non Buell related question... need advice

OK, so I just bought a house a few months ago, and we had to have some work (minor) done to the home for warranty purposes. Our Realtor recommended one specific company to do the repairs noted by the inspector... We were quoted $312.44 for a couple of repairs, but the final bill came to be $479.00.

Where my question lies is, shouldnt they have told me of an increase in price prior to the work having been done?

The reason for the price increase was that I was originally quoted for an evaluation of an external roof leak at $64. They evaluated it and found it to be an issue with the roof flashing being unsealed, and according to the contractor, he "assumed I wanted it fixed" so he fixed it. I was told what they found, but was never told that there would be an additional $160 to repair the issue until after the work was done and I recieved my final bill... should I have to pay that?? It seems kind of shady to do work to something and then demand payment for it if I didnt approve it.

Did you get the first quote in writing? If so i'd use that as leverage against them. Who ever did the original quote should of stated there might be additional work needed on that area and might run the quote a little higher. If they just said we're going to fix this other issue without consulting you on additional cost i'd say just pay the original quoted price. If they get an attitude about it i'd report them to the BBB.

Unless you agreed to pay the additional charge they can not bill you additional $$. As Wall said, what do you have in writing? Did you sign the original estimate? Does it state there may be additional charges?

BBB[up]

The warranty piece of this is a whole other discussion. UNLESS THIS WAS A FORECLOSURE, why wasn't the leak repaired by the sellers? Your agent should've negotiated that differently.

BBB is worthless in construction especially if youre using a handyman. They can, and do change names all of the time using "sub-contracting names". You'd never be able to do anything with that.

Always get quote in writing, including any changes made to the quote regardless if they increase or decrease the quote.

Although any amount is too much and it sounds l like bs, you might as well pay it and be done with it because if you don't, he'll put a lien on your house. You can then take him to small claims court, but you'll end up paying more in court fees fighting it.

Always get construction quotes in writing with details of scope of work, i.e. labor and materials.

If they bitch about providing a scope of work, they are shady and out to get you, or don't know the proper steps to complete the work. Either way, not good for you.. A quote is designed to protect both consumer and company. If the situation was reversed and you asked him to do more work than what he outlined, he's got it in writing what he was supposed to do based on the agreed upon price.

Speaking from home building experience, people always expect more work than you agree to.....My 2 cents, sounds like that contractor probably did what it took to fix the problem, BUT he didn't go about it the right way.

this actually seems common to me, unless there is some reason that you actually trust the worker you should always get what they are going to do and what they need to consult with you about in writing, as far as houses go I'm not big into house repairing for other people so I would say there may be a different set of rules for quoting... having that said, any time I've ever quoted a repair or had something quoted that is the set amount for the specified service, if a service is not agreed upon then it should be brought up with the customer and then decided upon, the quoted price should not change even if they wind up doing work within the quote that causes them to spend more than the quote. <- this is why you need to know what you're doing if you're quoting

but overall if it's not much money then don't worry about it just pay it, lawyers are expensive

I signed the original estimate at their request which stated the total to be $312 for all the piddly little shit that the inspector noted. The original invoice stated that the estimate was to "evaluate roof leak" which is what they are trying to get me with, the orignal estimate said nothing about "fixing the leak" I asked the contractor about this, or at least the person who is collecting the money, and she said that "the contractor assumed I wanted it fixed."

The house WAS A FORCLOSURE... just FYI.. so that is why the previous owner didnt fix that issue.

Anyway, most of this has been done via email as far as paperwork goes. I signed the original estimate, and didnt get the final price until I was emailed the invoice for the final bill, but there was never anything in writing that I would pay anything other than the original quote.

Here is the original quote that I signed...minus their info for privacy reasons...


and here is the bill I had in my email the next day

If your realtor suggested this company to you I would get them involved. They more than likely would not suggest someone to you unless they have prior experience with them. Maybe they can mediate and make it right. Let me ask you this, would you have let them make the repairs if they came to you and said it would have been the higher amount? If yes, pay it and move on. Yes they went about it wrong but it would have needed to be fixed anyway.

He is involved...and yeah, he has used them for years. Had they told me about it, I would have had to think about it and would have looked for other quotes to repair, or had my dad come over to help me do it, or possibly tried to get the seller to cover the costs prior to purchase... This is my first house... I have enough in savings to cover the cost, but at the same time... is $160 that I didnt agree to pay worth the fight? I could use that money on other things...like other bills that I am paying double on because I am still paying rent on my last house, and the final utility bills on it until the end of next month.

Your second red highlighted area cleary states," If this occurs, you will be contacted before any repairs are made. His assumption that you wanted it fixed was wrong and you should not have to pay for work you did not authorize. Raz

Your second red highlighted area cleary states," If this occurs, you will be contacted before any repairs are made. His assumption that you wanted it fixed was wrong and you should not have to pay for work you did not authorize.   Raz

Click to expand...

BINGO !!!!!!!!

would you have told him no just fix what was in the estimate or paid him for the work done at that point and finished it your self or called some one else?he should have informed you of the difference but it was an estimate not a guaranteed price.you had to have it done and would have said ok anyway or pay someone else the same.if he did a good job pay the man he earned it.just my 2 c