I was verbally quoted $200 before and mid job then charged $800 & told I have to pay anyway. Do I have to pay?

Question

The owners ignored our calls so I went to the BBB and the complaint expired without reply. Should I try the Attorney General and what are my chances in small claims court since they cannot provide a written estimate telling me it would be so much? I told them I would have never had them do the job if I knew it was so much and that's why I asked the cost. I was told I had to pay anyway.

Answer 1

if not in writing..... your word against theirs....

they probably would not want a bad report against them with the BBB so that may help you if you tell them you will report them to the BBB if they do not stand by their verbal quote.... but court wise.. they would win.. and you would have to pay court cost also.. i would refile with the BBB....

Good Luck!!!

Answer 2

I bet they are holding your property until paid,  You need to contact an atty or file in small claims court as soon as possible.  They don't have anything signed by you stating you agreed.  Now,  as long as they hold your property they can start adding storage fee"s.

Answer 3

The BBB is gneerally helpful, but with larger companies.  I'm not sure how the attorney general works, but small claims might do the trick.  Did you sign any paperwork that puts payment responsibility on you, even if it is above the quoted cost?  Normally, paperwork does include this clause (for me anyway).  If they have no signature, then your case could be good in front of a small claims judge since you didn't authorize anything.

Answer 4

Did something become clear during the commission of the work that led them to change their price mid-stream? Sometimes simple jobs, once begun, turn out to be much more complex than the company thought. It then costs THEM more to complete it, so it's unlikely they're out to s***w you.

Generally, the rule is that a company can go 10% over quote and that's it. Pay what you were quoted and if they want to sue, let them -- a shady scam operation isn't going to draw attention to itself, so if they're trying to rip you off then they'll let it go. If it's a legitimate dispute and the changed nature of the job was made clear to you (or anyone would reasonably conclude that it was going to cost more), then you'll have a chance to settle and pay the difference before the claim gets very far.

On balance, these kind of disagreements have a reasonable explanation, so before you jump down their throats, ask them to explain, step by step, what the $200 quote was based on and what made it grow to $800.

Answer 5

If you didn't get it writing, it's your word against his.

Basic Judge Judy!

Answer 6

let them take you to court. with-out a contract and your signature  okay-ing  them to do the work for the full amount and if not licenced there screwed

Answer 7

Is it in writing?  

Always always always in writing.  Offers must be held for 30 days.. but since you have this whole "verbal" situation going on, I don't really know what, if anything, can help you now.