builder did extra work of 9k without checking and wants paid

laobhise

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We have supported my dad to get some renovations and an extension completed on his house.

A builder was recommended to him by a friend and we saw the previous work they completed. a detailed quote was provided breaking down all items and my husband and I had a meeting with builder to confirm all costs as we were on a very tight budget and this was explained. I had monthly meetings with builder and my dad to check in on budget and my dad was on site most days.

The original quote was 42k and some extra items came up as they can do and we were given a revised final price of 55k which we were surprised at but managed to get the extra money. I told builder at a subsequent meeting that we could not go above this amount and anything on top of this just could not be done.

approx 2 weeks later he told my dad that some extra bits needed done and would cost an extra 3k on top of this bringing the quote up to 58k. so he gave my dad a revised quote and my dad went to credit union and was granted a loan for the extra 3k.

Now the final bill has come in and it is 66k which is an additional 8k on top of this. and 11k on top of what we agreed was the final price. The work has all been completed without any consultation with us about the revised price and the bill was provided after all work was done despite numerous reminderd from my dad about budget.

A numbe4 of the items my dad said he didn't ask for and 2.5k before vat is extra payments for builder for supervision and undetailed work for him. extra items include radiators that my dad didn't want as he is taking part in warmer homes and will be getting new ones. he also told my dad that he didn't like people standing idle and that they could fix some things when they there but now there are costs for them like 320 for doing something to skirting boards and 350 for putting up tiles behind hob which my dad said he wouldn't have done if he knew cost. these were not quoted originally and only given as costs when work complete. my dad was under the impression from him that this was part of the cost from the way it was put to him.

The work quality is excellent but we don't have the money to pay. what can we do? we have already taken out an extra loan of 13k to the original quote and thought it was agreed that this was final amount.
 
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Any chance you could edit your post and break it into paragraphs, please. It's daunting presented as a "slab" of text.
 
I had similar issues when I underwent a major renovation... €150k
certain items I had assumed would be covered and other things he said he’d do but never mentioned a price on. All very unnerving. Think the final ‘extras’ which I had figured would be around €10k ish... he had invoiced nearer to €30k. I nearly had heart failure.
Thus ensued an interesting meeting where we hammered everything out. Some stuff he had quoted and invoiced at a higher cost. Anyway, after a fair bit of negotiation we settled around the €15k
 
Simply yell the builder that you are not agreeing to any unapproved extras. Tell him to set out in writing what he thinks he is entitled to and why.

For example cost to supply and fit xxx, instruction received 2/3/19 from Mr Smith.

Then draft a detailed response to any item you disagree with, xxx was never instructed and you were told on x date that no further items were to be added.

Then take the builders claim and your response to someone who can advise you. A QS perhaps, or a solicitor with experience in construction, a site manager for a construction company.

If they advise you that the builder's claim is valid, then negotiate with the builder, if they advise you that the builder is chancing his arm, tell the builder that you will not pay.
 
Thanks for the input. Should I ask for all invoices and check costs before meeting or anything you would recommend?
 
Simply yell the builder that you are not agreeing to any unapproved extras. Tell him to set out in writing what he thinks he is entitled to and why.

For example cost to supply and fit xxx, instruction received 2/3/19 from Mr Smith.

Then draft a detailed response to any item you disagree with, xxx was never instructed and you were told on x date that no further items were to be added.

Then take the builders claim and your response to someone who can advise you. A QS perhaps, or a solicitor with experience in construction, a site manager for a construction company.

If they advise you that the builder's claim is valid, then negotiate with the builder, if they advise you that the builder is chancing his arm, tell the builder that you will not pay.

thanks for the advice. That sounds like a really good idea. Thank you. Was planning to draft a letter to him so this is very helpful
 
Rather than draft a letter to him I would arrange to meet up with him, not in a confrontational way but a chat where you guys can have a proper talk about all this. Tell him the situation, explain how you want it all itemised, costed, etc, so you can properly gauge where the extras have come from as against what was originally agreed. Just remember also that the work for your father has been done, he's very happy with the outcome of the build and the ball is in your court. In other words you're holding all the aces and he'll (the builder) know that too. I've no doubt it will end well between you, try not to fall out because it's always good to have a good builder that you know at the end of a phone. Good luck with it and let us know how it goes.
 
The builder was incredibly disorderly in terms of his price structure, I would refuse to pay a penny more, let him learn that the "and another thing" approach only works for so long
 
Items that were done as extras should be paid for. But if you’re disputing the cost or indeed the builders ‘fee’ which is crazy then I’d have a sit down and discuss same. Question everything and by all means don’t agree to anything without thinking about it if that’s what you need to do.
 
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