Scratched a customers floor while working

[Andystraughan]

Hi guys in a bit of a dilemma here

done loads of work for a kitchen fitter at a women's house. Kitchen rewire new cooker circuit. 14 spots etc. she decided she wanted all the sockets & switches changed to chrome. No problem. Until I get a call off the joiner saying I have scratched the wood flooring upstairs and she wants it sorting. As I would too. She's with holding the full amount just shy of 1k. I got a French polisher to have a look but she wasn't happy that approach. Then went to a floor layer who says he will sand it down and re-varnish etc. she doesn't want that. Now the kitchen fitter says she wants £500 knocking off the bill and she will call it quits. Any advice? Should I bite the bullet? I'm still a newish company so don't want to see my insurance premiums go up etc

Andy

 

[Plonker 3]

Did you scratch the floor? or is the kitchen fitter trying to blame you?

 

[sparkdog]

Join the FSB (Federation of Small Business) & get some legal advice.

 

[Guest55]

its obvious she wont be happy with any repair you try and organize cos she just wants the £500 basically.
have you seen the scratch ?
if not take pics to support your own defence.
then give it to your liability insures to sort out , thats what its there for.
dont agree to knock a single penny off and dont give them any certs till youve been paid.
once they realise youd rather let the insurers sort it out they will change their tune.
and tell the kitchen fitter to pi$$ off cos hes clearly in on the scam , which is what it is.

 

[Geordie Spark]

Did you scratch the floor? or is the kitchen fitter trying to blame you?

Welcome fellow cynic. It's a pleasure to meet you!!

 

[Guest55]

dont tell me youve admitted responsibility ?

dear oh dear.

 

[telectrix]

9/10 the floor was already scratched. this is why it's so important to point out any damage before starting work.

 

[thomas-1981]

Did you scratch the floor? I take it all you done upstairs was change fittings?

 

[Darkwood]

As it was the joiner who made you aware of this scratch i can only assume you were unaware the floor was scratched or whether you were to blame...

Were any other trades working in the room?
Why does she think you're to blame?
Have you inspected the scratch and taken photo's?
If you offer a service to repair the scratch to bring it back to its original quality then she cannot refuse the option without a solid valid reason and demand a reduction she has been given a solution and feels she wants to play this scam.

Email her (Email saved as evidence) - express that you were unaware of the scratch and don't admit responsibility but as a good will gesture you will have the floor repaired as good as it originally was by a professional. Express the quote and bill for your works is not negotiable as it was agreed and as you have organised to have the scratch repaired then you will be forced to hand it over to your legal team to ensure full payment of the bill. Express the good will gesture to have it repaired is only on offer for a short period before you withdraw it. Say the work done has been done as requested to a professional standard and thus still stands as the quoted cost of the job.

Explain she has 2 week to reply and make her decision before you hand this over to your legal team to sort out, also explain if she refuses the repair of the floor she is required to submit a valid reason for refusing the option as your legal team will need to know why.

The above should scare her enough as i can't see here wanting to hire a lawyer to defend her side ... this reeks of scam (but don't accuse her of this as this could be used against you) and don't get scared because of your inexperience ... confidence is the winner it can be seen and can be used to change peoples view on the situation.

Explain also if she is still been stubborn that if your legal team wins their case then she will be submitted with a bill to cover their costs.

 

[mechelec]

Email her (Email saved as evidence) - express that you were unaware of the scratch and don't admit responsibility but as a good will gesture you will have the floor repaired as good as it originally was by a professional.

I suspect how ever good the repair she will still be back wanting cash in her pocket. She is a chancer call her bluff as suggested above.

 

[Darkwood]

Email her (Email saved as evidence) - express that you were unaware of the scratch and don't admit responsibility but as a good will gesture you will have the floor repaired as good as it originally was by a professional.

I suspect how ever good the repair she will still be back wanting cash in her pocket. She is a chancer call her bluff as suggested above.

This is exactly why i suggested he worded it as above and dropping key terms like 'my legal team' and 'good will gesture' these are strong confident key terms and will make any scammer question whether its worth playing hard ball...

 

[gutterball]

i agree with everyone else, she's trying it on. the first thing you should have done was go and have a look yourself. how could you scratch the floor by changing face plates?

 

[Darkwood]

BTW Andystraughan..... as I was replying to your thread my computer crashed losing some invoices I needed to print out... I had to spend hours re-doing them so Ill be sending you bill for my time spent as I would not be in this situe had I not been trying to help you! :ihih:

 

[Andystraughan]

Thanks for the advice. The kitchen fitter is on my side I've done loads of work for him. As far as I'm aware where the scratch is located is exactly where I moved some drawers so yeah I have scratched it but haven't openly admit it. It's only a surface scratch and yes I have photos. She just wants £500 knocked off.

Andy

 

[Andystraughan]

Oh and the floor sander guy had to actually ask where the scratch was when he went to see it.

no problem dark wood sent it over!!!

 

[MDJ]

What you need to do is ask the customer why she thinks you are responsible for the apparently made scratch, ask her to confirm to you the reasoning behind her way of thinking regarding this. When she has explained the reasons why she holds you responsible you can then start to defend your corner. Ultimately if you believe you have not done this I would suggest you stand firm and insist on payment, something will have to give, it is a case of whether she will give in and pay up or whether you back dow n and let her win. If it were me and I knew I didn't cause the scratch I would never give an inch and admit to it because it would be a mistake to do so and admit guilt when your not responsible, I would also sort out the kitchen fitter if he attempts to blame you as well, only you know if your to blame or not.

 

[Corpy76]

If your going in to peoples homes day in day out your going to come across the odd awkward customer about one a year! you can't please everyone! You seem to have acted reasonably she just trying it on. Have you submitted her building control cert yet? If not don't until you have been fully paid up or have come to a satisfactory settlement! And let her know your withholding it, by not obtaining it she is acting illegally and it is up to her to ensure she receives it. I don't know how you stand legally not issuing it but it could be a bargaining chip!

 

[Geordie Spark]

BTW Andystraughan..... as I was replying to your thread my computer crashed losing some invoices I needed to print out... I had to spend hours re-doing them so Ill be sending you bill for my time spent as I would not be in this situe had I not been trying to help you! :ihih:

It's your fault for trying to be too clever.

What's wrong with a typewriter or a pen?

They never "crash" and never "lose" anything.

This is similar to what I used:

And this:

 

[tidyboiler]

When a washing machine repair man came to repair my washer, he left black oily boot marks all over my hall carpet. Had it been in my previous house which had new carpet, I would have screwed him for a steam clean but as the carpet has seen better days I didn't bother. I don't seem to do very well with tradesman, a plumber who did some work for me in Wales groped me and said he would forget the bill if I did what he wanted. He soon realised he had tried it on with the wrong one as I shut his hand in the door. :behead:

 

[Darkwood]

When a washing machine repair man came to repair my washer, he left black oily boot marks all over my hall carpet. Had it been in my previous house which had new carpet, I would have screwed him for a steam clean but as the carpet has seen better days I didn't bother. I don't seem to do very well with tradesman, a plumber who did some work for me in Wales groped me and said he would forget the bill if I did what he wanted. He soon realised he had tried it on with the wrong one as I shut his hand in the door. :behead:

Only his hand?.... A Yorkshire Lass would have slammed his jewels in the door..still need his hands to do the job he turned up to do.