Inflated invoice when the builder has ordered building materials

[Mainstream]

Interesting discussion. I have withheld approximately 40,000 SEK from the total invoice of 900,000 SEK, the "inflated" prices are about 40,000 SEK + VAT over what I could easily have emailed myself privately, I intend to propose to the builder that we split evenly, i.e., I get a credit of 20,000 SEK + VAT.

Spontaneously, it feels like you are being too generous in this case. Do you have copies of all the material invoices?

Return the invoice with a letter disputing the invoice (note, do not sign with a signature). Cite the reason that the agreement on material prices has not been upheld. That's enough and then you leave the ball in their court.

Then pay in, say, 80% of the material price and await the builder's response.

 

[Sir Duke]

Completely unbelievable that they can charge both a material markup AND hourly rate and mileage for purchasing the material. Doesn't he also want a getting-out-of-bed subsidy à la Greece? He will probably get really upset that you're complaining about the invoice, but it's both a rotten principle to increase profit through made-up costs, and too much money to just give away. So go for it.

 

[ranchero]

The easiest way to avoid worrying about such problems is to make the material purchases yourself. The builder wants to be compensated for the work of ordering, handling any complaints, and covering the costs until the end customer has paid.

 

[Andreas 71]

Absolutely right andersmc!!!
That's how you should do it, then it can't go wrong. And if the carpenter doesn't take it, there are plenty more fish in the sea...

 

[ronolo]

Without having read the entire thread. The setup where the company has a 12% margin on material without any performance against conditional prices makes it directly counterproductive for them to negotiate prices. For every thousand they negotiate down, they lose 120:- + the time it takes to negotiate. And negotiating good prices takes a lot of time.

Price negotiation should therefore be handled by someone whose interest is to get good prices. If you don’t have time to negotiate prices, find it too expensive to hire a suitable consultant to do it for you, or don’t set specific requirements on the craftsman's pricing, you simply have to pay what the craftsman thinks he wants to be paid.

 

[Sir Duke]

Well, it's not quite that free. The craftsman can hardly buy a screw for 1 krona and then sell it to the customer for 1 million.

 

[VW Transporter]

The trick might be to bring in fixed prices and choose the cheapest builder. If the competition works, you can suddenly benefit from both discounts and kickbacks. And the "dishonest scammer" becomes a competitive entrepreneur...