Ask RiotACT: Would you pay for this?

KentFitch said :

wildturkeycanoe said :

wildturkeycanoe said :

Dear XX
Thank you for your invoice. We are satisfied with the completed renovation but not satisfied with the nine month delay in finishing the work. While I accept this delay was due to insufficient materials, I believe it is your responsibility to ensure you have sufficient matterials before accepting the job, or to advise me at the outset that there will be a delay in completion because of the unavailability of materials. Enclosed is the balance of payment but you will notice that I have deducted 10% from the invoice given the inconvenience caused to my household by the lengthy delay.
Regards
Rollersk8r

Dear Rollersk8r,
Thank you for your part payment. Unless you pay the remaining 10 per cent, I will see you in the Small Claims Court.
Kind regards
XX

Dear XX
I am sorry to hear that you do not accept my reasons for withholding full payment. It is most unfortunate that a business would not be prepared to compromise on the quoted price given the circumstances of considerable delay and inconvenience. Nevertheless, if you wish to take the matter further I am quite content to present the merits of my case in the small claims court and am confident that my reasons for withholding the final 10% of the invoice will be found to be quite reasonable and valid. I am also sure that if the media were to learn of this matter and the names of the parties involved it would draw unnecessary attention to a minor matter that should be amicably and quickly resolved and perhaps not be advantageous to the reputation of your company.
Kind regards
Rollersk8r

+1

Anne Treasure said :

I stated “You remember when you kept me waiting? … Well, I am doing the same” I delayed a bit further before I paid.

That is not the way to develop healthy relationships. Revenge and tit-for-tat maliciousness mostly makes your own life more miserable.

Anne Treasure said :

I could have made a case for breach of contract …

No you couldn’t. The agreement for the servicing of a car doesn’t in any way imply time being of the essence.
You might get somewhere if you could prove deliberate malice or maybe gross incompetence, both of which would be incredibly hard to prove.

I had a similar problem many years ago in relation to the delayed servicing of a car desperately needed for a particular event so that I had to hire a car because of the delay. Somehow, not delibertely, when picking up the car I didn’t pay the full amount. This was in WA and the law is almost certainly different. What I learnt was that if they issued a demand/summons I could pay a small amount and they would be obliged to start the process again, and again …… I didn’t do this but waited and in due course got a phone call. I stated “You remember when you kept me waiting? … Well, I am doing the same” I delayed a bit further before I paid. I could have made a case for breach of contract due to the delay as I had placed some emphasis on the importance of my need when I brought the car in but it wasn’t worth the hassle or the hassle of trying to get a reduction, though considering the cost of hiring a car I probably should have done.

wildturkeycanoe said :

wildturkeycanoe said :

Dear XX
Thank you for your invoice. We are satisfied with the completed renovation but not satisfied with the nine month delay in finishing the work. While I accept this delay was due to insufficient materials, I believe it is your responsibility to ensure you have sufficient matterials before accepting the job, or to advise me at the outset that there will be a delay in completion because of the unavailability of materials. Enclosed is the balance of payment but you will notice that I have deducted 10% from the invoice given the inconvenience caused to my household by the lengthy delay.
Regards
Rollersk8r

Dear Rollersk8r,
Thank you for your part payment. Unless you pay the remaining 10 per cent, I will see you in the Small Claims Court.
Kind regards
XX

Dear XX
I am sorry to hear that you do not accept my reasons for withholding full payment. It is most unfortunate that a business would not be prepared to compromise on the quoted price given the circumstances of considerable delay and inconvenience. Nevertheless, if you wish to take the matter further I am quite content to present the merits of my case in the small claims court and am confident that my reasons for withholding the final 10% of the invoice will be found to be quite reasonable and valid. I am also sure that if the media were to learn of this matter and the names of the parties involved it would draw unnecessary attention to a minor matter that should be amicably and quickly resolved and perhaps not be advantageous to the reputation of your company.
Kind regards
Rollersk8r

wildturkeycanoe said :

Dear XX
Thank you for your invoice. We are satisfied with the completed renovation but not satisfied with the nine month delay in finishing the work. While I accept this delay was due to insufficient materials, I believe it is your responsibility to ensure you have sufficient matterials before accepting the job, or to advise me at the outset that there will be a delay in completion because of the unavailability of materials. Enclosed is the balance of payment but you will notice that I have deducted 10% from the invoice given the inconvenience caused to my household by the lengthy delay.
Regards
Rollersk8r

Dear Rollersk8r,
Thank you for your part payment. Unless you pay the remaining 10 per cent, I will see you in the Small Claims Court.
Kind regards
XX

wildturkeycanoe said :

Dear XX
Thank you for your invoice. We are satisfied with the completed renovation but not satisfied with the nine month delay in finishing the work. While I accept this delay was due to insufficient materials, I believe it is your responsibility to ensure you have sufficient matterials before accepting the job, or to advise me at the outset that there will be a delay in completion because of the unavailability of materials. Enclosed is the balance of payment but you will notice that I have deducted 10% from the invoice given the inconvenience caused to my household by the lengthy delay.
Regards
Rollersk8r

CTRL+C, CTRL+V. 🙂

Dear XX
Thank you for your invoice. We are satisfied with the completed renovation but not satisfied with the nine month delay in finishing the work. While I accept this delay was due to insufficient materials, I believe it is your responsibility to ensure you have sufficient matterials before accepting the job, or to advise me at the outset that there will be a delay in completion because of the unavailability of materials. Enclosed is the balance of payment but you will notice that I have deducted 10% from the invoice given the inconvenience caused to my household by the lengthy delay.
Regards
Rollersk8r

Should have gotten someone else to finish it if you didn’t want to pay them the whole amount.
Usually before they do a flooring job they supply all materials, as they usually need to settleto the environment before the job

Theoretically, you could have deposited the cost of these works in to a bank account, earning interest.
Given the time scale, pay up.

Legally, you need to pay them. After that however, you could pursue them for the money back in small claims court for all the delays etc you experienced.