stuck with homework question on law

[ness1301]

When a contract is agreed on to build a conservatory and when the conservatory is half built the builder says that he requires another �5,000 to complete. Is this a breach of contract as an offer was made and accepted.

[buildersmate]

Yes. He would need to back up why he considered the job had altered such that his costs had changed - and the back-up would need to demonstrate that the customer had done something that the builder could not reasonably anticipate that had impacted his costs by an amount that justified another �5k.
Thus, he can't just say 'my materials are more expensive' - that's not the customer's doing.

[loonytunes]

This question requires you to show your knowledge of the contract principles and, possibly, the tenet of "specific performance".

[Kaienana]

Of course, the big question is:
Have you paid all of the contract price before completion?
If so why?
Did you consider that the work done justified the payments?
If so he may have a case.......
The law may be an ass, but it's human error that makes it so !

[tiggertan]

Would it be the same if the job was finished and the vat was then added on to the originally agreed price? In this instance, theer is no written contract.

[tiggertan]

.