Engineer Bill Advice

hellotonto4747

Hello,

Myself and my wife are currently in the process of househunting. A house came up for auction that we were interested in. At that stage we didn't have mortgage approval etc in place but I made a few calls to some local engineers to inquire about prices etc.

I never confirmed with any of the engineers that I was booking a survey, however one engineer went and did the survey and now are billing us for the work. I did give details such as the letting agents name. I never actually agreed with this company (or any of the engineers I contacted) to go ahead with the work.

Now there is talk of solicitors as I don't feel I should be paying for a service I never ordered. Any advice would be helpful as I've never been in a situation like this before.

Thank you

Pat Mustard

hellotonto4747 wrote: »

Now there is talk of solicitors as I don't feel I should be paying for a service I never ordered. Any advice would be helpful as I've never been in a situation like this before.

Thank you

I've never heard of this happening before but there's a first time for everything.

Sometimes people get the wrong end of the stick and if they are given the clear reality of the situation, they accept it.

Rather than bringing solicitors into it prematurely, I would be inclined to contact this chap and let him know very clearly that you only asked for a quote, that you didn't go so far as to hire him, (that you didn't go sale agreed on the house - if this is correct) that he overstepped the mark and that he should simply put the matter behind him.

If he insists on taking the matter further, that's a matter for himself.

That's what I'd suggest to you. This isn't legal advice, nor is legal advice allowed to be requested or given on boards.ie.

hellotonto4747

Thank you for the response Pat.

I've been speaking with the engineer and explained the situation but they're adamant they want payment. I definitely do not want to get solicitors involved. That was their suggestion as to what the next step would be if I don't pay the bill.

I never gave the go ahead to with this. I called for a price and explained that this was an initial query as we had no mortgage in place.

I'm not sure if this constitutes as legal advice, but should I be engaging a solicitor if that is where they're going? (Please block this last part if it is breaking the rules)

BattleCorp

The standard advice here is to engage a solicitor but I wouldn't put that expense on myself unless the engineer threatens begins legal action.

godtabh

As an engineer, I wouldn't engage with work unless I had confirmation from a client. In the case of a new client it would be even more important to have confirmation.

Has he actually sent you the survey or just demanding money?

Pat Mustard

BattleCorp wrote: »

The standard advice here is to engage a solicitor but I wouldn't put that expense on myself unless the engineer threatens begins legal action.

I would say that the standard advice is to wait until a solicitor's letter arrives, before going to the expense of seeing a solicitor, yourself.

BattleCorp

Pat Mustard wrote: »

I would say that the standard advice is to wait until a solicitor's letter arrives, before going to the expense of seeing a solicitor, yourself.

Are we not saying the same thing?

hellotonto4747

godtabh wrote: »

As an engineer, I wouldn't engage with work unless I had confirmation from a client. In the case of a new client it would be even more important to have confirmation.

Has he actually sent you the survey or just demanding money?

They haven't sent me the survey. They called to say it was ready and that was the beginning of this.

I understand they've put time and effort in but I never confirmed anything or contacted them after the initial inquiry

Pat Mustard

BattleCorp wrote: »

Are we not saying the same thing?

Not exactly.

I say that the standard advice here is to go to a solicitor after he receives a solicitor's letter. This is before proceedings issue.

You say that the standard advice is to go to a solicitor. However, what you also said is to wait until legal action begins, which is after proceedings issue.

Different things.

whippet

I’m in the professional services industry .. unless I have written confirmation (email / signed order) I don’t engage in any billable work.

Send an email confirming you didn’t request the service and leave it at that.

If they do initiate legal action .. deal with it via your solicitor but make sure you give them written notice that you didn’t engage them to do any work

landcrzr

You didn't engage them to carry out a survey and they haven't sent you one and now there are threats of solicitors. You can check with engineers Ireland to see if this guy is a member, if he/she is, there is a code of conduct. It may be of some help.

godtabh

whippet wrote: »

I’m in the professional services industry .. unless I have written confirmation (email / signed order) I don’t engage in any billable work.

Send an email confirming you didn’t request the service and leave it at that.

If they do initiate legal action .. deal with it via your solicitor but make sure you give them written notice that you didn’t engage them to do any work

Exactly. They are either chancing their arm or have done it on spec. Either way unless they have written confirmation you didn’t engage them.

On a side note, my company has a 3 page T&C sheet that must be signed on all projects (even for a couple hundred euro) before work can proceed. No project number is set up. Me or my team can book hours etc. in the passed I worked companies who had bad debts of hundreds of thousands from single clients because they had no written confirmation of appointment.

Victor

hellotonto4747 wrote: »

A house came up for auction

Pat Mustard wrote: »

I would be inclined to contact this chap and let him know very clearly that you only asked for a quote, that you didn't go so far as to hire him, (that you didn't go sale agreed on the house - if this is correct)

In an auction situation, as bids are unconditional, any surveys, etc. should be done before bidding.

Pat Mustard

Victor wrote: »

In an auction situation, as bids are unconditional, any surveys, etc. should be done before bidding.

That's true.