A legal question.

[jockscott]

Who would get over 70,000 emails on a phone and not delete one of them? TBQH Joe, she sounds like a complete idiot,, or at least someone too idle to delete emails on a daily/weekly basis. Personally I'd say it serves her right. and your GF ought to boll**k her.

 

[joe-90]

Well she gets around 300 emails per day. As part of a team most are cc'd and don't really apply to her. Anyway, she had a 45 minute phone consultation with a senior partner at a litigation firm and he thought it way over the top that it costs £1000 to tidy up a Hotmail account. Basically, he said to do what Mitch said earlier in this thread. Also, bear in mind that the professional is supposed to know how to conduct their business, not the client. If they say it should take 2 to 3 hours and the GF agrees to that, then any major change from that should be flagged up by the professional. If you take your car in to be fixed and the original estimate proves to be wrong because of factors that weren't known at the outset then the onus in upon the garage owner to contact the client and get their permission to continue at the new estimate. There was no contract whatsoever. How does anyone know she spent 19 hours on the case? How can ANYONE spend 19 hours on a Hotmail account ffs? What was she doing all that time?
She has been quoted £250 - £300 by other IT companies at a fixed price. That is the going rate for the job. No-one has the right to overcharge for their own incompetence. She never even finished to job. The GF ended up sorting it with Microsoft herself. Personally I'd tell her to whistle. No contract. No proof of hours work. Job not completed. Get lost.

 

[joe-90]

Also, bear in mind that the small claims court was set up to stop sharp practices by businesses against the general public. They are very much weighted towards the general public. If a business can't arrange its dealings in a professional way then they've got no hope of ever winning their case. You simply can't give an estimate and then quadruple it. That's what tarmac scammers do - and end up in prison for fraudulent practice.

 

[noseall]

Personally I'd tell her to whistle. No contract. No proof of hours work. Job not completed. Get lost.

You are a tough cookie Joey boy.

Kinda agree with all that's been said though. There should have been a client consultation immediately when the IT bod realised that it was expected to cost 3 - 4 times a much.

...And your partners daughter needs to categorise he emails better.

 

[joe-90]

I've got no sympathy for her, Anyone that can't sort an email problem in the age when they've grown up with technology shouldn't be in the job. I doubt there's a single person in this forum that couldn't sort it in a couple of hours (or less). Apparently there was a problem syncing the account to her Blackberry, but she ended up sorting that out herself. The bottom line is that you can't quadruple an estimate without the clear go-ahead from the client.

 

[JBR]

Yes. As I said at the beginning: 'stuff her'.

Glad that everyone, including your legal adviser, agrees with me!

 

[joe-90]

You are marvelous. (swoon)

 

[mattylad]

Apart from spam I dont delete emails, I use gmail and used to get hundreds of mails a day, although I have reduced it in the past few years I still get a lot every day.
I have no current need to delete them, 8 years+ and 6gb+ and still going strong.

I can find my first email

 

[JBR]

You are marvelous. (swoon)

I know, but I try not to let it go to my head.

 

[terrypin]

As already stated, a letter along with a cheque etc. Also stating that if this goes to court she will have no other option than to employ the services of an independent witness and should she win all her costs will be charged to the plaintiff, in a counter claim.

 

[Bosswhite]

Well she gets around 300 emails per day. As part of a team most are cc'd and don't really apply to her. Anyway, she had a 45 minute phone consultation with a senior partner at a litigation firm and he thought it way over the top that it costs £1000 to tidy up a Hotmail account. Basically, he said to do what Mitch said earlier in this thread. Also, bear in mind that the professional is supposed to know how to conduct their business, not the client. If they say it should take 2 to 3 hours and the GF agrees to that, then any major change from that should be flagged up by the professional. If you take your car in to be fixed and the original estimate proves to be wrong because of factors that weren't known at the outset then the onus in upon the garage owner to contact the client and get their permission to continue at the new estimate. There was no contract whatsoever. How does anyone know she spent 19 hours on the case? How can ANYONE spend 19 hours on a Hotmail account ffs? What was she doing all that time?
She has been quoted £250 - £300 by other IT companies at a fixed price. That is the going rate for the job. No-one has the right to overcharge for their own incompetence. She never even finished to job. The GF ended up sorting it with Microsoft herself. Personally I'd tell her to whistle. No contract. No proof of hours work. Job not completed. Get lost.

You appear to have changed the original story, are you now saying there was no contact from the IT Firm that the job would take longer than originally estimated for.

Your first comments were = " somewhere along the way the IT Person said it would take longer than 3 Hours"

 

[FiremanT]

How much did the "45 minute phone consultation with a senior partner at a litigation firm" cost.

Did she get a written quote?

 

[Bosswhite]

As Fireman T Said ^^^^^^^^

Has she got a written quote from the Senior Partner of the Litigation Firm regarding his advice, and the details. ?

If it goes to Court this will be needed as evidence ! ( even Small Claims Court)

 

[terrypin]

I'm not sure written testimony from an expert will be admissible as the plaintiff would not be able to crossexamine the expert or question his/her credentials.

 

[joe-90]

Well she gets around 300 emails per day. As part of a team most are cc'd and don't really apply to her. Anyway, she had a 45 minute phone consultation with a senior partner at a litigation firm and he thought it way over the top that it costs £1000 to tidy up a Hotmail account. Basically, he said to do what Mitch said earlier in this thread. Also, bear in mind that the professional is supposed to know how to conduct their business, not the client. If they say it should take 2 to 3 hours and the GF agrees to that, then any major change from that should be flagged up by the professional. If you take your car in to be fixed and the original estimate proves to be wrong because of factors that weren't known at the outset then the onus in upon the garage owner to contact the client and get their permission to continue at the new estimate. There was no contract whatsoever. How does anyone know she spent 19 hours on the case? How can ANYONE spend 19 hours on a Hotmail account ffs? What was she doing all that time?
She has been quoted £250 - £300 by other IT companies at a fixed price. That is the going rate for the job. No-one has the right to overcharge for their own incompetence. She never even finished to job. The GF ended up sorting it with Microsoft herself. Personally I'd tell her to whistle. No contract. No proof of hours work. Job not completed. Get lost.

You appear to have changed the original story, are you now saying there was no contact from the IT Firm that the job would take longer than originally estimated for.

Your first comments were = " somewhere along the way the IT Person said it would take longer than 3 Hours"

There are a number of emails sent by the daughter asking for an update on the price. No answer was ever given, just the final bill for around 4 times the estimate.