With a budget of 4K I asked 3 plumbers for an estimate on a bathroom refurb, giving all 3 clear plans. I got 3.5K 3.2K and 2.2K. I went with the cheapest and thought that even if he went a bit over, it would be well under budget. Job finished I received an invoice for 5K. I asked why he hadn’t said during the job that it was going way over his estimate and he just apologised and said he had no way of knowing until he added it up at the end! What do I do?
He's trying to scam you, its an old trick, but he's gone so ott a court would laugh at him. An estimate is an educated guess and is not a firm price. If you want a firm price you get a quotation, but as I said he's way ott Offer him the 2.2k, if he takes it that the end of the matter, if he tries to sue you he'll e laughed out of court
Pay the quoted price, unless you asked for extras or he told you there would be additional charges. When I had my bathroom done, when taking the old tiles off the plaster came off with them he re-boarded the walls and charged me £600 but he told me on the day if he hadn't I wouldn't of been happy.
Would have been even better if he had warned about the possiblity before taking a chisel to the tiles so you could build it in as a contingency.
‘pay the quoted price’ …… Problem there is the OP has said he asked for an Estimate and not a quote Likely that no plumber would have been keen to offer a Quote anyway, as too many unforeseen issues, potentially We all understand what an Estimate means and realise it will likely go over original figure but, to more than double, with no indications or discussions along the way is more than ridiculous, unprofessional and just asking for trouble come the end of the job Ask for a breakdown of all the ‘extras’ with costs and ask plumber to put himself in your shoes and would he be ok receiving a final invoice that has more than doubled from original estimate - with no discussions or hints along the way How could he be so far away from estimate if job spec hasn’t changed or quality / brand of fittings used didn’t suddenly change ? If your happy with the work, the finished job, and everything has been completed as per job spec, then it’s time to discuss a final figure that your prepared to pay, and that’s fair, considering the above lack of communication from the plumber Perhaps he put in a low quote to win the job, knowing full well that he couldn’t stick to the Estimate even remotely and would simply deal with that bit at the end ? Or total lack of experience / a chancer that’s way above his head and has no idea on costs or what may be lurking hidden / scam artist / etc Good luck, horrible situation to be in
Arr yes I missed the estimate bit, I wouldn't have the cheek to double a price but some people have no shame.
I think I would tell him that I have the 2.2k to give him now, but I would need to do some re-financing to raise the 2.8k and that will take a couple of months.
I wouldn’t offer that tbh, I know an estimate is what it is, an estimate, but to be £2.8k out on such a small job is ridiculous. That’s 125%ish on top of the original price and the plumber is either trying it on or is incompetent
He is having a laugh. Dont pay him £5k. Tell him you want an itemised bill with a break down of costs.
Sorry, but there’s gotta be more to this story than the opening post - 40 visits over 5 months ? What’s the reasoning behind this as both number of visits and time span seems beyond extreme Ok, we’ve not had the pleasure of seeing your bathroom and we’ve all been through Covid times / short supplies of various materials / price increases across everything / possible personal illness (covid) to contend with but the above figures - all of them - final cost / No. of visits / time span / all seem rather excessive If the plumber is looking at his daily / hourly / rate / travel time / and multiplying this by 40 visits then Labour is gonna be massive, surely But why 40 visits (approx) Can you pin point why and briefly explain what and who this is down to ?
Sounds like not whole story, that number of visits has to point to delays or mistakes made by one party or the other....
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