Just caught a contractor billing me for 14 hours on a 6 hour job

Last month in Calgary I hired a crew to redo my basement flooring. The invoice showed two guys for 14 hours but my Ring camera caught them leaving by 3pm both days. That math works out to maybe 6 to 7 hours total. I called the company and the owner said the guys needed extra time for material pickup and cleanup, but my footage showed no such thing. Have any of you dealt with padded hours on a residential job, and did you push back or just pay it?

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tyler_white422mo ago

Pull up the timestamped clips and send them to the owner before you pay anything. I had a roofer try to add two hours for "debris hauling" once, and I sent him photos of the truck leaving at 4:30 with a mostly empty bed. He knocked it off without another word. Also ask for a breakdown of the 14 hours, like what specific tasks filled each slot. If the owner starts talking about "accounting errors," ask for a revised invoice in writing. Most of these guys cave when they know you've got proof. Worst case, you pay the legit hours and dispute the rest with your credit card.

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