I don’t think you have to, but you probably should.
Projammer, I’ve seen enough of that in my life to have side stepped it. I made sure not to do any of the actual fabrication work yet, but still I’m out the measuring time. Realistically, I’m pretty sure he’s just very disorganized (he’s doing two projects simultaneously 100 miles apart) so I’ll most likely get a call asking me to get the stuff installed in 48 hours; it’s just frustrating.
I agree with Projammer. They shouldn’t pay on principle alone.
autz, you say in your OP that you talked to your husband. What did you decide between yourselves. I may just being presumptuous, but it seems to me that if you had decided not to you would have mentioned that. If you decided with your husband that you were going to give the go ahead, then you should pay, regardless of if the law says you have to or not. If you guys decided you weren’t going to have the work done, then you shouldn’t pay. IMHO, of course.
I would not be AT ALL impressed with coming home to find my trees and/or shrubs trimmed without my permission. Not only would I not be paying for it, but the contractor who took it upon himself to change my landscaping without my permission would be getting an earful from me, regardless of any previous discussions.
I had a similar experiece with a tree trimmer. I asked for a quote to trim my Olive tree and they sent me a quote for x-dollars for the trim and $200 for a “Deep Root Fertilization”. I schedule them to come out and do the trim, but was adamant that I did not want the fertilization. I had several conversations with them about the job and I was always very clear I only wanted the trim. When they finally did the job, (they no-showed several times) they gave me a bill including the deep root fertilization. When I made it very clear I would not be paying for it they let it drop pretty easily. I was left with the impression that this was the standard procedure for them. I am guessing that as long as a few people pay them, they make more than enough to cover those who don’t.
Not exactly. You’ve restated the facts slightly differently, and under the ones you give, probably not. The wall scenario is a contract implied in fact, meaning that a court can ascertain that a contract was in place from the behavior of the parties. The neighbor agreed that they should build the wall, but didn’t expressly negotiate the price. The court will rule that the missing term, the price, was implicitly agreed upon. In other words, you can’t skate your contract just because you didn’t expressly agree to pay. Another example of a contract implied in fact is when you go to a restaurant and order food. You can’t get out of paying your bill by claiming that there wasn’t an express agreement between you and the waitress that you would pay for your meal; the court will find that a contract existed based on your behavior. People who go into restaurants and order food can be inferred to be entering into contracts to pay for meals.
Another basis of recovery would be a contract implied in law, or a quasi contract. This is where no actual agreement exists, but because a benefit is conferred on one party justice demands that that party pay to avoid being unjustly enriched. The classic example is coming home and seeing a painter painting your house instead of the neighbor’s by mistake, saying nothing, and accpting the benefits of the painter’s mistake. No actual contract was entered into, but the court will find that it’s not fair to allow you to knowingly accept the benefits of the painter’s mistake, and order you to to pay for the benefits you received.
In Vermont, up to about 40 years ago, it was the law that fences between adjoining properties were the responsibility of both property owners. Thus, if a farmer replaced the fence between his property and his neighbor’s, the neighbor was liable for half the cost.
This rule made sense in rural areas where most properties were farms, both of whom had animals to be contained. As more flatlanders moved in and properties were more and more put to non-farm use, the law was changed.
We moved to Vermont in the mid-60s, and the neighboring farmer tried to dun my parents for half the cost of his new fence. Dad looked up the current state of the law, and told him to go to hell.
If he’s already painting my house, and I tell him so and he stops, now I’ve got a partially painted house. Unless it’s the identical color (which it won’t be; colors never match exactly), it’ll look like crap. It’s not fair for me to have to endure a house that looks like crap.
Whoa!
See, in that situation, if the fence was shared, I would pay half. I would also expect to be consulted on the construction, though, so my neighbour wouldn’t put up some rickety eyesore and bill me for half.
But what if the fence was fine, structurally, and it’s just that your neighbor wanted a different style? I would NOT be fine paying half of that!
In my experience watching tv court shows, a small claims judge won’t let you get something for nothing. So I would avoid making him take you to court if you can. Obviously what he did was wrong, but the best you can probably do is pay as little as possible for the work and maybe get him in hot water.
The first thing I would do is get quotes from a few more tree-trimming services. Be sure to let them know that JackAss Tree Trimming already offered to do it for $325. Hopefully they offer a lot less than what you discussed with the first guy.
