Customer refusing to pay in full - where do I stand legally?

[Christopher Bennett]

Hi, I recently started a joinery business and already have some repeat customers. I have been in the joinery trade around 20 years.

I have a good relationship with a local kitchen company and they hand out my card. I was recommended to a lady to fit her kitchen, went out, quoted the work and was given the go ahead for a date we agreed.

I worked on the kitchen for five days and the lady seemed very happy, was a very nice woman and even entrusted me with a key for the times when she was out. Then on the Friday afternoon, near completion, her daughter turned up and started poking holes in my work. She kept pointing out tiny defects such as a non perfect edge where I had to cut some laminated work (you cannot get a perfect edge when the wood is laminated) but I suggested perhaps putting in a fillet piece to cover this. Then the daughter started hanging over my shoulder whilst I was sorting the dishwasher and saying "are you sure you are doing that right? Is that how that is supposed to be done?". I did my best to be professional and kept my mouth shut but this daughter was determined to be obstructive. Even the electrician that was there at the time felt the need to start chiming in in my defence, telling her I was being truthful in my answers to her repeated queries. They all went out and left me to it to my relief and I left, but phoned the lady later to say I had finished for the day and could she please let me know if she has any issues with the work etc. I was already going to have to go back as she had a clear splashback that wouldn't be able to be fitted until it had been painted. She said she wasn't home yet but would call me once she had seen it. Next morning I still hadn't heard so I called again just before going out with my little one and she said there were three issues, could I please come and sort out the shelves and the worktop needed a further sanding as it was a bit rough and there was a bit of sawdust in the bottom of a couple of cupboards (not even kidding about that last one!) so I cancelled plans with my boy thinking I wouldn't be long and ended up being three hours whilst the daughter shows up again and more things are added to the list (a backsplash is 3mm out and a handle is 5mm out - so small I never even noticed!) I am a professional and understand people like things perfect so I agreed to go back on Monday at an agreed time. I got the stuff to tend to the little bits and on Monday morning gave the lady a courtesy call to check I was still ok to go back after lunch. She was very nice, said that was fine and then an hour before I was due to go she text to say she was no longer available that day or for the next few days. I was in the area and thought I would call with the invoice as she had said she would pay Monday and if she was home I could arrange a suitable time to go back. She was home and as soon as she opened the door she and her daughter let loose with a horrendous amount of abuse! The language was horrendous and they were blaming me for fitting a cornice that was the wrong colour (I don't supply the kitchen only fit it!) On leaving she said she would pay but she didn't want me touching her kitchen (with very colourful language) I kept my cool.

I got home, emailed her for mediation, listed all the points I understood she had issue with, giving their resolution and an explanation where possible and said I would happily come round to do the work and that I required paying, attaching another copy of the invoice and pointing out if I didn't get paid I would be taking her to small claims.

Days later her daughter worded an email which she then sent to her parents email address which they then forwarded to me with their names on the bottom stating that my version of events was "very interesting" and that they were getting a third party in the fix the faults and that as a "gesture of good will" they were prepared to pay me just £500 (the invoice is £1400!). I politely emailed back repeating the faults to show I understood, offering to fix them and giving my number to discuss but haven't heard anything.

Where do I stand legally on this? (sorry to have rambled on! wasn't sure how much detail to give!)

 

[The Byre]

Legally, you provided the customer (and not her daughter!) with a bespoke fitting and assuming that the work was of a good standard, she has to pay. Everything hinges on the quality of the work you did. If her (and not the daughter's) expectations are unreasonable, she owes you £1,400 and you can (after a suitable letter before action) take her to the small claims court.

Tip - contact @smallclaimsassistance for further help.

 

[Christopher Bennett]

Thank you for the information. I have given them a week now to pay. Kept everything civil to avoid any kind of slanging match.

In regards to the Kitchen, I personally think they're being very unreasonable. I would say no more than half a day to finish any snags. Some of the things are where the saw has left an unclean cut, however with colourfill would get rid of them marks, other issue being the brackets for the dishwasher not with the fixing pack. I did make a trip to the supplier to get the brackets. I went out of my way to do this and not send the customer to go fetch them.

I will contact @smallclaimsassistance for help.

Thanks again
Chris.

 

[Christopher Bennett]

Thanks Nathan,

I've got to get 30 posts in before contacting @SmallClaimAssistance unless they see this thread and can talk to me here.

How long should I actually wait before going through a Small Claim?

 

[The Byre]

Usually, one gives delinquent debtors 14 days notice in the LBA to cough up or face the music.

 

[obscure]

While it is still as fresh as possible in your mind, make a list of all the issues that were raised and what you would consider to be the simple solution for each of these.

If it goes to court you will need to convince the court that these were minor issues or better yet overly picky issues that can't be avoided with the type of material/work being done. Also make a note of all the time spent putting right these issues and other attempts that were made to attend which were declined by the customer. You should also note how much you believe the cost of rectifying was/would be so that you can demonstrate that their claimed costs are unreasonable.

Pretty obvious that this is attempt to wriggle out of paying. The amount being offered/withheld in no way reflects the scale of the issues. Don't hesitate to take them to court if they don't pay.

Lastly is there any chance that the electrician will give a written statement that the daughters requested were unreasonable and the issues minor in nature?

 

[smallclaimsassistance]

@Christopher Bennett , drop me an email instead. Address below. I agree with the above advice. You need your money, and your clients need a short sharp shock.

Dean

 

[The Resolver]

Since at least they are making an offer, albeit far too low, you might try inviting the client into blind bidding. See

I am advising this company and can help set up for you, This would be a far less costly process of dispute resolution (in fact I might be able to get you free use) than going through mediation. Nothing lost in negotiation positions if no settlement is reached since neither side knows of the blind bidding of the other .

 

[The Byre]

That's all fine and good, Graham, but it spoils all the fun!

 

[Big G]

Sounds like you have done everything correct here. You have tended to the first snags and then even offered to re-attend to go over more snags. As you have offered this they have no legal grounds to withhold funds from you because they have allegedly got someone else to "finish off".

Someone mentioned above that you should allow them 14 days. Are you a limited company or a sole trader? If you are a limited company then you MUST serve a new 30 day letter before action and attach the relevant response pack in accordance with the new pre-action direction that was brought in to force on 1.10.17. If you do not do this then you are at risk of having your claim struck out if you were to issue it without complying.

If you need any assistance with this I am happy to discuss.

 

[The Resolver]

That's all fine and good, Graham, but it spoils all the fun!

True Settling cases much more quickly than before using tools such as blind bidding will increasingly gain ground as increasingly solicitors fees become less based on hours worked.Fixed fees is one example (seeing this increasingly in lower value personal injury claims) but clients can themselves hasten the move away from the 'fun' of drawn out and costly legal action by telling solicitors, when comparing fee proposals, that they will only instruct under a Damages Based Agreement (DBA). This may be preferable for clients than the more common form of No Win No Fee arrangements (Conditional Fees Agreements - CFAs) in which the fee is based on time spent. The fees in DBA's, on the other hand , are a percentage of the amount recovered from the opponent.So the solicitor receives the same amount whether the case takes 2 years or two weeks and thus is incentivised to try to achieve the latter (faster settlement means lower overheads/higher profit and quicker payment) rather than, as in CFAs, where the longer the case takes the higher the fee. However the fee in a DBA may be much higher than would be charged on an hours worked based fee , whether under a CFA or not. So obtain a quote from a separate firm on a hours worked basis with estimate to compare likely spend.