Additional bathroom refurb costs being sought (advise needed)

[revs_uk]

We’ve recently had our bathroom renovated and have been hit with additional costs on top of the original quotation, which I’d be interested in gauging people’s opinions on.

For reference, the bathroom showroom we went with gave us a quote in May 2024 to carry out the work and this quote was emailed across to us., with work subsequently starting in early October 2024.

As part of the bathroom refurb, the position of the toilet was to be altered which meant the soil pipe would need to be removed (with the hole in the external wall ‘made good’) and a new hole drilled through the external wall to accommodate the new toilet position and associated soil pipe. This was all made clear to the bathroom showroom owner who visited our house to provide the quote, and he noted “fit new soil pipe” when he supplied his quotation.

There was also an even older soil pipe that had been left in place (from the previous bathroom renovation 20+ years ago) and was penetrating the external wall, that I asked the bathroom fitter to remove and brick up as part of the bathroom refurb works, which he agreed to do.

All in all, the bathroom fitter supplied and fitted 8 red frogged common bricks (£1.29 each from B&Q) to ‘make good’ the redundant soil pipe penetrations to our external wall.

We also had another issue where the quote we received included/allowed for herringbone style tiling to be installed. We were told by the Bathroom Showroom that the bathroom fitter could install our tiles in a herringbone style but when the fitter started to install the tiles in a herringbone pattern it transpired that he hadn’t installed tiles in a herringbone pattern before and he quickly ran into problems. In the end we ended up going with a simpler ‘brick style’ tile pattern, as we were felt we were left with little choice but to go down that route.

I think I'm fair in saying that the issues were as a result of the fitter not starting the herringbone tiling in the correct manner, which resulted him running into issues fairly early on in the the tiling process.

For reference, the chap fitting our bathroom (who was a nice guy to be fair) acts as a sole trader and runs his own business but sub-contracts for the Bathroom Showroom we obtained the quote from. As a result, once the work was finished, he sent me an invoice for his labour costs on the project. Separately, the Bathroom Showroom owner (the guy who visited our house and sent us the quote in May 2024) then sent his invoice to cover materials costs, the new bathroom suite etc and minus the labour costs to be paid directly to the fitter.

As part of this invoice, the bathroom showroom owner was requesting additional (labour and materials) costs of £155 for brickwork and materials (for 8 bricks and mortar) associated with the bricking up of the old/redundant soil pipes, and £185 to cover the costs associated with the bathroom fitter having to take the tiles off the wall (after the failed attempt to install in a herringbone pattern) to allow all tiles to be installed in a simple ‘brick style’ pattern)

As the bathroom fitter had already invoiced me for his full labour costs on the project, I queried the additional costs with the bathroom showroom owner as the only ‘material costs’ as such I could see would be for the bricks and mortar, and I felt as if I was paying £155 for the supply of 8 bricks, which seemed very excessive. I also stated I wasn’t willing to pay the additional £185 being sought for ‘retiling the walls’ from herringbone to brick-style, as this was ultimately an error by the bathroom fitter that I shouldn’t have to bear the costs of.

The bathroom showroom owner then replied to state that the £155 brickwork and materials costs included for 0.5 days labour (even though the bathroom fitter had invoiced me his full labour costs) and likewise, the £185 retiling of the walls covered labour costs (again, even though the bathroom fitter had invoiced me his full labour costs separately).

I also queried the fact that the original quote included for tiling to be installed in herringbone but we ultimately ended up with a simpler brick style tile pattern, which was less labour intensive/time consuming, so would there be a cost saving associated with that?

The bathroom showroom owner then went on to state that “if I continued” querying these additional costs he would add £500-£700 extra on top of the already increased invoice, as his materials costs have gone up by 12% since he sent across his quote in May 2024. And that’s effectively where it’s been left at the time of posting this.

So, am I being unreasonable in querying these additional costs that the bathroom showroom has added to their original quote? From a legal point of view, can the bathroom showroom add £500-£700 onto our current invoice because their materials costs have gone up at least 12% since May 2024? Am I being unreasonable in querying whether a cost saving should be applied as we’ve ended up with brick style tiling rather than the herringbone that was originally quoted for?

[dewaltdisney]

On first appearance, this looks like a bit of a threat. If you have the stomach for it I would write a 'without prejudice' letter explaining that the charge is unfair and that you are not paying. His only alternative is to go for small claims at County Court where he would have to prove his claim plus pay the lodging fee. The District Judge would look for contract details and probably find for you from what you have said. The thing about small claims is the defendant (you) risks no costs against, just the claim amount if the claimant wins. From what you say I would think the Judge would side with you, it is all heard in private chambers. This sharp practice is frowned upon and the defendant, you in this case, would probably have the upper hand. However, having said this, I doubt the shop owner would claim, it is a lot of hassle for him. Good luck.

DWD

[big-all]

for what its worth i would put it down to miss communication all round
it seem everybody is reasonable with the facts as they see them
i would offer half as a compromise and say your not happy but to Finnish the matter
just get them to sign the invoice endorsed with the words"offer accepted as full and final payment "
this stops further action via a sneaky rout like small claims court

[Someone-Else]

Look at it this way. This is a DIY forum, we all have sympathy for you, we can /have offered opinions, you go to court and you end up saying, "but someone on a forum I found, that I don't know that only knows my side said that I don't / do have to pay" YOU need legal advice which no one here can offer, sorry.

[dewaltdisney]

Reading this the showroom is in default of the contract for failure to fit the herringbone pattern tiles as you were quoted and paid for. This can be your counterclaim if it ever (unlikely) did go to court. This idiot is bluffing you but if he did go to small claims he has little to stand on. When you write, do not say a lot just I am not paying as you are in default of contract. The least dialogue the better.

DWD

[dewaltdisney]

SE is quite right, I am not a legal expert, I am just speaking from experience, although this was some years back. You can just pay the £385 as long as it is in full and final settlement. If you are unhappy and do not pay the only thing he can do is to try to get a money judgement to enable him to enforce payment. The main thing is to check what you have in writing from him as this is the contract. I cannot see that the fact that his appointed contractor could not do the work that you have to pay for his mistakes. You might like to have a read through this which shows the process https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/debt- ... -for-debt/ It might pay you to go to a Citizens Advice Centre and seek their guidance.

DWD