Then, after you’ve received the bill, I would email (if possible so you have written record) the guy to let him know you are displeased that he went ahead and performed the service without contacting you. Outline the things he did wrong and state that his actions will be reported to the BBB and any local organizations that oversee that kind of work (if any).
Tell him you will not pay whatever he wants to charge you, and then lowball him. I’d say $200 if he wants the original $325, but you might also want to take the other quotes into consideration. Tell him it that or nothing. If he tries to cry about it being a “communication breakdown…no one’s fault” just focus on the other things he did wrong, like not bothering to schedule anything, contact you, have a signed contract, tresspassing, etc. Be sure to tell him many times that he is a dishonest scumbag businessman.
I’d be irate if someone were mucking about in my yard without my express permission; I’d assume that it was a scam- that they just do that to anyone who expresses any interest in their services at all, expecting them to pay for it whether they really want it or not.
The fact that it looks like they could force you to pay for it anyway is disgusting; I view it as no better than a homeless guy trying to wash my windshield.
Morally, I think you shoudl pay. You wanted them to do the job, you think they did a great job, so what you seem to be angry about is that they didn’t get from you your specific OK? Seems like a weak thing to hang a non-payment on.
She was **thinking **about them doing the job. What if she couldn’t afford it right now so had decided not to have the work done? What if she decided she wanted to go with another company and had contracted company 2 to do the job at a lower price?
Sure, these aren’t the specific circumstances of this case but just bending over and paying someone because **they **decided to do the work is BS and sets an incredibly bad precedent.
I say don’t pay them.
Exactly, those are not circumstances of this case. Thus, she should pay. We are not talking about a hypothetical. If it was a hypothetical, and those were circumstances of the case, then you’d have a point. They aren’t.
It sounds to me like they thought she wanted them to do the work. You don’t refuse to pay for a job well done just because of a nitpick.
We honestly hadn’t decided. I thought the tree should be trimmed. My husband was against the idea. But I persuaded him to at least talk to the foreman so maybe his concerns could be asuaged. But when we went to talk to him, he was gone.
The whole thing started when my neighbor’s tree (a Eucalyptus, just like ours is) suddenly dropped a huge limb. It didn’t damage anything, but she was worried that other limbs could drop and damage their house or car. So I thought our Eucalyptus should also be trimmed to prevent this limb dropping, but my husband thought there was so evidence that the tree was in any way sick or likely to drop a limb.
But it’s been 2 days now and I haven’t heard from the company or received a bill. I can’t even contact them because I don’t remember their name.
You’re jumping to conclusions…we don’t know that for sure. In fact, Autz states it was three weeks before the guys came back…and she doesn’t make any mention of trying to get back a hold of the guy in those three weeks. All Autz said was that the last thing she told the guy was that she wanted to talk to her husband. If I email a car dealer for a quote on a car and then say I want to discuss it with my wife, I don’t expect to see the car in my driveway the next day.
Then she tried to convey to the workers in Spanish that she wanted to discuss it further. Maybe she was going to schedule it, maybe she was going to tell him she wanted to get a quote from someone else. Maybe her husband agreed they needed it done, but the brakes on the car needed to be done first. We really don’t know one way or the other.
I totally agree that if the service was completed to her liking she should pay up. But the guy also needs to be taught a lesson about using dishonest business practices.
It sounds to a lot of us like they wanted to do the work and didn’t make the slightest effort to get a clear answer from her. Of course they can claim they thought she wanted it done, but that could easily be a lie. I don’t see where a reasonable person could construe a price inquiry and a request to talk further as even close to permission to proceed with the job.
Lack of approval to do the work is quite a bit more than a nitpick. Hell, most (maybe all) states have laws regarding auto repair that require express approval from the customer, lack of which leaves the shop owed nothing. When enough people complain about being railroaded into paying for tree service they didn’t approve, there could be specific laws regarding that as well. Their doing the job Wednesday when they said they’d be there Tuesday is a nitpick, their doing it without being asked or authorized to is a major makes-all-the-difference-in-the-world matter.
Bottom line is this (from the OP): “I didn’t give them any permission or authorization to trim my trees.” And I would say they knew darn well they didn’t have permission or authorization, but hoped they could force acceptance of the job by just going ahead and doing it anyway.