Legal Question in Business Law in Florida

We gave a customer an estimate, he agreed to this verbally, gave a deposit, and we went to work. During the course of the job, he added on extra work and we ran into some unexpected problems which caused us to go over the estimated amount (we informed him of this prior to completing the work). His response was "let's see what we have when we get finished". Upon completion, he LOVED the work, saying it is "better than when it was new". He paid the bill in full with a personal check (which was almost double the estimate). After a week and a half, he came back and wanted a refund, saying the price was not what he had agreed to. No work orders or contracts were ever signed. He still says the workmanship is great. We know you can't please everyone and we feel the price was fair for the amount of work done and we told him so. Are we obligated to refund any money? And how do we keep him from coming back every 4-5 days asking if we have his check and threatening to "ruin our reputation" (even though he STILL says we do great work)?


Asked on 7/14/10, 12:44 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Kevin B. Murphy Franchise Foundations, APC

Any attorney will ask what kind of job are you talking about, and are you licensed to do this work? If you are, and you followed applicable job requirements, the facts are the facts. He paid your bill in full, knowing what the original estimate was. He's not in a good position to now complain he paid too much. If that was really a concern, he would not have paid you in full. Consult with a good business attorney in your area for specific advice.

Kevin B. Murphy, B.S., M.B.A., J.D. - Mr. Franchise

Franchise Attorney

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Answered on 7/14/10, 5:10 pm


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