That contract clause I skimmed ended up costing me $1,200

I was doing a small kitchen reno for a guy in Portland and his contract had a line about 'time and materials with a not to exceed' but I just skimmed it. Well I went $1,200 over that cap because I had to fix some old plumbing that wasn't in the scope. He showed me the signed paper and I had no leg to stand on. Anyone else get burned by not reading every single line of a client contract?

3 comments

3 Comments

emma_jones14d ago

Dude same thing happened to me last year with a bathroom remodel. The client had a "materials not to exceed" line buried in the fine print and I thought it was just for the tile and fixtures. Ended up $900 over because I had to replace some rotted subfloor I found under the tub. Tried to argue it was an unforeseen condition but he just pointed at that clause and said "read it again." Learned my lesson hard. Now I take a picture of every signed page on my phone before I start any job.

the_daniel14d ago

I read somewhere that most contractor disputes come down to vague language in contracts about "unforeseen conditions." That clause you mentioned sounds like it covered anything that went into the job, not just the stuff you picked out. Smart move with the phone pictures, I've started doing the same thing after hearing stories like this.

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garcia.cameron13d ago

Skimmed a lease for my apartment once. Missed the line about paying for their mandatory "pest control service" every month even though I never saw a single bug. Cost me an extra $240 a year for nothing. Contracts are everywhere now not just for big jobs. Even the simple stuff like signing up for a gym membership or a phone plan has traps in the fine print. Learned to read every single word no matter how small the deal seems.