rip off quote??

[prendi]

my daughter got a quote from a man for flagging to the back garden,and a bit of grass laying as well.he quoted her £2000 and she took him on.he dug all the turf off and laid the base for the flags,then he got 2 flaggers to finish the job as he is in his 70's.as they were 1/2 way thru the flagging job he rang my daughter up to say that he has mis calculated the quote and now he is asking for £3000!!!!the flaggers have nearly finished the job but he is coming back to do the bit of grass that needs laying,asking for another £1000,my daughter has offered to pay him £700,which i thought was way too much,and he says he is disappointed that she is trying to rip him off!any suggestions welcome before he comes back on Monday to do the grass job.she has already paid the flaggers the £2000 in cash.

[HowardKennitby]

What size of garden? £2,000 sounds a lot to me.

[boxtops]

That's a huge amount of money - did she get it in writing? Why is it a cash deal? - I would never pay cash, always a cheque or bank transfer. Where's her invoice?

[TWR]

Hi give you the Quote, he should have calculated the amount of flags, skip if used, Hard core, sand, if he has miss calculated I'm afraid that's his problem, Pay no more Prendi.

[baza]

if he provided an estimate then ok to renegotiate but if it was a quote then your daughter should stick to the £2000 and the old boy will have to take the loss imo.

[boxtops]

Sounds like it wasn't in writing though - did she get alternative quotes for a job of that size?

[Hopkirk]

He's a rip off merchant.

I wonder if Trading Standards would show any interest.

[jackthehat]

At £2000, I really don't think he'll have suffered 'any' sort of loss!!

He sounds as if he is trying it on.

How did she find this man?

[ummmm]

Tell him to go get fecked...

[baza]

perhaps hmrc might be interested in the old fart and his flaggers.

[boxtops]

where did she find him, is he a known trader or did he just knock on the door?

[prendi]

SHE GOT HIM AS A RECOMMEND FROM A FRIEND.HE DIDNT PUT THE QUOTE IN WRITING WHICH ,I SUPPOSE IS UNFORTUNATE.HER PARTNER HAS OFFERED TO PAY HIM ANOTHER £700 INSTEAD OF THE EXTRA £1000,BUT HE FEELS LIKE HES BEING RIPPED OFF,I HAVE TOLD HER TO OFFER HIM AT THE MOST £500,AS SHE IS AFRAID HE WONT FINISH THE JOB OFF FOR HER.I HAVE NEVER HEARD OF A QUOTE GOING UP BY SO MUCH AFTER THE JOB HAS BEEN STARTED.

[prendi]

SHE DID GET OTHER QUOTES OF £2500,£3000,£3500,BUT SHE WENT WITH THE OLD FART COS HE WAS THE CHEAPEST.

[Mick-Talbot]

She wasn't daft enough to tell him he was the cheapest ...was she ?

[prendi]

NO, SHE JUST CHOSE HIM HERSELF TO "SAVE" A BIT OF DOSH.NOT GONNA HAPPEN.

[The Builder]

Well Prendi, a quote is a quote, even if it's not in writing. It's still a contract.
Seriously, I would tell them all to go away. You've paid £2k. Assuming they've done a good job so far, pay someone sensible to finish it off.

[Brinjal]

Who is ripping who off. The 2000 sounds a rip off and another 1000 is insane.

[boxtops]

Can you take your caps lock off, please, prendi - it looks like you're shouting.....

Cheapest isn't always best. Contact Trading Standards - and in future, make sure all the quotes are in writing and detail exactly what you are getting for your money. and BTW I never pay anyone upfront, I might pay in instalments after they have done the work - but why did she pay the flagging men if the contract was with the old man? It all sounds like cash in hand work to me, not above board at all.

[jake-the-peg]

I must say I'm impressed with all these people who can say that £2,000 is a rip off without knowing what area is being flagged

You must all be psychic!

The mistake was to pay all the money up front.

Personally I'd tell him that the work was quoted for and the extra £700 has been offered out of good will and no more nonsense about rip offs.

Tell him and that he can have that *on completion* and that if he's not OK with that you'll pay someone else to finish it off

[marden40]

once you've been quoted for a job then that quote should stick throughout the work, it was up to him to cover himself with all the costs and the type of work you have had done is probably the easiest to quote for......simply say "I'm very sorry that you are losing out like you say but you got the job based on your quote, and no more money is available" if he walks away, then he isn't worth the money anyway.

[prendi]

he has now been round to ask for £990!! to finish the job off,or £700 to walk off the job and leave the garden as it is!!.my daughter is now thinking of giving him £400 to keep him quiet and he goes away quickly?then she has asked the original flaggers to finish the job off and they have said £300 to finish it off! i have told her to give the old fart nothing,but she feels guilty that he has paid for the skip and the hardcore and took the top soil off.