ᐅ Developer | Special Request | Cost Responsibility

Hello,
my question concerns a situation with our general contractor:

We visited the construction site to check on the progress.
A subcontractor working for the general contractor asked us whether the chimney (which we had installed ourselves as a special request) should be fitted with corner beads and plastered. We agreed to this on site. Normally, with special requests, the general contractor provides a quote, so the buyer receives a cost estimate and can then decide whether to proceed. Instead of a quote, the subcontractor had already completed all the work, and the general contractor charged us at a price we would never have accepted and, if necessary, would have carried out ourselves or commissioned separately after completion.

What can be done in this situation? Does the general contractor have the right to refer to the fact that we gave the order on site and therefore no prior quote was required?

Thank you in advance!

You accepted the offer. You should have clarified the costs beforehand.

SimonBe3 schrieb:

A subcontractor of the developer asked us if the chimney (which we had installed ourselves as a special request) should be fitted with corner profiles and plastered.

Offer!
and

SimonBe3 schrieb:

We agreed to this on site.

Acceptance!

This means you have entered into a contract.

As I understand it, usually the subcontractor expects payment, you pay them some money, and that's it...
On construction sites, tradespeople work, not civil servants.

That is exactly the question. When building with a developer, as buyers we usually do not have authority to issue instructions to the subcontractors. And in the case of a casual question, one does not directly assume it as a work order.

SimonBe3 schrieb:

That is precisely the question. When building with a developer, as buyers we usually do not have authority to give instructions directly to subcontractors. And with a casual question, you don’t normally assume it to be an order.

But you do, if you tell the subcontractor that you want corner beads that will be plastered! You said YES. Besides, you could also have said that you are not authorized to give instructions.

Fortunately, my predecessors are legally incorrect. The essential elements for concluding a contract are already missing.

Furthermore, the developer has no claim for payment against the client – where would such a claim even come from.