You find a builder and ask him for a price to replace
your garage flat roof with a new fibreglass roof. He quotes
you £1000 and you agree.
You have just entered a verbal contract and the law
assumes you both had intentions to create legal relations.
The job isn't too big so you decide verbal is good enough
and you don't need a building maintenance contract.
Your builder has never done a fibreglass roof and finds the
materials cost him more than he allowed and it also takes
him longer than he thought.
He gives you an invoice for £2000. You tell him the price
agreed was half that. He says it took him longer than he had
thought and he's sure he had said it would cost between
£1000 and £2000.
You argue for a while and offer him a cheque for £1000
which he takes. He then takes you to the small claims court
demanding a further £1000
You know he agreed a price of £1000 so why worry?
You go to court and he claims you agreed £2000 and you claim
the agreement was for £1000. The court splits the difference
(they almost always do if its one word against another) and
orders you to pay him another £500 plus costs.
By having your building maintenance contract in place your
builder would have had to take the loss on the chin because
he knows he has no chance of getting more than the agreed
£1000. He would simply have made a mental note to double the
price next time anyone wanted a fibreglass roof doing.
Repairs and maintenance to your property can leave you more
open to abuse than major home improvement work. You need
your repairs done quickly and the laid back attitude of the
builder can leave you with the feeling you are being over
cautious. "We do these all the time." "Don't worry, we'll
sort that." "Using building maintenance contracts on a job
this small is a waste of time."
Then problems arise and its "You never said you wanted that"
and "that wasn't included in the price" or "I thought you
said you wanted it like that."
If the terms of the work are not written and agreed in a
building contract before work commences, you can
misinterpret what you are getting for your money and the
builder can misinterpret what you expect for your money.
This can lead to serious dispute and the small claims court
because its your word against his.
Related Sites:
Free Building Maintenance Contract
