ᐅ Issues with the Architect's Invoice for a Planned Construction Project
Created on: 12 Dec 2021 17:55
W
Wildente
Hello everyone,
The question was whether it would be possible to convert a pigsty with a grain storage into apartments. A contractor came to take a look and recommended an architect, who visited the site with another lady and took the old building documents with her. Later, she called and said that after consulting with the building authority, a building permit (planning permission) would be approved if the exterior appearance remained unchanged and the neighbor raised no objections. However, it turned out that we are currently unable to proceed with the construction project for operational reasons. I informed the architect about this by phone and politely asked if I owed her anything. She replied, "What should I charge for, since nothing was done." After several weeks, she sent back the building documents we had given her – together with an invoice for 5 hours, which I immediately returned in frustration. Yesterday, the invoice arrived again by registered mail, referencing HOAI §§ 1 and 2 in the cover letter, and she demands immediate payment while putting us in default.
Until now, no contractor who was asked to inspect a possible job and provide an offer has ever charged for this. We never received an offer or any other services from the architect; the invoice was the first and only written document. Does half an hour of inspection and a phone call with the building authority to initiate a business relationship justify charging five hours at the HOAI hourly rate? She interpreted my question about whether I owed her anything as an invitation to invoice. What now – I appreciate any advice, or are we left with only a lawyer and court proceedings?
Having had a bad experience, from now on no one will come onto our property without first providing their costs in writing.
Wildente
The question was whether it would be possible to convert a pigsty with a grain storage into apartments. A contractor came to take a look and recommended an architect, who visited the site with another lady and took the old building documents with her. Later, she called and said that after consulting with the building authority, a building permit (planning permission) would be approved if the exterior appearance remained unchanged and the neighbor raised no objections. However, it turned out that we are currently unable to proceed with the construction project for operational reasons. I informed the architect about this by phone and politely asked if I owed her anything. She replied, "What should I charge for, since nothing was done." After several weeks, she sent back the building documents we had given her – together with an invoice for 5 hours, which I immediately returned in frustration. Yesterday, the invoice arrived again by registered mail, referencing HOAI §§ 1 and 2 in the cover letter, and she demands immediate payment while putting us in default.
Until now, no contractor who was asked to inspect a possible job and provide an offer has ever charged for this. We never received an offer or any other services from the architect; the invoice was the first and only written document. Does half an hour of inspection and a phone call with the building authority to initiate a business relationship justify charging five hours at the HOAI hourly rate? She interpreted my question about whether I owed her anything as an invitation to invoice. What now – I appreciate any advice, or are we left with only a lawyer and court proceedings?
Having had a bad experience, from now on no one will come onto our property without first providing their costs in writing.
Wildente
Somehow, everyone here overlooked that the mentioned architect herself said she couldn’t calculate anything because nothing had happened. Charging for work time that was later incurred is at least unfair. However, I suspect the original poster will still have to pay, as they probably don’t have this statement in writing.
Tolentino schrieb:
Somehow everyone here overlooked that the architect herself stated she couldn’t calculate anything because nothing had happened. No. As a reader, you need to filter certain things. For example, subjectivity, exaggeration, or emotions in the presentation of facts. Here, I would say the lady probably said something different, was possibly misunderstood, and was quoted with the words “nothing happened,” which I find inappropriate.
What does “there” mean? What does “happened” refer to? What does “nothing” mean? Many things can be said, but not that or that alone.
I would probably say: “It wasn’t much (that I did).” Because half a working day is “not much.” But that would be speculation now.
So we stick to the facts here. And this concerns a service, which of course requires payment.
Wildente schrieb:
What am I supposed to calculate, nothing happened.” After many weeks, she returned the provided construction documents to us—along with the invoice for 5 hours, H
hampshire13 Dec 2021 09:02Tolentino schrieb:
Somehow, everyone here overlooked that the mentioned architect herself said she couldn’t calculate anything because nothing had happened. That’s correct, that’s how the original poster seems to have understood and described it. Whether there is a misunderstanding, a gap in the architect’s memory, or unreliability is unclear.
When you receive something like this as a favor, sending a written thank-you by email is certainly not a mistake. It pleases the other party and creates a record.
@ypg: Hmm, I see it differently. As a layperson forum, we are here to help the original poster (OP) and exchange opinions about the situation they presented.
Therefore, we cannot act as a "high court" to determine the actual facts based on evidence and witness statements and then issue a verdict. Instead, we rely on, and in my opinion should trust, the OP's account.
Of course, expressing an opinion also means you might believe the OP is exaggerating or not telling the full truth. However, doing so without any indication is not very constructive.
I also thought the overall tone of the comments here was quite one-sided, which is why I pointed out that, at least based on the information provided, the architect’s behavior was not acceptable. But yes, I also believe that ultimately the OP is responsible for paying the invoice.
That said, I find the OP’s frustration understandable and do not respond to it with the implicit condescension that some others here display.
Therefore, we cannot act as a "high court" to determine the actual facts based on evidence and witness statements and then issue a verdict. Instead, we rely on, and in my opinion should trust, the OP's account.
Of course, expressing an opinion also means you might believe the OP is exaggerating or not telling the full truth. However, doing so without any indication is not very constructive.
I also thought the overall tone of the comments here was quite one-sided, which is why I pointed out that, at least based on the information provided, the architect’s behavior was not acceptable. But yes, I also believe that ultimately the OP is responsible for paying the invoice.
That said, I find the OP’s frustration understandable and do not respond to it with the implicit condescension that some others here display.
H
hampshire13 Dec 2021 11:15Tolentino schrieb:
In this case, we cannot act as a "higher court" to determine the true facts based on evidence and witness statements and then pass judgment. Instead, we have to rely on, and in my opinion also are obliged to accept, the account provided by the original poster.Thank you very much for the reminder and clarification. I couldn’t agree more!