Can we contest pool excavation costs?

Hi everyone,

We are in the process of building our pool and quite unhappy how the whole process is progressing.
The contractor has charged us way over the initial excavation allowance in the contract.
We have asked a few times the salesman about this allowance and she assured us that only in extraordinary circumstances this price will go up.
There was no extraordinary circumstances: nice soil, dumping of the soil was within a 10 min drive, yet the price was hiked with 66%.

Where are our rights, can we contest in any way this lack of customer care?

Thank you,

RenoGirl66

What is in your contract? The contract should spell out clearly what the costs are, how variations can happen and how the variations are priced.

The contract has an allowance of $3000 for excavation costs. Unfortunately we haven't been so smart to include conditions for cost variations in writing. At the point of signing the contract the sale person has assured us that the cost will not be increased unless they will find hard rocks or the dirt has to be dumped to a far away site. None of this happened. Their pathetic reason for the increase: slow traffic. It was not ! I was at home all the time and the trucks were making a return trip to the dumping site in 10 min!

SO, BIG WARNING to all people signing such contracts, watch what you sign! They took advantage of our trustful nature and we lost!

I have a lot more to say about this specific company that we contracted to build our pool, but at the moment I just want to see the pool finished! will spill the beans later!

Call fair trading and ask for advice. No way would I pay a bill like that without just cause.

How did you go with this?

Are the salespersons words/promises in writing ? What is written down is what counts - not words before signing.

If you took notes etc you have an argument - but the contract generally says what you are entitled to etc.