Nightmare customer won’t pay

Joined
2 Feb 2023
Messages
27
Reaction score
0
Country
United Kingdom
Hi all,

I’m currently dealing with a bit of nightmare customer. This was my quote to her 2 months prior to work commencing via email:

Quote 1 -

Painting front render (2 coats)

Painting front and rear guttering (2 coats)

Painting front and rear fascia boards (2 coats)

Painting back door inside and out + frame (2 coats)

Staining wooden garage door (2 coats)

Price and timeline were also included and she agreed to this and got booked in via email.

2 months later work commenced. Day 1 everything fine. Day 2 she said everything looked good and to send her the invoice. She then realised painting the windows wasn’t in the quote and she was angry at me for that. I apologised if I forgot to include them but they weren’t accounted for in the time or price so I can’t do them.

She also then got angry about the Woodstain I used for the garage door. I used the exact brand, type and colour she requested (have it written in email) but according to her that was wrong because she didn’t know it was satin finish and I should’ve told her. The stain she requested only came in stain finish. She also said the colour was wrong but it was the exact colour she asked me to buy.

Day 3 all hell broke loose. She was really rude to me in person, verbally abusive saying I’m a scammer etc. I asked if she wanted me to finish the job or just get paid for the 2 days and leave. She insisted I finished so I did. End of that day she’s suddenly unhappy with every single thing I’ve done and refused to pay me anything. She stated the render was patchy, things were sanded down properly, etc.

I asked for this written in an email and she didn’t send anything, so I asked again via email. She provided a photo of some rotten fascia that I told her about and the end of the guttering that I couldn’t paint as I’d need use their window to do it. They wouldn't allow me to. No pictures of ‘patchy’ render. They also kept complaining about the garage door but as I said before I used the exact stain they wanted.

I offered to go back and amend her issues or she can have a deduction of £150. She basically told me I can jog on and she’s getting another opinion/report. She said she wants me to come back and paint her windows as she thought they were included in the original quote and I was scamming her??

Fast forward to now she has stated her second opinion from ‘Ivan’ means she’s still not happy. Won’t provide me with the report and says if I want to see it I have to pay Ivan. She said she’ll pay for parts of the invoice but not all of it.

What do I do from here? I was thinking of reducing by a further £50 but I also don’t feel like I should have to. She’s still provided no evidence of the patchy render, I don’t believe the garage door is my fault and the problem areas are so small. She refused my offer to correct them. She also did not provide said ‘report’ like she said she would.

Should I stick to my guns and insist she pays the original amount with the £150 deducted? I don’t really want to take this to court but feel she’s being quite unreasonable.

Sorry for the long post.
 
Sponsored Links
I would politely remind her that the windows weren’t in the original quote so that when you go to MCOL can see you are being reasonable
 
I would politely remind her that the windows weren’t in the original quote so that when you go to MCOL can see you are being reasonable
Yeah I said this via email and text message so have proof I’ve told her this multiple times. I’ve left out a lot of back and forth we had as I didn’t want to make the post too long
 
County court with copies of paperwork, e mails etc.
 
Sponsored Links
Send a recorded delivery letter giving them a certain time to pay, minus the amount you’ve agreed and notify them that you will go to the county court with those charges being added to you claim if they don’t pay up.
 
I do not understand why you would need to pay to read the report from Ivan.
 
As @Mottie et al have suggested, tell her that you will lodge a small claims case. In some respects you will both lose out- both of you will need to take time off work to sit before the magistrate (which is not refundable). If she doesn't turn up to court, it is very probable that the judge will automatically find in your favour. From memory, the case will be heard in your nearest county court. If she loses and does not pay within a month, the CCJ will sit on file for 6 years and is likely to impact her credit rating https://www.gov.uk/county-court-judgments-ccj-for-debt/ccjs-and-your-credit-rating.

The magistrate will want to see that you tried to correct the situation before bringing the case to court. Thus far,it sounds like you have tried (up to this point).
 
I do not understand why you would need to pay to read the report from Ivan.
She probably knows I wouldn’t pay for it and so is trying to call my bluff per se. I doubt it even exists.
 
As @Mottie et al have suggested, tell her that you will lodge a small claims case. In some respects you will both lose out- both of you will need to take time off work to sit before the magistrate (which is not refundable). If she doesn't turn up to court, it is very probable that the judge will automatically find in your favour. From memory, the case will be heard in your nearest county court. If she loses and does not pay within a month, the CCJ will sit on file for 6 years and is likely to impact her credit rating https://www.gov.uk/county-court-judgments-ccj-for-debt/ccjs-and-your-credit-rating.

The magistrate will want to see that you tried to correct the situation before bringing the case to court. Thus far,it sounds like you have tried (up to this point).
Yes I’ll have to do this. She’s rejected my further £50 discount. Not much else I can do at this point since she refuses to provide the ‘report’ and photos of her issues.
 
So your next step is a polite letter saying that if she doesn’t settle in full by a certain date, at least 14 days from you sending the email then you will refer the matter to the small claims court AND any costs WILL BE added to the outstanding debt
 
Not much else I can do at this point since she refuses to provide the ‘report’ and photos of her issues.
Have you got 'before' and 'after' pictures of your work?
If not, it would be good to get 'after' pictures now, before she can claim remedial work has been carried out by others.
'Before' pictures could possibly be taken from Street View images, if they are representative.
 
Have you got 'before' and 'after' pictures of your work?
If not, it would be good to get 'after' pictures now, before she can claim remedial work has been carried out by others.
'Before' pictures could possibly be taken from Street View images, if they are representative.
Yes I took photos of all my work and also the paint I purchased before I left as I had a feeling she’d try this. She even knows this as I showed her by email… I didn’t take before pics but will try street view like you suggested.
 
Sponsored Links
Back
Top