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| Thread ID: 132251 | 2013-05-12 02:37:00 | Commercial version of CGA in NZ -- Responding to an overpriced trade services invoice | Chilling_Silence (9) | PC World Chat |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 1340808 | 2013-05-12 02:37:00 | Hi there, Quick run-down, the local church was having some work done on the property by a tradesman. However, the person who engaged the builder on behalf of the church didn't obtain an estimate / quote prior. Needless to say he's in a bit of hot water for that, as the invoice has come back around 5x what it was expected to cost, or what we would consider to be a "reasonable" price to pay. Aside from going back and asking for a breakdown of the individual costs (Which I believe the tradesman is *not* obliged to provide), we're wondering what else we can do, basically we think it's daylight robbery. The local church isn't covered under the Consumer Guarantees Act, as it's not an individual, it's a charitable trust and as such its *technically* a business. I believe they're only covered under the Sale of Goods Act 1908, as the Fair Trading Act doesn't seem to mention anything specifically about these circumstances, but I'm not overly familiar with what sort of protections the Sale of Goods Act provides. Has anybody else had any similar experience with what appears to be a grossly overinflated invoice, from a business, to a business? Cheers Chill. |
Chilling_Silence (9) | ||
| 1340809 | 2013-05-12 10:23:00 | I suggest that you get three competitive quotes in writing for the work exactly as done from reputable companies. Just make sure that the quotes are very detailed and nothing is missed out. Pay the tradesman the amount of the highest quote without prejudice, and once he has banked the cheque, invite him to sue for the balance. Unless he is a fool he will accept the payment, bank the cheque, and go away grumbling. Incidently, an estimate is just that, a qualified guess at what the job may cost, and as long as it is annotated as an estimate, the contractor may ask for more, although as a client it would be reasonable to ask for justification with an itemised list of actual time and costs. A quotation or tender is an offer to do the job for a specified sum, and unless there is some additional expense, that could not have been reasonably foreseen, the contractor has to carry the additional cost. For a contractor, the correct procedure where additional costs arise that could not be reasonably foreseen, is to stop work, and negotiate with the client concerning the extra cost, if he proceeds, and then tries to charge for the extra work without prior consultation with the client, the contractor may well have to carry the extra cost, or otherwise take up the matter through the courts. The situation is exactly the same as having a car repaired, if you give the repairer carte blanche expect to suffer the consequences. A fixed price quote should be obtained with instructions that if more expense is likely to be incurred, then the contractor/repairer should consult with the client before proceeding - its commonsense. |
KenESmith (6287) | ||
| 1340810 | 2013-05-12 10:43:00 | Everything costs5x more then what you think it's worth. How did you come with the reasonable price? Have you had quotes since the job is done to say the price was unreasonable? | plod (107) | ||
| 1340811 | 2013-05-12 10:54:00 | He's ripped you off (if it is 5x the cost), because you are a church...I have seen this happen before. | wmoore (6009) | ||
| 1340812 | 2013-05-12 10:58:00 | He's ripped you off (if it is 5x the cost), because you are a church...I have seen this happen before.re read his post. The invoice came back to 5x what the church thought was reasonable, but the church has no idea what a reasonable price actually is. | plod (107) | ||
| 1340813 | 2013-05-12 11:13:00 | re read his post. The invoice came back to 5x what the church thought was reasonable, but the church has no idea what a reasonable price actually is. A garage needed remedial work to the roof. It was quite minor. You could almost buy two double garages for the price of the invoice. Good idea about getting 3x quotes, but the hard part is the work has been done and so a retrospective quote isn't something most companies will want to give, or bother with (Coz they know they can't get the business if it's already been done :p ). There *should* have been 3x quotes initially, but the gentleman who engaged the company on behalf of the church has apparently skipped that step, when this is the very reason *why* people generally do the 3x quotes :-/ Unfortunately this builder basically just saw it as an open checkbook and decided to take advantage of it. |
Chilling_Silence (9) | ||
| 1340814 | 2013-05-12 11:20:00 | So you were charged close to 30k then, if so that is excessive | plod (107) | ||
| 1340815 | 2013-05-12 19:31:00 | I must say, I was wondering how you get three quotes for a job that is done. Certainly need to pay. |
Cicero (40) | ||
| 1340816 | 2013-05-12 21:32:00 | I re-roofed a large home for $7K in materials. My labour was free. May depend if any remedial work was needed on warped / split / rotten timbers beneath the roof as well, but that's not precision carpentry. Also, any special bits made to go around roof protrusions (chimneys, skylights, spires, breather pipes, flagpoles, aerials, hot water cylinder pipes) all add to the cost considerably. |
Paul.Cov (425) | ||
| 1340817 | 2013-05-12 22:40:00 | Small claims court could be an option, but you would need to do your homework first. | Arnie (6624) | ||
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