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Gardening & Landscaping

Quote was via WhatsApp - and landscaper now wants more.

Anonymous user 28/02/2024 - 4.00 PM

My groundwork landscaper provided a price on WhatsApp (I now realise I’ve been very stupid to not insist on a written quote for the work). He has done drainage channels, a soak away hole, levelled the garden (200 sq metres) , installed artificial turf (100 sq m), fitted sleepers along a retaining wall & laid a patio. He originally said £17500. The first problem is, he’s now asking for £5.5k more. I did agree to a drain being repaired & more turf, but I did not know he needed double the MOT to level the ground & he told me the price after it had been delivered and spread (£2300 extra plus £1K labour). So, we have agreed to pay the extra, even though we were informed after the event & this is a very large amount of money for stones. However, the most upsetting thing is, he now says the price was always for cash - even though he never mentioned this before & it was not written on the WhatsApp message. I’ve got the money in the bank but he won’t let me transfer it. My bank won’t give me cash without an invoice. My husband and I are very worried. We just want to pay and put an end to it. He insists if I bank transfer he will have to add more - the job would end up £10000 more in this case - and £27500 is far too much for what he’s done. Can anyone advise me what I should do? I know I’ve been foolish so far. ** Edited Thanks for an answer. £17500 is reasonable and we agreed to that It’s now increased to £23000 - this was for a drain repair (£400) & slightly more turf (350) which we agreed to. The landscaper also said he had to do the sleepers differently which would be £1450 more due to him needing steels & he needed more MOT & Labour (3300). He told me all these prices after he’d done the work and had the MOT delivered before he told me how much it was. Although I think this is expensive, I’ll pay as the works been done. However, I object to him quoting a price without explaining it was a cash price. The £23000 would become £27600 - and I haven’t got that much money. I also had a quote for £16900 plus vat from another tradesman - but I went with this guy as he’s young & starting out & I wanted to give him the business. I’d have gone with the other guy if I’d realised his price didn’t include VAT. I’m shocked my bank won’t give me my own cash, but they were very insistent they would give me that much without an invoice.

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4 Answers

Anonymous user

You need to seek legal advice. If his limited going through the bank would add 20% which is £21,000 so his pulling a dodgy one their... I regularly withdraw thousands in cash and don’t need an invoice for my bank to do this. You need to seek legal advice from a chartered legal professional. I will say the £17,500 for the work done is fair a price ground works us tough and labour intense, materials aren’t cheap too even if they are just “stones” to you. Regards Frankie BT Roofing Services Limited
Answered10 May 2021
5

C.J.Gulliver Services

Rating: 3 out of 5
Basingstoke
Always have the customer written and signed for extra work.
Answered10 May 2021
1

Anonymous user

Whatsapp still constitutes a legal written quote. The cost of the additional work should have been notified to you in writing prior to installing. Bank transfer is fair in this current climate. Seek a legal representative to deal with the payment for but also check out your consumer rights at www.gov.uk Ben Wright BSc ICIOB Bright Integrated Services
Answered20 May 2021
1

Anonymous user

Check he is vat registered first If he has done you a quote that says vat then he should be knocking some off for cash surely
Answered20 May 2021
0