The Contract - Get it in Writing or Else!

For a week I did not hear from The Cowboy. Thereafter I met The Cowboy on at least two occasions at the school gate. I asked him if he’d prepared the quote for me and he initially replied he was waiting on a mate who helped him with his costings and later, he’d got his costings back but hadn’t had a chance to write them up yet as his computer was still broken and not to worry as he’d sort something out soon.

On the 1st April 2005 I learned from one our near neighbours that he understood that our immediate neighbours had objected to our planning permission.
I immediately emailed Planman and consequently learnt that day in a return email from Planman that the planning application had been delayed until 25th April due to mislaid papers by the council and changes to the plan drawings requested as a result of an objection from our neighbours. Planman included these letters from the council as attachments to his email (I have all these emails which will eventually be published on http://www.cowboy-builders.com ). Planman sent me the final draft of the plan with the additional drawing the following day.

On Friday 8th April the last day of school term before the two week holiday I met The Cowboy at the school gates. The Cowboy told me he’d completed my quote and to pop round that evening after the kids were in bed around eight to discuss it with him.
I went round to The Cowboy's Ranch that evening.
Over a cup of coffee in his kitchen I asked The Cowboy ‘What’s it going to cost?’
The Cowboy leant over and said to me ‘Twenty three and a half grand’
I said it was a little steep and more than I anticipated.
He verbally went through the quote saying (to the best of my memory) that the clearance and foundations are going to take 1 week, the brick and block work 1 week, roof and tiling 2 weeks, fixings - door and window fitting, flooring, plastering electrical and plumbing 1 week, rendering painting and drainage and making good 1 week and he may have to move the drains which could take a few days. He added that he’d also have to allow four days for kitchen fitting which could happen the same time as they were finishing the outside.
Again The Cowboy justified himself saying he only used ‘proper tradesman’ who he paid £100 per day and high quality materials.
We discussed timescales as given his six week estimate and our baby being due to be born around the third week in June, meant the job had to start at the latest by the second week of May. I explained to The Cowboy that planning had been delayed and we were preferably looking at around May 3rd for him to start, assuming we received planning permission on the 25th as the letter from the council suggested.
The Cowboy said it suited his purposes as he still had a couple of jobs to finish, and he would definitely be available.
I asked The Cowboy again if this was a firm quote with no hidden extras. The Cowboy nodded and replied that if he came across anything that might be extra he’d discuss it with us first. I asked him what he requirements were for payment. The Cowboy replied that he needed £5000 up front to pay for materials and the next payment when the footings went down, a further payment when the roof went on and a final payment at completion. He also said if we could get it, he also preferred half the payment in cash as this saved him time having to go to the bank to get money out to pay his blokes who were all on the books and needed wages.

I accepted the £23500 quote and we shook hands.

At no time did The Cowboy indicate that his quote was not VAT inclusive, and given that the prices he charged me for the work in February were VAT inclusive, and his assurances that there were no hidden charges, I had no reason to assume otherwise.

I told The Cowboy I’d get my wife to arrange his £5000 deposit.

I asked The Cowboy if he could give me the quote in writing.

The Cowboy again replied ‘I’ll sort you something out soon as I get my computer fixed’.
Before I left The Cowboy handed me a Howden’s kitchen catalogue and said ‘You had better choose the kitchen you want quickly as I have to order it and it could take a month or more. I can get you anything in there for the price - I get them cost’

Over the following weekend I discussed with my wife the kitchens in the catalogue.
We decided that we didn’t like any of them.
I told my wife that I wasn’t very impressed by the kitchen I’d been in at The Cowboy's property and that I thought it looked cheap and poorly fitted.
We decided there and then to employ our own kitchen supplier and fitter.
We reasoned that this would allow The Cowboy more time to complete the building works.
I telephoned The Cowboy on the Sunday, but they’d gone away so I left a message on his answer phone to call us when he returned.
Sometime during that week we contacted DG Kitchen services of Southend who had been recommended by a friend. They arranged to call on the 25th April.

The Cowboy phoned me early on the Wednesday 20th April and left a message. I called The Cowboy back and told him that we didn’t like any of the kitchens in the catalogue and would supply and fit our own kitchen.
Aside from being ill with a chest infection, The Cowboy wasn’t very happy and started going on about kitchen units being all the same and that those in the book were ‘as good quality as your £10000 units.’
I told The Cowboy my wife had decided what she wanted and asked him how much he would reduce the quote by. He immediately answered abruptly £1500.
I remember being a little bit taken aback and thinking that kitchen fitters usually charge more than that just for fitting the kitchen (let alone that an element of this was supposed to be for VAT). I remember thinking I had little choice given the timescales and accepted the revised quote of £22,000.
I asked The Cowboy if he was available over the weekend to clear and level a small space on the new land for a greenhouse that was arriving on Tuesday 26th. He told me he’d be round on the Sunday.

On Sunday 24th April The Cowboy called in while passing and said he couldn’t make it but he’d fit us in on the Monday morning as he was currently working on a small job in Thorpe Bay in Southend.
We told The Cowboy that we’d been looking on the Internet and although the planning decision wasn’t due until Monday 25th, it appeared to have been made on the 21st and approved - so work could definitely start on the week starting 2nd May. I again asked him if he'd give us a quote in writing to which he said that his computer was still broken but he'd sort something out.
Whilst The Cowboy was at our house our neighbour who had objected to our planning, returned home and I took him round next door and introduced him as the builder who would be starting work on the extension in around a week’s time.

The Cowboy arrived at our house early on the Monday 25th April morning with his friend and employee Darren to put down the greenhouse base.
Whilst The Cowboy was at our house, as arranged, D&G services turned up to discuss with me and my wife the design of the kitchen units.
I introduced DG to The Cowboy and they discussed when the building would be ready for kitchen units to be installed. They discussed the plan are the likely locations of electrical and water supplies.
The Cowboy told DG and me that the building would be ready for kitchen fitting four to five weeks into the project.
Derek informed me that this was the order time for the units. DG told The Cowboy and ourselves that he would return three weeks into the project to mark the walls for electrical points and plumbing required, which he later did.

Before he left The Cowboy informed me that the job in Thorpe Bay wouldn’t be completed until after the bank holiday and he would start work on Wednesday 4th May.

Sometime over the long weekend of 1st - 3rd of May The Cowboy telephoned us to tell us that due to his illness and sub contractor problems he’d been delayed on the other job and wouldn’t be able to start work until Monday 9th May. We were rather concerned as the job was inching towards the baby's due date.

On Wednesday 4th May I telephoned The Cowboy at lunchtime because earlier that day a work colleague had told me we needed building approval before we could start work. Although I knew that a building inspector would have to ensure that the works were carried out to building regulations, I didn't realise that you needed building approval in addition to planning approval which I thought gave you building approval.

The cowboy sounded surprised and said ‘haven’t you got that yet? You only need to go down the council offices and pay your £350 or whatever for the building inspector visits’. I and my wife visited the Rochford District council building dept. later that day.

Sometime over the weekend of 7th-8th May The Cowboy visited us at our house and said that he’d just visited the ‘old couple next door’ ( our objectionable neighbours) and that they were fine about it.
The Cowboy explained he’d told them the works would take about 6 weeks and that he’d keep the site clean and safe for their dogs and make good any damage that might occur. When I spoke with our neighbour later that day she described him as ‘charming’.

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