A quote for work

[Mr Coeur de Lion]

We had a quote from a plumber/electrician in April 2006 which we accepted. Part of the contract said "work will have to be start in the 6 month which follows the date and finish in the 12 months of this same date, or else the data of the estimate will become null and void".

Now we are practically in September 2007 and the work is still not completed (in fact I've grown so tired of waiting, I did a little bit of the work myself). Does that above statement protect him, or me? ie as he has taken forever to do his job, can he now come back and requote at a higher price? Seems a bit unfair if that is so. I've had the hassle of a job unfinished for so long and he could potentially come back and demand another few hundred euros because of his incompetence to complete it.

Any advice gratefully accepted.

[hoverfrog]

I don't know what would happen if you are in contention, but in my experience the devis always says "valid for a period of x months...etc". In my case, the last time I accepted a devis - valid for 3 months - the builder finally came and did the work a year later, at the same price.

[Nick Trollope]

Is that the actual text from the devis or a translation? Is is he English (with poor English language) or is he French and the clause hasn't survived the translation?

It doesn't actually mean anything really. He can't change the price because he hasn't stuck to his own terms, but that statement would also imply that you can renegotiate the deal for the same reason.