deliquent billing
I had a well drilled on my property Ion 8/07. I have paid 12,000.00 to date. The driller and drilling process was a disaster. Now the driller is billing me over 6mos later for cost s that I was told was in the contract.
Am I legally required to pay a bill that is over 6 mos deliquent?
Re: deliquent billing
Neither being six months delinquent in delivery to you nor your being six months delinquent in paying a bill or item of a bill would affect your legal duty to pay, as far as I know. I did a quick search for laws that might require a drilling contractor to submit a final bill within some time period, but did not find any. I hasten to add that this doesn't mean no such law exists - only that I don't know of it.
I think the more important issue here is whether you would have been required to pay this additional amount ever, even if billed for it instantly. Figuring this out would require careful review of the written contract. Anything you were told but differs from the written contract is probably not enforceable. However, if this is a time-and-materials contract rather than for a fixed bid price, you or the contractor may have to prove your positions based on his field records and your observations and measurements of what was done.
If the amount in dispute is under $7,500, consider paying under protest and going to small claims court to recover the sum paid.
Re: deliquent billing
Neither being six months delinquent in delivery to you nor your being six months delinquent in paying a bill or item of a bill would affect your legal duty to pay, as far as I know. I did a quick search for laws that might require a drilling contractor to submit a final bill within some time period, but did not find any. I hasten to add that this doesn't mean no such law exists - only that I don't know of it.
I think the more important issue here is whether you would have been required to pay this additional amount ever, even if billed for it instantly. Figuring this out would require careful review of the written contract. Anything you were told but differs from the written contract is probably not enforceable. However, if this is a time-and-materials contract rather than for a fixed bid price, you or the contractor may have to prove your positions based on his field records and your observations and measurements of what was done.
If the amount in dispute is under $7,500, consider paying under protest and going to small claims court to recover the sum paid.
