NWR: WWTKD - Payment

IMathlete

We needed our lawn aerated and seeded, so I solicited a recommendation for a yard guy from a friend who lives close by. She really likes the guy, so I called him to get a quote. The estimate was on par, so I texted him Friday (10 days ago) to go ahead and do the work. He did not respond (he had told me Thursday evening that he was available to do it that Friday).

I called him the next week. No answer. No return call. Finally I texted him Thursday saying "We would like to hire you to do the work. Will you be able to do it soon, or should I hire someone else?" He immediately responded that he would be there tomorrow (last Friday).

We had agreed to aerating, fertilizing, lime, and seeding, for $235. The only services we discussed were those.

He came Friday and texted me around noon that he did the aerating, etc. for $235 and ALSO mowed and cleaned up the yard for an additional $45. He did not ask; he simply did it. I immediately texted him back saying, "I hope you did not already mow. I did not ask you to do that." I have not heard a word from him since.

I have to mail him a check. I don't know what to do. There was a pile of sticks in the yard and a light layer of leaves to be raked, but the grass did not need to be mowed badly (and we have a lawnmower and would have done it). Do I pay him the full amount, or just what we agreed to?

I do not intend to hire him again. The work was done well, but it was a hassle to reach him, and I do not appreciate the extra services added.

climbingsingle

I would only pay him what was agreed to, and along with the check, I would send a letter stating exactly that. 

sarawifenow

Do you have anything in writing that shows exactly what you agreed upon? I would send him a copy of that along with payment for those agreed-upon services. Screw the extra he did on his own.

esstee33

ClimbingBrideNY said:

I would only pay him what was agreed to, and along with the check, I would send a letter stating exactly that. 

This, exactly. You didn't agree on those additional services and you shouldn't be required to pay for things he just up and decided to do on his own. 

IMathlete

I have a text message stating the services I asked him to do. I appreciate that he cleaned up the yard, but I did not agree to those charges.

Maggie0829

Only what you agreed to.  Did you get what you agreed to in writing?  Or an email or a text?

sarawifenow

IMathlete said:

I have a text message stating the services I asked him to do. I appreciate that he cleaned up the yard, but I did not agree to those charges.

I would check with your phone carrier and see if there is a way to get a print out of that text conversation.

cupcait927

I would only send him a check for the original amount he quoted you. If he took it upon himself to do extras, that's on him and he shouldn't be charging you.

IMathlete

Maggie0829 said:

Only what you agreed to.  Did you get what you agreed to in writing?  Or an email or a text?

Unfortunately, the meat of the quote was done over the phone. Our texts basically just say that I would like him to aerate, and another mentions the lime, seeding, and fertilizing. I wish I had the full quote via text!

blabla89

sarawifenow said:

IMathlete said:

I have a text message stating the services I asked him to do. I appreciate that he cleaned up the yard, but I did not agree to those charges.

I would check with your phone carrier and see if there is a way to get a print out of that text conversation.

That's easy if your phone has a screen shot function. Take one, email it to yourself, print from your computer.

Totally agree that you shouldn't have to pay for extra work that you didn't ask for.

Maggie0829

IMathlete said:

Maggie0829 said:

Only what you agreed to.  Did you get what you agreed to in writing?  Or an email or a text?

Unfortunately, the meat of the quote was done over the phone. Our texts basically just say that I would like him to aerate, and another mentions the lime, seeding, and fertilizing. I wish I had the full quote via text!

But you have zero texts stating anything about mowing right? Take some screen shots of the texts you do have and then call him and tell him that you are sending him payment for the amount agreed upon (which included X, Y and Z through text) but will not pay for the mowing since you never asked for it.  Then tell him you have all the texts you and he exchanged and will supply them to show that mowing was never discussed if he decides to throw a hissy.

IMathlete

Thanks everyone. I will definitely pay him for the services solicited and include something to the effect of not agreeing to additional services. I doubt it will go further than this, but I will save the texts in case anything ever comes of it.

huskypuppy14

Just pay him the amount you agreed upon.

You can't do extra work for someone and them charge them extra without their approval.

Unknown

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wandajune6

Pay him for the work that was agreed upon. That's it. You have no responsibility to pay for any work that you didn't previously agree to. If the lawn needed to be mowed before they could do the work, they should have alerted you prior to starting the project.

sarawifenow

butterscotchjbeans said:

pay the x amount that you agreed on and just give him a tip for the extra work but definitely not 45. And let him know you didn't ask for it 

I don't think she needs to tip him for the extra work he did. She did not ask for it and he just went ahead and charged her for it. No way would I be tipping somebody who was shady and tried to get more money out of me.

climbingsingle

sarawifenow said:

butterscotchjbeans said:

pay the x amount that you agreed on and just give him a tip for the extra work but definitely not 45. And let him know you didn't ask for it 

I don't think she needs to tip him for the extra work he did. She did not ask for it and he just went ahead and charged her for it. No way would I be tipping somebody who was shady and tried to get more money out of me.

Why would you tip someone in this situation? That makes no sense. 

theartistformerlyknownas

No way would I give this guy a tip, or pay for anything I didn't ask for. He gets a check for exactly $235, no more/no less.

STARMOON44

I would pay him. You can't really aerate a lawn that's not newly mowed, has a pile of sticks on it, and leaves that need to be dealt with. Ideally I would prefer if he checked on that, but it sounds at least reasonable that he needed to clean things up and he did do the work.

theartistformerlyknownas

STARMOON44 said:

I would pay him. You can't really aerate a lawn that's not newly mowed, has a pile of sticks on it, and leaves that need to be dealt with. Ideally I would prefer if he checked on that, but it sounds at least reasonable that he needed to clean things up and he did do the work.

If these were prerequisites to doing the agreed-upon work, they should have been included in the initial quote.

Maggie0829

lolo883 said:

STARMOON44 said:

I would pay him. You can't really aerate a lawn that's not newly mowed, has a pile of sticks on it, and leaves that need to be dealt with. Ideally I would prefer if he checked on that, but it sounds at least reasonable that he needed to clean things up and he did do the work.

If these were prerequisites to doing the agreed-upon work, they should have been included in the initial quote.

Yup.  Doing work and charging them for said work without talking to your client first is not right. Period.

esstee33

STARMOON44 said:

I would pay him. You can't really aerate a lawn that's not newly mowed, has a pile of sticks on it, and leaves that need to be dealt with. Ideally I would prefer if he checked on that, but it sounds at least reasonable that he needed to clean things up and he did do the work.

If that stuff was necessary to do the work she hired him to do, he should have told her upfront "If I need to do X things in order to do the things you're hiring me for, that'll be extra $." 

If he got there and found that, despite not having discussed those things with her ahead of time, he needed to do those extra things, the appropriate thing would be to call / text her and say "Hey, I can't do X things without doing X other thing first, and it's going to be an extra $X. Is that OK?" 

He did none of that, so why should she pay him for any of the extra? 

STARMOON44

I'm not arguing she has to pay him or anything, just saying that I personally would.