not paying for extras

Stonsey · Mar 20, 2013

Just need some advice...
Just done a rewire and have been paid for the quoted works. Put the bill for all the extras in on completion after testing,

9 hours of chasing out
2nd 32A oven supply
3 bt points around house
Change 1g switch for a dimmer
Change pendant for a fancy ceiling fan
Additional fcu and 2 sockets in conservatory

All together I've priced materials at 158 and labour at 270, total 428.

Chasing was clearly stated to be done by others and no sockets priced for in conservatory on the original quote.

The customer left me a voicemail late last night saying my extras price was ridiculous and he only expected it to be £100! And that is all he is willing and able to pay.

Where do I stand with getting my money?

Octopus · Mar 20, 2013

How were the addtitions communicated? Did you advise them of the extra costs?

Stonsey · Mar 20, 2013

Advised verbally, stated on quote all extras at hourly rate plus materials. I gave them a rough estimate of labour before hand. Next time I'm making variation forms!

kingeri · Mar 20, 2013

1. Letter asking for money, be pleasant, in small print have reference to legal action for nonpayment.
2. If that doesn't work, pleasant but firm letter advising of possible further action.
3. Letter from your solicitor.
4. Write it off if all above fail, unless you want to go to court.

Octopus · Mar 20, 2013

I'd stick to your guns. Have you given him the cert and done the LABC stuff?

kingeri · Mar 20, 2013

Murdoch makes a good point, withholding certs/refusing to notify can be effective leverage.

Stonsey · Mar 20, 2013

Cert has been notified and is on the way to him
I never thought I'd have a problem with him, he was a friend of the family. He also used this trying to imply he felt I was ripping them off.

Octopus · Mar 20, 2013

Sounds like a hard lesson could have been learnt here.

On a recent rewire I anticipated the customer would dispute the final bill from day 1, so each time he asked for additions/changes I sent him an estimate to cover the extra/change. Towards the end he asked me what the revised total was - so I sent him the total - he then asked for a breakdown, so I sent him the estimates again.

Doing the extra estimates took a few minutes each time, but ensured full payment was made.

Payment was made in full, then I supplied the cert and notified the job.

kingeri · Mar 20, 2013

Aren't customers lovely sometimes. All you can do really is put the pressure on. Give them a very thorough breakdown of all the charges. Otherwise your only final hope is court action, but having been there myself, you really need to think whether or not it's worth it. if the amount was over a grand, I'd go all the way. In your case, I'd just throw the towel in. But a letter from your solicitor (after you've sent your own letters giving them a reasonable length of time to pay) can work wonders.

Heisenberg · Mar 20, 2013

Have a look here...

https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/web/mcol/welcome

Hopefully you won't need to go that far, but given that (cheap) credit is hard to get these days unless you have a squeaky clean credit file, the possibility of people getting a CCJ against them is quite a threat.

Maybe you should play him at his own game and say you don't expect to be treated that way as he is/was considered a friend of the family.

Cheers

tom79bmth · Mar 20, 2013

I think I would have a chat with the customer explain the reason for the price show him the bills for the materials and try and come to agreement, going to court is a work up

Guitarist · Mar 20, 2013

It's easy to say "no" via voicemail, so as suggested, you need a face-to-face chat.
The fact that he's a friend of the family only makes it worse in my experience, as these people expect you to work for "mates rates".
Also, the old indignant "I feel cheated and ripped off" routine is an old trick to make you feel bad and back down. Maybe offer a 10% discount as a goodwill gesture, but don't give in, or this will tell him that you were just trying it on. You can imagine what he will tell people..... "That electrician tried to charge me more, so I told him where to get off. He soon backed down when he realised I wasn't going to be ripped off!"
All the best mate, not a nice place to be.

Rockingit · Mar 20, 2013

I had this on a job a couple of years ago where the extras just ran and ran and in the end the job was almost twice the original budget. It was the womans house but her boyfriend was bank-rolling the job - then they split up just as the job was finishing up. She tried to dodge me for a couple of weeks until we had a meeting and I agreed with her to payment terms over six months - much better outcome than sour milk and court.

As the amount is relatively small, it might pay you to say to the guy that you're willing to accept half now and half later on.

k-spark · Mar 20, 2013

You should remind him all those materials are yours until they pay up!
I've had all this before, it's a nightmare. Stick with it, I'm sure they'll come around.