Dispute issue with a tradesman.
Discussion
Recently I had work carried out in my house. One of the bills from one of the tradesman was well over the top for the work carried out. The bill didn't breakdown how the total was calculated.
The only contact method on the bill was a mobile phone number. I gave him a text for an explanation how they came to the total he had. He was claiming for far more hours than his employee was at my house and couldn't explain what materials we had been charged for. He didn't respond to my text message when challenged.
It turned out that my partner had previously been emailing him. We have now emailed him on a couple of occasions and he also ignores them. All we've highlighted is we feel the bill is far too high and explained the reasons why. We've asked for a bill reflective of the work be issued.
He's not responded in any form for over 2 weeks.
How should I proceed with this?
I don't want to find myself getting dragged to a small claims court, but I'm not willing to be ripped off either.
The only contact method on the bill was a mobile phone number. I gave him a text for an explanation how they came to the total he had. He was claiming for far more hours than his employee was at my house and couldn't explain what materials we had been charged for. He didn't respond to my text message when challenged.
It turned out that my partner had previously been emailing him. We have now emailed him on a couple of occasions and he also ignores them. All we've highlighted is we feel the bill is far too high and explained the reasons why. We've asked for a bill reflective of the work be issued.
He's not responded in any form for over 2 weeks.
How should I proceed with this?
I don't want to find myself getting dragged to a small claims court, but I'm not willing to be ripped off either.
Alucidnation said:
How far over the quote/estimate was it?
He was pulled in by someone else. There wasn't a quote given. He was recommended by the main tradesman carrying out work. The main tradesman also agrees that his bill is far too much for what he did. Having spoken to other tradesman they all think the real price should be about £300 with £350 being top price. The bill I have been sent is £850.
The vast majority of the bill is labour costs. It's unjustified as the hours are far more than he worked. The young tradesman also admitted that he struggled to do the work and lost hours doing simple jobs. He also spend a few hours on his phone and having cigarette breaks. The job he couldn't manage on the first visit took 10 minutes once he had received some instruction.
He can't clarify what materials were used. He hasn't used any materials that add up to anymore than pocket change.
Bristol spark said:
I would imagine he will contact you when he decides he would like payment, then you can discuss the breakdown.
Have you tried calling him? texts/emails are far to easy to ignore/forget about.
I haven't tried to phone him. The way it has gone I did think it would be best to keep things in writing. Have you tried calling him? texts/emails are far to easy to ignore/forget about.
His responses were always swift until he was challenged about the bill. He knows there is an issue that needs attended to.
Edited by Driver101 on Sunday 1st October 21:14
Driver101 said:
Alucidnation said:
How far over the quote/estimate was it?
He was pulled in by someone else. There wasn't a quote given. He was recommended by the main tradesman carrying out work. The main tradesman also agrees that his bill is far too much for what he did. Having spoken to other tradesman they all think the real price should be about £300 with £350 being top price. The bill I have been sent is £850.
The vast majority of the bill is labour costs. It's unjustified as the hours are far more than he worked. The young tradesman also admitted that he struggled to do the work and lost hours doing simple jobs. He also spend a few hours on his phone and having cigarette breaks. The job he couldn't manage on the first visit took 10 minutes once he had received some instruction.
He can't clarify what materials were used. He hasn't used any materials that add up to anymore than pocket change.
Bristol spark said:
I would imagine he will contact you when he decides he would like payment, then you can discuss the breakdown.
Have you tried calling him? texts/emails are far to easy to ignore/forget about.
I haven't tried to phone him. The way it has gone I did think it would be best to keep things in writing. Have you tried calling him? texts/emails are far to easy to ignore/forget about.
His responses were always swift until he was challenged about the bill. He knows there is an issue that needs attended to.
Edited by Driver101 on Sunday 1st October 21:14
On the whole tradesman aren't that bright, and the more time you spend fannying about the more chance there is for his two braincells to decide he's definitely in the right and you are mucking him about.
Alucidnation said:
Who kept a record of the hours?
It's all very well disputing it, but do you know his hourly/daily rate?
What materials do you think he would have used?
What did he actually do?
Other tradesmen were here the first time he was here. The first day he removed the old LED lights from the ceiling and left a temporary light. It's all very well disputing it, but do you know his hourly/daily rate?
What materials do you think he would have used?
