Scratched tile trim and shower door!

[Russell brown]

Supplied and fitted a en suite shower room, finished it a fortnight ago but the customer still hasn't paid. Called round tonight to see why. There's a small scratch on the head of the door and a scratch about 5mm wide by about 40mm long on the tile trim above the door which is about 500mm long. The thing is the scratches weren't there when I cleaned down and he's been sanding filler down all down the side of the trim where the scratch is and above the head of the door, they still owe me £2000. Worst case scenario I can replace the trim if needed but the door is tiled in as the opening is not a standard size, they're happy if I knock the price of the door off the job but I'd rather polish it out if I can as he rubbed me up the wrong way tonight. I've offered to rip the tiles off and replace the door if they want or knock the money off he was going round picking fault with all sorts. There's a small weep on an isolator for the toilet which I could've fixed there and then if my tools weren't on another job, he said the sink had a scuff on it but it was dirt I rubbed it off with my finger and he was moaning about the removable caps on the shower door that covers the fixings and adjustments!.

 

[area tiling]

Sounds like he doesn't want to pay up, if I didn't scratch the trim I wouldn't be coming back to fix it , with his attitude! By fixing it your admitting that it's your fault , tell him you'll rip all the tiles off if he ain't going to pay. !

 

[Russell brown]

Sounds like he doesn't want to pay up, if I didn't scratch the trim I wouldn't be coming back to fix it , with his attitude! By fixing it your admitting that it's your fault , tell him you'll rip all the tiles off if he ain't going to pay. !

There's a couple of little issues I need to coorect ie. The weeping isolator. But the other I honestly think they're trying it on even down to the invoice I've sent. They want it breaking down with all the items I've supplied on it, I've basically sent one saying supplied bathroom £xx, supplied tiles at £xx m2 plus labour and materials £xx totalling £xx. Not good enough!. If they don't pay when I go round and sort it the hammer is coming out and I'll smash a tile at a time.

 

[Qwerty]

Do you serve any T&C's on your customers?

 

[salmonfisher]

personaly its cash or bank transfer on completion for me i dont send invoices out wating to get paid invoice is made up waiting on them on the last day of work

 

[Russell brown]

To be honest I set up on my own in January so I'm basically learning everything the hard way. I've been in the trade for 20+ years either running jobs or working on some very nice jobs but wanted to be at home more as my son isn't well so decided instead of doing it for other people I'd make the jump and see if I can make it on my own. So no, no T&C's as of yet it's something I need to look into. The same as taking deposits and such?

 

[Sean SML Tiling]

I use your t&c's Geoff and i also have insurance for debt recovery so if I ever had a customer like this I know I would be covered.

 

[Sean SML Tiling]

1 thing I will say is try and be professional about it. Tell them that if they don't pay within 7 days then your solicitor will be in contact with them and will be filing for a county court judgement. Their attitude will soon change. You can also apply to take them to court for a small fee something like 40 or 50 quid and you will receive payment pretty quick.

 

[Chalker]

Did you give them a quotation for the work?
if you didn't, did you tell them an hourly/ meterage rate?

i think they are trying to get out of paying. Best couse would be to not fall out with them ( yet), I would replace the trim and attempt to polish out the scratch on the door.
Spend £15 on this kit, it should remove the marks.
take pictures of the rest of the room. After that, best of luck!

 

[Russell brown]

Did you give them a quotation for the work?
if you didn't, did you tell them an hourly/ meterage rate?

i think they are trying to get out of paying. Best couse would be to not fall out with them ( yet), I would replace the trim and attempt to polish out the scratch on the door.
Spend £15 on this kit, it should remove the marks.
take pictures of the rest of the room. After that, best of luck!

Thanks for for the reply chalked, what kit?

i quoted for the work so they knew the total rice of the jibe before I started.

 

[Chalker]

Thanks for for the reply chalked, what kit?

i quoted for the work so they knew the total rice of the jibe before I started.

sorry! This one.

http://www.metalpolishingsupplies.c...ng-kit-15pc/?gclid=CN-vyZWj-cQCFU_HtAodQgYApw

 

[Andy Allen]

I never send invoices. ...its payment on completion.
So much can happen between you finishing and them paying your invoice.

As chalker said never fall out with them be polite and civil. ...this will make them feel guilty.

Before you do anything more get some money off them as a good will gesture, tell them to hang on to £200 till the snags are done.....beter to chase that than the full amount.

Lastly. ...why the willing to pay if you knock some money off..? That just tells me there more than happy with the job they just want it cheaper than the agreed amount.......something you can throw at them should it hit the fan..

 

[Andy Allen]

I never send invoices. ...its payment on completion.
So much can happen between you finishing and them paying your invoice.

As chalker said never fall out with them be polite and civil. ...this will make them feel guilty.

Before you do anything more get some money off them as a good will gesture, tell them to hang on to £200 till the snags are done.....beter to chase that than the full amount.

Lastly. ...why the willing to pay if you knock some money off..? That just tells me there more than happy with the job they just want it cheaper than the agreed amount.......something you can throw at them should it hit the fan..

 

[Russell brown]

I never send invoices. ...its payment on completion.
So much can happen between you finishing and them paying your invoice.

As chalker said never fall out with them be polite and civil. ...this will make them feel guilty.

Before you do anything more get some money off them as a good will gesture, tell them to hang on to £200 till the snags are done.....beter to chase that than the full amount.

Lastly. ...why the willing to pay if you knock some money off..? That just tells me there more than happy with the job they just want it cheaper than the agreed amount.......something you can throw at them should it hit the fan..

They were more than happy with the job they even asked me to quote on the main bathroom when I finished. Like I said there's a couple of issues I need to sort out that they have a point with but will take me 25mins at most. The scratched trim I'll see if I can get the multi tool behind and replace which leaves the scratch on the door which I'll have a go at polishing. I always stay calm and keep it pleasant he was ranting yesterday and I kept telling him all I'm interested in is making sure they were happy with everything and I'd do what ever needed to make sure they were. The only time that will change is if they refuse to pay then I'll walk away they'll have to pay someone to replace the tiles I'll smash.

 

[Sean Kelly]

Russell my blood is boiling just reading your post. They are obviously trying it on.
1. They did not contact you regarding the scratches they caused.
2. They want you to quote for another bathroom...i.e. give them a good discount on this one and you might have a chance at getting another job off them.
3. As they caused the scratches themselves they are happy to live with them, but they also want money knocked off the trim & door. The scratches are probably not noticeable anyway. He has a sander so he should sort out his own damage.

All the clues are there. I would sort out the issues relating to you, but I would not touch their caused damage. Take photos while the customer is present and tell him that is your evidence that he has been sanding in the area where the damage is. He has 3 days to pay up or else you are taking the matter further.

The problem with bank xfer (as I've said before) you have to chase the buggers for your money. Only this week I have had to chase a customer. They eventually paid up at 01:30 this morning after I had to text them after the payment deadline (which is 7 days)......I'm now changing it to 3 days for future customers.

Good luck Russell I know how you feel.