Bid vs Bill

[nmlands]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? TX
My contractor bid a job at $900. He encountered some problems and the job turned out to be more involved than we expected. The bill came and it was $1,900. Is there a rule of thumb for how much over the bid the bill is allowed to be? I did not have the additional $1,000 and am paying him out weekly, but he is not happy about this and is calling me at work about paying my bill.

 

[swalsh411]

Even if there were a "rule of thumb", "rules of thumbs" are not laws.

You are responsible for paying him for the work he did. Did he tell you before he started work that it was going to be more complex than you both originally thought? Nothing in your post indicates you suspect he is trying to cheat you, so you are responsible for the entire amount.

 

[nmlands]

This was a tub replacement job. It was only after he removed the old tub, that he saw that the plumbing for the tub needed work. I was never there during the days when he was working, since I work, so there was never any discussion in person about the fact that the job cost was increasing to the extent of more than double the quote. He said he assumed I knew it was going to cost more since they had problems and it took so much longer to complete the job.

 

[HomeGuru]

This was a tub replacement job. It was only after he removed the old tub, that he saw that the plumbing for the tub needed work. I was never there during the days when he was working, since I work, so there was never any discussion in person about the fact that the job cost was increasing to the extent of more than double the quote. He said he assumed I knew it was going to cost more since they had problems and it took so much longer to complete the job.

**A: where is the breakdown of the $1000 extra work?

 

[nmlands]

Good Question. I don't have the final bill in front of me, but the handwritten invoice outlines what they did and a total. Unfortunately, the bidding process consisted of me showing him what I needed done - him going back to his home office and calling me back with the bid of $900. I accepted. This isn't the first time I've worked with him, but this is the first time I've had this problem.

 

[justalayman]

was there anything in the contract to address unseen problems that might arise during the contracted work?

If so, then the contract was required to be followed in addressing the newly discovered problems

If not, he had no authority to do any work beyond the contracted price. If it prevented him from completing his work, he would be required to address the issue with you and go from there.

If it did not affect his work, he had no authority to do the work and even could have simply left the problem and covered it back up. Obviously not a situation you would have wanted either.

and no, there is no rule of thumb.

the one thing that really needs clarification though:

was this a bid or an estimate? If a bid, the info above applies. If an estimate, it is a totally different situation and exactly what is included in your contract is extremely important as to determining what actions the contractor was required to take when faced with the additional work.