What did he actually do?
The second day he was let into the house by my partner and I returned a few hours later. When he came back to finish the job we were both at home. His hours are accounted for very accurately.
He fitted 5 LED lights that already had existing wiring. He plugged in and hung(one bracket with two screws plus a screw at the other side) a mirror and drew a feed to power the lights on the new sink cabinet. The mirror already had existing wiring that was retained.
He couldn't manage to hang the mirror alone and admitted he lost hours. It took us minutes to adjust it after he set it too high.
The LED light on the sink cabinet confused him. He admitted he had no idea and had spend ages trying to work it out. On his next visit he had it working in minutes.
His lack of ability is the major factor why hours were already excessive.
His materials are a couple of feet of wiring and one terminal junction box.
His hourly rate is £30+ VAT. He had clarified his costs and given the amount of hours he claims his employee worked.
Edited by Driver101 on Sunday 1st October 21:39
What work was carried out for your bill of £850 and whereabouts are you in the country?
cmaguire said:
On the whole tradesman aren't that bright, and the more time you spend fannying about the more chance there is for his two braincells to decide he's definitely in the right and you are mucking him about.
Really? and what do you do for a living? 
cmaguire said:
On the whole tradesman aren't that bright, and the more time you spend fannying about the more chance there is for his two braincells to decide he's definitely in the right and you are mucking him about.
You know over the years I've seen some bloody stupid statements on here, but that takes the biscuit. My father was a master builder and he had an IQ of around 140. He was the wisest, most perceptive man I have ever known and was also a talented musician. I have worked with many highly skilled men over the years who were far brighter, more skilled and definitely more honest than most of the degree qualified and grossly over paid solicitors I have worked with.The actor Harrison Ford was discovered as a set carpenter in Hollywood and went on to be a highly successful and equally highly intelligent actor. So try and show a bit of respect for individuals that you clearly know nothing about.
J
jith said:
cmaguire said:
On the whole tradesman aren't that bright, and the more time you spend fannying about the more chance there is for his two braincells to decide he's definitely in the right and you are mucking him about.
You know over the years I've seen some bloody stupid statements on here, but that takes the biscuit. My father was a master builder and he had an IQ of around 140. He was the wisest, most perceptive man I have ever known and was also a talented musician. I have worked with many highly skilled men over the years who were far brighter, more skilled and definitely more honest than most of the degree qualified and grossly over paid solicitors I have worked with.The actor Harrison Ford was discovered as a set carpenter in Hollywood and went on to be a highly successful and equally highly intelligent actor. So try and show a bit of respect for individuals that you clearly know nothing about.
J
I've had dealings with plenty of tradesmen, either doing work for me or working alongside them. My longest serving friend is also a plumber, and not particularly complimentary about most of his peers.
What is it that has you thinking those that are generally perceived of as tradesmen (plumbers, builders, carpenters, electricians etc) are likely to be particularly bright in the first place?
I don't have a problem with them often not being too bright as it isn't usually a prerequisite required to do their jobs properly.
However, far too many of them are like the pictures on the wall at McDonalds. Totally misleading.
When they quote for a job they're the best quality tradesman ever, always turn up when they say they will, they'll make sure you're happy before they leave, put right anything damaged during the works, take all their rubbish away, you'll get a full quote/estimate with breakdown of costs and so on.
Cue the soggy burger and chips.
What you're likely to get is no proper bill (and possibly random demands for money as work progresses), they will rarely turn up on time if at all, they won't do everything you were expecting at the outset (with anything out of sight definitely being out of mind), they won't tidy up after themselves (and may even dump rubbish behind bath panels/kitchen units etc), they'll cut corners to save themselves time and money, and they will expect paying in full for the A1 job they implied they were actually going to do before they started. Their office skills/bookeeping will often be so bad any subsequent queries or disagreements will often become a he said/she said back and forth with them arguing that you weren't clear what you wanted in the first place.
Disclaimer - there are a minority of decent tradesmen that still take pride in their work. Unfortunately they are usually very busy.
So what you're saying is; you're such a massive bellpiece that decent tradesmen are always "Sorry i'm too busy" (for you...) and you end up with the low-enders who will work for anyone.
What you don't understand is that good tradesmen pick who they work for, not the other way around.
What you don't understand is that good tradesmen pick who they work for, not the other way around.
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