kit279
Well-Known Member
To cut a very long story short, I agreed a contract with a planning consultant to submit a planning application for 10 stables, a horse walker and a riding arena. The contract specifically stipulates that he would attend to matters arising from the submission of this application. I paid him £1500 to do this.
Without my consent, prior knowledge or approval, he omitted the arena from the application. He did so because he miscalculated the fee payable for the arena application as £5K when in fact it was £350. I was very angry about this as if he had submitted it as I asked, the fee would have been waived as part of the whole application.
I went mental about this and he admitted what he had done and agreed to pay the additional cost of resubmitting the application, but only if the stables application was accepted. I refused this as a point of principle but before we could agree on it, the planners indicated that they would refuse planning because of the site and so I decided to withdraw the application and look into permitted development in my garden instead. I discussed this with my planning consultant by email, thinking that this fell under "matters arising from the submission of this application" as per our contract.
If my planning consultant had included the arena in the application as per my instructions, we would have been able to put in a free resubmission in a location that the planners were happy with. I therefore have to pay a whole extra planning fee to resubmit if I want to get this planning permission.
I have requested that the planning consultant refund me 1/3 of the fee I paid him as he has only submitted 2/3 of what I asked him to submit.
He has declined to do so stating that he feels I have had excellent value for money from him (!!!), that he omitted the arena in order to try and save me money (!!) and that he provided advice on permitted development by email which he feels was not included in the original contract. He says he will waive the fees he plans to charge me for the advice on permitted development, if I contract him to resubmit a brand new application for the whole thing!!!
I think this is unacceptable personally and I plan to file suit in the small claims court if he doesn't refund me 1/3 of my fee.
Legal eagles, do I have a case under contract law?! And does he have grounds to charge me additional fees for 2 emails relating to this application and whether or not I could build the stables under permitted development.
Without my consent, prior knowledge or approval, he omitted the arena from the application. He did so because he miscalculated the fee payable for the arena application as £5K when in fact it was £350. I was very angry about this as if he had submitted it as I asked, the fee would have been waived as part of the whole application.
I went mental about this and he admitted what he had done and agreed to pay the additional cost of resubmitting the application, but only if the stables application was accepted. I refused this as a point of principle but before we could agree on it, the planners indicated that they would refuse planning because of the site and so I decided to withdraw the application and look into permitted development in my garden instead. I discussed this with my planning consultant by email, thinking that this fell under "matters arising from the submission of this application" as per our contract.
If my planning consultant had included the arena in the application as per my instructions, we would have been able to put in a free resubmission in a location that the planners were happy with. I therefore have to pay a whole extra planning fee to resubmit if I want to get this planning permission.
I have requested that the planning consultant refund me 1/3 of the fee I paid him as he has only submitted 2/3 of what I asked him to submit.
He has declined to do so stating that he feels I have had excellent value for money from him (!!!), that he omitted the arena in order to try and save me money (!!) and that he provided advice on permitted development by email which he feels was not included in the original contract. He says he will waive the fees he plans to charge me for the advice on permitted development, if I contract him to resubmit a brand new application for the whole thing!!!
I think this is unacceptable personally and I plan to file suit in the small claims court if he doesn't refund me 1/3 of my fee.
Legal eagles, do I have a case under contract law?! And does he have grounds to charge me additional fees for 2 emails relating to this application and whether or not I could build the stables under permitted development.
