What are my options when a marina goes WAY over their estimate?

[nuru05]

I had 2 windows replaced over the winter and just got the bill. I have had issues with this marina running up the clock in the past (71 hours to install a premade bimini) when I wasn't smart enough to make them give me an estimate. This time I thought I was smart and had them give me an estimate. They quoted me 4-6 hours per window so a total of 8-12 (@$180/hr, ya it's insane but I was in a bind) per window plus parts.

I just got the bill and was told "It was a lot harder than we expected so I was as nice as I could be on the bill" they charged me $4500 for labor so 25 hours which is more than double their high estimate.

Do I really have a leg to stand on and fight them on it? I was not notified about the overage until when I got the bill. If I had known it would be that high I would have opted to just have lewmar make a custom window that was slightly larger and had them cut out the hole. That way I would have gotten opening windows in a modern frame (that can be replaced or repaired later on) instead of just fixed glass in the original frames.

[SailingHarmonie]

You can always negotiate. Make them an offer. But you don't really have any legal recourse if it was clearly an estimate, and didn't have an upper limit that required approval to go above. 25 hours is not patently outrageous, depending on exactly what the windows install is like. Live and learn.

If you are just now, in late July, getting a bill for work done over the winter layup, that speaks volumes to sloppy business practices, if nothing else. Maybe you could start by asking to see the timesheets where the hours were tabulated? If their time counting is up to the same standards as their billing, they might not have anything, and are just making it up as they go. Might shift the balance of power in the negotiations.