The law regarding undercharging
Discussion
I carried out some building work for a customer who paid me in stages.
When I invoiced the final account I sent him a breakdown of all the costs showing the sum outstanding but I accidentally sent him a copy of a previous invoice which was about £2k less than the amount owed.
He paid very promptly but now my accounts are being done it has only just come to light, some three months later.
I've now sent him the final invoice but he is claiming that he thought he'd already paid the final amount and he's got no funds left.
He's obviously trying to pull a fast one, but I'd be interested to know where I stand.
When I invoiced the final account I sent him a breakdown of all the costs showing the sum outstanding but I accidentally sent him a copy of a previous invoice which was about £2k less than the amount owed.
He paid very promptly but now my accounts are being done it has only just come to light, some three months later.
I've now sent him the final invoice but he is claiming that he thought he'd already paid the final amount and he's got no funds left.
He's obviously trying to pull a fast one, but I'd be interested to know where I stand.
Why is he pulling a fast one?
It has taken you 3 months to notice, there was an error. If I had had work done and I got an invoice done at the end of that work I would consider that work was paid for. Coming back to me 3 months later says A) chancer B) Presenting an invoice without first contacting me and explaining what has gone wrong, would make me think A. C) if he doesn't realise he is £2K "light" for three months he clearly doesn't need it.
Sorry to be negative but when you think your customer is "pulling a fast one" perhaps you need to look at it from the other side.
It has taken you 3 months to notice, there was an error. If I had had work done and I got an invoice done at the end of that work I would consider that work was paid for. Coming back to me 3 months later says A) chancer B) Presenting an invoice without first contacting me and explaining what has gone wrong, would make me think A. C) if he doesn't realise he is £2K "light" for three months he clearly doesn't need it.
Sorry to be negative but when you think your customer is "pulling a fast one" perhaps you need to look at it from the other side.
k up, move on.Vaud said:
On what basis? He issued a "final" invoice that the customer accepted and paid.
Contract is for customer to pay supplier the amount due. Error in invoicing does not overcome that obligation. There may be an "estoppel"/"personal bar" argument here i.e. his actions are such that OP has prevented himself on relying upon his rights due to his previous actions. I am not expert in this area of law but I doubt that obvious error would be sufficient to stop him relying on his contractual rights. Payment is therefore due. Court is the only way to enforce.Presumably you quoted him for the job in the first place & there is a contract that said what the work was supposed to cost, which he accepted?
If so then you just wheel that out.....
If you've got those things & his consent/instruction to do the work then you should be fine. Admin mistakes happen in all businesses. It really annoys me when people seem to think that an admin mistake somehow changes what was agreed .
If so then you just wheel that out.....
If you've got those things & his consent/instruction to do the work then you should be fine. Admin mistakes happen in all businesses. It really annoys me when people seem to think that an admin mistake somehow changes what was agreed .
No it wouldn't. The contract will say what the contract says. You are putting undue emphasis on something called "the final invoice". I would care to wager that if there is a contract, then it will not use that term
Bert
Bert
Vaud said:
Contract should have said final invoice after staged payments, etc was final.
Wombat3 said:
Presumably you quoted him for the job in the first place & there is a contract that said what the work was supposed to cost, which he accepted?
If so then you just wheel that out.....
If you've got those things & his consent/instruction to do the work then you should be fine. Admin mistakes happen in all businesses. It really annoys me when people seem to think that an admin mistake somehow changes what was agreed .
Sure, but after three months, wouldn't the error be deemed as acceptance of the contract/invoice?If so then you just wheel that out.....
If you've got those things & his consent/instruction to do the work then you should be fine. Admin mistakes happen in all businesses. It really annoys me when people seem to think that an admin mistake somehow changes what was agreed .
Admin errors are one thing, and a correction within a reasonable timeframe (say, a few days for an erroneous invoice reasonable) - but three months?
Just to clarify:
A quote was given before work began with a detailed breakdown of costs on a spreadsheet.
There should have been seven stage payments, each invoice cross referenced to the spreadsheet.
The invoice for the seventh payment was never given to the customer. I mistakenly gave him a duplicate of invoice No.6 but the spreadsheet showed the true figure due.
A genuine mistake which the customer would have picked up on but decided to keep quiet about.
A quote was given before work began with a detailed breakdown of costs on a spreadsheet.
There should have been seven stage payments, each invoice cross referenced to the spreadsheet.
The invoice for the seventh payment was never given to the customer. I mistakenly gave him a duplicate of invoice No.6 but the spreadsheet showed the true figure due.
A genuine mistake which the customer would have picked up on but decided to keep quiet about.
Vaud said:
Wombat3 said:
Presumably you quoted him for the job in the first place & there is a contract that said what the work was supposed to cost, which he accepted?
If so then you just wheel that out.....
If you've got those things & his consent/instruction to do the work then you should be fine. Admin mistakes happen in all businesses. It really annoys me when people seem to think that an admin mistake somehow changes what was agreed .
Sure, but after three months, wouldn't the error be deemed as acceptance of the contract/invoice?If so then you just wheel that out.....
If you've got those things & his consent/instruction to do the work then you should be fine. Admin mistakes happen in all businesses. It really annoys me when people seem to think that an admin mistake somehow changes what was agreed .
Admin errors are one thing, and a correction within a reasonable timeframe (say, a few days for an erroneous invoice reasonable) - but three months?
Boot on the other foot: If you got overcharged for something by say BT or an energy company but it took you a while to notice, would you write it off because you failed to notice within a day or two? I doubt it......
fouronthefloor said:
Just to clarify:
A quote was given before work began with a detailed breakdown of costs on a spreadsheet.
There should have been seven stage payments, each invoice cross referenced to the spreadsheet.
The invoice for the seventh payment was never given to the customer. I mistakenly gave him a duplicate of invoice No.6 but the spreadsheet showed the true figure due.
A genuine mistake which the customer would have picked up on but decided to keep quiet about.
IMO as a 35 yr contractor..........write a polite letter...point out your mistake....if it's all documented as you state my guess is he will pay but you may have to offer goodwill gesture - say 10%?A quote was given before work began with a detailed breakdown of costs on a spreadsheet.
There should have been seven stage payments, each invoice cross referenced to the spreadsheet.
The invoice for the seventh payment was never given to the customer. I mistakenly gave him a duplicate of invoice No.6 but the spreadsheet showed the true figure due.
A genuine mistake which the customer would have picked up on but decided to keep quiet about.
Vaud said:
Sure, but after three months, wouldn't the error be deemed as acceptance of the contract/invoice?
Admin errors are one thing, and a correction within a reasonable timeframe (say, a few days for an erroneous invoice reasonable) - but three months?
Sure, I expect that is exactly the attitude HMRC would have if they discovered I had underpaid my VAT due to a mistake on their part.Admin errors are one thing, and a correction within a reasonable timeframe (say, a few days for an erroneous invoice reasonable) - but three months?
This guy has supplied a service and it isn't unreasonable to expect to get paid in full for it. What sort of total tosspot would want to 'put one over' on a tradesman like this?
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