Charging extras

[tony84]

Hi,

I have had a joiner down to fit a kitchen. He came down, viewed it with all of the cabinets from the old kitchen in and gave me a price.

He then came down again once the cabinets were out and told me to get some bits in for him which I did (including some board)

Now after being on the job for a day he has come back and said he wants extra for fitting the board as they were not in the original quote. Its not a lot, but should this not have come up in discussions before even starting the job?

Im assuming this isnt normal?

 

[S Isaac]

Unless the price was quite high to begin with to allow them to 'absorb' any unforeseen bits, then usually some extra charges for unstated things is pretty normal (even though annoying).

How much extra are they looking for v the cost of the job?

 

[Newchodge]

When he gave the estimate it was based on what he could see. Once the units were out he could see more and realised more was needed, hence the 'extras'. How could you expect him to have known about fitting the board before he could see it was needed?

If he gave a quote, rather than an estimate, the legal position is a bit different.

 

[tony84]

Im not looking at legal view as I have no intention of going to court but I think you misunderstood? More of a what would you expect as good business practice.

He came when the units were there and gave me a price.
He then came when the units were out and told me that I needed some extra materials... at this point I would have expected him to say it will also cost extra, but he didnt.
He came back 2 days later and spent a day on the job and THEN told me it will be extra on the basis of these extra materials needing fitting.

So he knew before he even started it was going to cost more but never mentioned it until it was too late for me to get someone else in. To me that seems very snidey. He didnt get what he wanted anyway as we argued it out and made a compromise, one I am not overly happy with but hey ho life goes on.

 

[S Isaac]

Yes, good business practice would have been to tell you as soon as he was aware of any additional work & the associated costs.

Many will try their luck and I'd imagine they get away with it most of the time.

 

[Matt1959]

this would be standard practice for some trades - quote low and charge aggressively for extras. Unsure whether you have engaged one of these types or whether they are just clumsy!

 

[MASSEY]

If he's given the sort of mega low quotes some kitchen fitters seem to give these days then i could understand him wanting extra. I think in fairness to him it is hard to tell what the situation will be in some cases until you start ripping stuff out. We don't like to ask people for extra money and often throw in some added value and freebies if the price is good, but if we're quiet and get screwed down by someone leaving us with a modest wage and little business profit, we may try to squeeze extra money once we have our foot in the door. I would presume the kitchen fitter didn't want to say it will be extra and then you barter him down by saying you'll look for someone else.

It isn't always easy to break it to some people that there will be extra costs either, maybe he was just plucking up the courage. You get a lot of people these days who plead poverty when you know they can afford it.

 

[mckellar]

happens in all trades. if he was getting you to buy extra - you should possibly have asked him if it was going to be extra to fit it, as its more work. but theres a lack of communication from both parties on this one.

We work with house builders doing the cleaning side of things - i price a house up as a bare house, no client extras - if the client requests extra tiling, switches etc it is all extra. We also get extra money for re-cleans, cleaning to stock plots, advanced cleans prior to first clean price etc etc.

we rely on the 'extras' when we are working as it tops up the price per plot (PPP)

 

[tony84]

But if hes asking me to buy things, then why would I assume it would cost extra to fit? Surely when someone says the price is £xxx you will need to get xxx then he should have included that in the costs?

I dont think I can be expected to second guess what a tradesman is thinking. I charge people for a job, if something crops up down the line then I dont charge extra for it unless they have intentionally mi-lead me.

Put it this way, he got an extra few quid but lost about £1000-1500 worth of work that he was guaranteed.

 

[mckellar]

without telling us the full price, how much extra is he charging you? even as a %

 

[PDRD]

Sounds like he was fair in asking for extra money to do work which was originally not known about. It also aeems a good plan on his part not to tell you at the start as it seems very likely you would have told him where the door was.

To say he is not getting additional work from you because he charged for an extra seems ridiculous.


If you go to the dentist for a filling which they tell you is £50 but after drilling you need a route canal and crown they dont just charge you for the £50....

 

[tony84]

Read my post again...
He gave me a price and told me what I would need.

AFTER he started the work he then told me it would be extra to do the work he already knew he was going to do and in my opinion should have been included in the price.

I have no issue if the price changes, my issue is that he told me after the work had started - DESPITE knowing about it before he even came to start to the job.

Your analogy is flawed as in your example its something that was only found out AFTER the work has started. If he had started my kitchen and a load of plaster fell off then I would expect the work to cost more if he had to come back an extra day for example... no issue with that. My issue is that he knew exactly what work was required but only told me about the extra cost once he had started.

The amount he charged wasnt a lot in the end as we argued it out - but its the fact he knew he would have to do it but never mentioned it until I had no option but to stick with him or get someone else in to finish off the original persons work.

To go back to your analogy it would be like saying you need a filling and a route canal it will cost £50 - then once the drilling is done saying it will cost extra to do the route canal.

 

[Airgunner]

I feel for both on this, some tradesmen don't feel comfortable asking for extra money half way through the job hence if I discover problems half way I give a second price to rectify said problem and show how it can not proceed until its rectified, not ask for say some board then charge to fit it. Seems daft to keep asking your client for things. But that's just my way to avoid problems like this as word of mouth is critical these days.

 

[tony84]

But there was no need to ask for the extra half way through the job - he could have asked before even started. He could have asked before even turning up to start the job.

 

[Airgunner]

That's my point, I just don't understand why some tradesmen do it, there are much easier ways! It must be very awkward for all involved.