Legal Advice regarding plumber "fixed price repair"

Huskaris

I took out a "fixed price repair" from a company:
http://www.gledhill-response.net/page/95/Fixed-Price-Repairs.htm

I was quoted £540 and was said for this they would fix any parts and provide the labour (this is with zero inspection).

It turned out a fair bit had to be done to my boiler at which point they claimed it was not a fixed price repair any more and a "restoration" which would cost a lot more.

I know that the bill will now go into the thousands but they didn't tell me this would be the case at the time. To me it seems like they are cherry picking the jobs that they want, if it had been 10 minutes and one part costing £5 they would definitely have taken my £540...

Does anyone know where I stand on this? To me it seems like a breach of contract.

Can anyone offer me any advice?

[Deleted User]

hi huskaris,

its all going to depend on the terms and conditions of engagement (if there were any). am happy to give you an advice as a favor.

i have had a brief look at their website and it does appear that they have placed themselves under the duty to requote should the initial quote not cover the work.

rikofold

No legal expert but for what it's worth...

Firstly, their website is clear on what's in that price and what isn't. Is the extra work related to an irreparable leak in the internal cylinder, or an issue external to the product itself?

If not, then check the contract - one was entered into when they accepted your order, and its terms should be documented somewhere. Make sure you understand what it says is included and excluded. For example, they may explicitly exclude products of a certain age, or restoration work - although they would need to be clear as to how they define that.

There should be a degree of due diligence responsibility on their part if they're offering fixed price. That said, if the work is genuinely, say, £3k then it probably isn't reasonable to expect them to do it for £540. Even if they were liable, their response would probably be to breach contract as I imagine the costs of being sued (and settling) would be considerably less than the costs of proceeding (any successful claim would be limited to your actual losses). Might be better to negotiate a new fixed price, or ask for a refund and go get a few quotes.

Incidentally, if their contract differs from what's on their website, might be worth a chat with your local trading standards officer.

[Deleted User]

rikofold said:

No legal expert but for what it's worth...

well you may not be but your points are all exactly bang on the money

Huskaris

I've just paid £1,500 to get it sorted.

[Deleted User]

To whom mate?

smiffyboy

Could of got a brand new boiler that

Huskaris

smiffyboy said:

Could of got a brand new boiler that

No I couldn't, a like for like replacement for my electric boiler (And central heating) is £4,500.

Apparently the parts alone were going to cost something like £1,250

Huskaris

rikofold said:

No legal expert but for what it's worth...

Firstly, their website is clear on what's in that price and what isn't. Is the extra work related to an irreparable leak in the internal cylinder, or an issue external to the product itself?

If not, then check the contract - one was entered into when they accepted your order, and its terms should be documented somewhere. Make sure you understand what it says is included and excluded. For example, they may explicitly exclude products of a certain age, or restoration work - although they would need to be clear as to how they define that.

There should be a degree of due diligence responsibility on their part if they're offering fixed price. That said, if the work is genuinely, say, £3k then it probably isn't reasonable to expect them to do it for £540. Even if they were liable, their response would probably be to breach contract as I imagine the costs of being sued (and settling) would be considerably less than the costs of proceeding (any successful claim would be limited to your actual losses). Might be better to negotiate a new fixed price, or ask for a refund and go get a few quotes.

Incidentally, if their contract differs from what's on their website, might be worth a chat with your local trading standards officer.

Regarding the terms they said "we send them to you after the work is done" to me that sounds ridiculous...

No damage to the cylinder.

The point is moot though now as I have paid haha

AddicksAddict

Huskaris said:

rikofold said:

No legal expert but for what it's worth...

Firstly, their website is clear on what's in that price and what isn't. Is the extra work related to an irreparable leak in the internal cylinder, or an issue external to the product itself?

If not, then check the contract - one was entered into when they accepted your order, and its terms should be documented somewhere. Make sure you understand what it says is included and excluded. For example, they may explicitly exclude products of a certain age, or restoration work - although they would need to be clear as to how they define that.

There should be a degree of due diligence responsibility on their part if they're offering fixed price. That said, if the work is genuinely, say, £3k then it probably isn't reasonable to expect them to do it for £540. Even if they were liable, their response would probably be to breach contract as I imagine the costs of being sued (and settling) would be considerably less than the costs of proceeding (any successful claim would be limited to your actual losses). Might be better to negotiate a new fixed price, or ask for a refund and go get a few quotes.

Incidentally, if their contract differs from what's on their website, might be worth a chat with your local trading standards officer.

Regarding the terms they said "we send them to you after the work is done" to me that sounds ridiculous...

No damage to the cylinder.

The point is moot though now as I have paid haha

This would, I suspect, be a situation where the contract is unfairly biased in favour of one side. Still, as you say, the point in moot.