Carlybird

[Carlybird]

Hi, I hope I have found the right section to post in. We engaged a local Gardener to do some work late last year. He led us a merry dance from the off. He failed to turn up some days or only worked for a few hours. We agreed that it would be finished by Xmas. It wasn't but he said it would be finished in Jan. He then said he was ill (2 weeks) both vans off the road (2 weeks) and eventually returned on 17th Jan. He eventually finished on 2nd Feb! He left quickly giving us an invoice for an extra unexpected amount.
In all he tried to charge us about £1,500 more than the quote. We paid above the quote, but not the full amount he wants, which he now says we still owe £850. We said from the start that our max budget was £4000. We are both disabled and have a very limited income.
He is now threatening to sue us and we have been receiving quite nasty Solicitors letters. The thing is the work isn't up to scratch and we have asked if he will put things right. So far he is not willing to commit to anything. The Solicitor is denying anything is wrong and says we are just avoiding paying.
This is really making us ill, we have a lot to deal with and don't want or need this. We took advice from Citizens Advice who said we should take him to court for the unresolved issues and the effects on our health. We don't want to even look at the garden anymore, let alone sit in it.
Any advice would be very much appreciated.

[atticus]

you need to examine the quotation carefully. Was it a fixed price or an estimate? Was the work done what was quoted, or did you end up with additional work being done?

As to the quality of the work done, have you any idea what it would cost to put right?

[Carlybird]

[QUOTE=atticus;n1612368]you need to examine the quotation carefully. Was it a fixed price or an estimate? Was the work done what was quoted, or did you end up with additional work being done?
As to the quality of the work done, have you any idea what it would cost to put right?
Hi thanks for your reply. It was a firm quote, not an estimate. One small job was additional which was using up left over paving. He said that would be about £250, which we paid. The patio is uneven and looks terrible.
At the moment we don't have firm prices of what it would cost to put right.