Work at customers house

[tiler1]

Hi all

 

 

I run my own Property Maintenance business and recently took on a job to completely refurb a bathroom whilst the occupant was away. The customer gave me an idea of the goods they wanted and chose tiles ect. They left the money with me for the labour and the supplies before they went.

 

 

I then went out and sourced and purchased all the supplies. On the return of the customer I presented a final figure to them and listed every supply individually. I also gave them £365 back which was left over from the supplies money. I have given them a printed receipt from my business with the labour cost and all the supplies listed with the cost. The customer is now saying he wants all the receipts from the suppliers (as I think he belives I have ripped him off on some prices) however these are my receipts for purchases made through my business.

 

 

Can anyone advise on the situation please.

 

 

Thanks

[Conniff]

Commercial in confidence. He has no right to know what you pay for your supplies or what your mark-up is.

Edited March 7, 2016 by Conniff

[JoeyJoeC]

He also cannot expect someone to do the souring and research of the supplies & suppliers for free and not add a % to the cost of materials.

[Conniff]

He also cannot expect someone to do the souring and research of the supplies & suppliers for free and not add a % to the cost of materials.

 

Exactly right. Whether you paid £200 or 2p for the handbasin is none of his business.

[martin2006]

Had this so many times when i was s/e as a gas fitter and plumber, all i ever did was list all items on the customers invoice, end of.

You are entitled to mark up any goods you source and supply whether or not the client has paid anything up front or not.

The rest as stated, is none if his/her business

[tiler1]

Thanks for the replies

 

 

I cant make him understand that it is a labour AND supplies job. He says because he paid the money upfront HE has bought the supplies. Ive explained in any instance he would be the one paying for the supplies whether before or after the work, however as I have gone out and bought them and collected them I have bought the supplies as part of the job.

 

 

Ive explained if it was a labour only job as he is claiming then ALL the supplies needed would have been present on the first day of work or delivered as and when needed for the job following him ordering them.

 

 

Ive explained I need the receipts from suppliers for my bookkeeping as the money he paid went into my business account and therefore a trace of the transactions is needed. He just wont understand or agree!!

[reallymadwoman]

Put it all in writing, keep a copy for yourself. State at the end that you're not prepared to discuss the matter further and then ignore him. I can't see what he can do other than keep pestering you if there's no outstanding bill.

[JoeyJoeC]

Well to him, you are the supplier. I'd tell him he already has a receipt of the supplies, which you've already gave him.

[martin2006]

Doesn't matter whether he paid upfront or not, you sourced and supplied the goods, end of.

Theres nothing he can do to force you to supply anything other than your invoice to him for the job you have completed.

[AndyOrch]

Have you now been paid for the job tiler1 ?

 

Andy

[tiler1]

He paid me upfront before he went away.

 

 

£4000 in total

 

 

£1500 for labour

£2500 for all the supplies (we didn't know exactly how much they would be so he left this amount and said we would adjust it on his return)

 

 

I then returned £365 back to him that was left over

 

 

Originally he was going to order and pay for everything before he went away but then said he didn't have time so could he give me the money to sort ALL the supplies.

 

 

Hes saying because he "chose" the items for his bathroom ie tiles, bath suite ect and left the money he has supplied them and the job is labour only.

Hes forgetting I had to go and pay for it all, pick it up from half a dozen places and get it to the job.

Hes also forgetting I had to source all the plumbing supplies, lights, ceiling panels, tile adhesive, floor adhesive ect ect a list as long as an a4 side of paper!

[AndyOrch]

He paid me upfront before he went away.

 

 

£4000 in total

 

 

 

Ignore him them...the jobs finished and paid for.

[unclebulgaria67]

In these situations it is not worth the hassle and possible damage to future business that might rely on word of mouth free advertising.

 

If i am being supplied standardly available materials, i would expect to see what price i was being charged for them in an itemised way and where they were sourced. Yes i don't have a right to see what price was paid, as it was probably at a discount. But where your integrity is being challenged in this way, it is probably best to show the customer a copy of receipts of where you bought materials. You would of course charge them the full normal retail price before you obtained a discount. The discount is yours and needed as part of profitable working.

[AndyOrch]

Do you know what the occupation of your customer is ? Wanting to know costs and have copies of receipts ?

[tiler1]

Yes he is a landlord of a pub so deals with supplies all the time.

[martin2006]

Ask yourself if he would give you a receipt for what he bought a pint of beer for?

He wouldnt, neither should you.

[martin2006]

As a possible compromise, you could give him photocopies of any receipts you have but you are under absolutely no obligation to do so.

You must not give him the originals and keep copies for yourself, you need them for your tax return, an accountant will not accept photocopied receipts.

[AndyOrch]

Yes he is a landlord of a pub so deals with supplies all the time.

 

On a self employed basis?

[king12345]

As you have supplied the goods to him, do your own receipt individually pricing each item.

Job done!

You need those receipts because you need to offset them against your profit.