Warranty Claim on a Heating Circuit Manifold
A property management firm orders you to replace a defective heating circuit manifold in a 12-unit residential building. Your written quote of €4,800 (materials €2,300, labour 16 h at €85/h, plus 20% VAT) was accepted by email, but the email only says "we accept, please proceed". During installation you discover the existing pipework does not match the dimensions in the building's as-built drawings; adapting it needs 6 extra hours and €600 in fittings. You inform the client the same day by phone; the property manager says "just get it done, we'll sort out the paperwork later". Two weeks after completion the client refuses the additional €1,110 (net) and cites the original €4,800 figure. You have no signed change order, only your phone note and a photo of the mismatched pipework.
1. Assess whether you can legally claim the additional €1,110. Which facts strengthen and which weaken your position?
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The decisive question is whether a binding contract variation came about. The original acceptance created a fixed-price contract (Werkvertrag) for €4,800. Additional work is only owed if it was ordered as a variation or falls outside the agreed scope.
Strengthening facts: (1) the mismatch was not foreseeable from the as-built drawings, so the extra work is genuinely additional, not part of the quoted scope; (2) you notified the client immediately, before doing the work, which satisfies the duty to warn and to seek instructions; (3) the property manager's statement "just get it done" is an instruction to proceed, and a manager of a property management firm is normally authorised to give such instructions for routine repairs; (4) your photo and phone note document time and cause.
Weakening facts: (1) no signed change order and no written confirmation of the €1,110 figure; (2) the manager's phrase is ambiguous as to price; (3) you bore the risk of unclear wording by not sending a one-line written confirmation.
Conclusion: you have a defensible claim, but the amount may be reduced to what is customary and necessary. Realistic outcome is a negotiated settlement rather than full recovery. Lesson: confirm every variation in writing, stating hours, materials and price, before starting.
2. Draft the three-sentence written confirmation you should have sent on the day of discovery, and explain what each sentence achieves legally.
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Suggested text: "During installation today we found that the existing pipework does not match the as-built drawings, so the agreed scope cannot be completed as quoted. To finish the work we must adapt the pipework, which requires an additional 6 hours at €85/h plus €600 in fittings, i.e. €1,110 net on top of the €4,800. Please confirm by reply that we should proceed on this basis; otherwise we will pause work and await your instructions."
Legal function of sentence 1: it documents the unforeseen obstacle and triggers your duty to warn the client, protecting you from a later claim that you should have known.
Sentence 2: it quantifies the variation in hours, materials and price, so the client can give informed consent. A price stated up front is far easier to enforce than a bill presented afterwards.
Sentence 3: it creates a clear acceptance mechanism and, importantly, states the consequence of silence (work stops). This prevents the client later arguing that you acted unilaterally or that the price was never agreed.