to court - you would be in favour of not paying further costs.
However, if there wasn't a contract or agreed terms outlined (project scope) it is a he say/she say matter … thus, no one can be hold accountable as nothing is written as a reference point. Also its important to note, provided you didn't ask for additional services than what was initially quoted then you would have to pay for any additional cost.
Either way I would suggest you contact a lawyer for further advise on the matter.
Hope that helps.
All the best
Answered9 June 2020
5
Anonymous user
Hello Tania,
First off when a builder quotes for a job, he would of or should of quoted for the plumbing and electrics for the whole job.
In regards to the charging of 5 days labour for a job that took 1 person 1 day is a joke as your the customer who witnessed this take place.
It sounds to me he is just trying his luck to get more money from you as he had more than likely under priced himself and has lost money so easy way for him to make the lost money is by telling you you have to pay for extras.
I hope this helps and you get it sorted.
Many thanks
Connor Byrne
CB Services
If your contractor / builder has presented you with an invoice for extra works with the cost has not been agreed previously - you are fully within your rights to query the invoice.
This means until you have both gone over the extras & agreed the time & amount charged the invoice does not need paying - this is not an excuse not to pay for works completed but neither do you have to accept the invoice if there is over charging.
Answered7 November 2019
3
Anonymous user
He will have to stick to his original quote any additional work and costs would have to be agreed before the extra work could commence
Some of the answers are partially correct, but there is one general overarching rule - if you have asked for additional works then you are obliged to pay for them. However, if you have a detailed contract and reference and priced specification (you ought to have for a job of that size) then the methods of establishing the cost of additional works should be within the terms. If you do not have a written contract then only a simple contract exists (I.e. no expressed terms) and in this instance the additional cost should be ‘reasonable’ and ‘demonstrable’. One would expect the contractor to detail all materials used and the amount of labour and specific trade. On top of this you would expect to pay about 80% OH&P.
From what you say, the extras seem to be genuine but are potentially greatly exaggerated so you may need specific professional advice and should it become litigious the possibly an expert witness - I would try to avoid litigation as it will likely cost both parties more than the disputed sums.
Answered12 November 2019
3
Anonymous user
What would you decorators call a quote in at on a 20 by 20 room I’m disgraced to think wallpapering, ceiling painting and glossing I was offered £150 what would have been everyone else’s reply?
I suggest you start by itemising everything.
You then give your version back to him
If you asked him to do items that were not in the original agreement then it is reasonable that you pay for these. However he cannot write a blank cheque to himself.
Start by removing the items from the list that you can agree on. Then fir those without agreement, you can go to a third party who will decide on what is the going rate for the work that was carried out which is standardised across the industry. There are professional arbitrators in the construction industry who will do this for you.
You then
