General Contractor Guide for Legal Guide

Consumer Advice Do it Yourself Tips for Legal Guide

Questions that we have been asked so far:

What if my tradesperson does not complete the job on time?

The customer can claim compensation if the service has not been completed on time.

The customer must have made it clear to the tradesperson when the agreement was made that it was essential that work be done by the agreed time. This is known as "making time of the essence"

Action

The customer should write to the tradesperson stating that:

the service should be started or completed within the given time

it is essential for the service to be started or completed by this date

if the work is not started or completed by the given date, the customer will cancel the agreement and seek compensation

If a price for the work has been agreed then that is the price that the customer has to pay unless the service has not been carried out adequately.

An agreed price for the services should be contained within a receipt, otherwise it is essential to ask for a document containing the agreed price.

Make sure that the price is not an estimate (as opposed to a quote). See our section on quotations for help.

If the price is an estimate then the builder can charge more or less that price. However the price should not be a lot higher than the estimate. If the price is to be a lot higher than the estimate then prior approval is needed from the customer. The customer is still only obliged to pay a reasonable amount for the job.

If the final bill is much higher than the estimate then the customer can argue that the builder did not exercise reasonable care and skill in working out the estimate.

What if the quality of service/standard of work is not satisfactory?