This is general information about UK rules, checked on the date above. It is not legal advice, and rules change. For a decision that matters, check the sources below or ask a qualified adviser.
Most pricing disputes in the trades begin with one sentence: “But you said it would be £1,200.” Whether that figure was a firm price or a rough guide often depends on the words you used, and those words carry more weight with consumers than many businesses realise.
The short version
- People generally understand a quote as a fixed price, and an estimate as an informed guess.
- For consumers, what you say or write about your service can become a term of the contract if they relied on it.1
- If no price is agreed at all, the consumer must pay a reasonable price, and no more.2
- Clear wording, an expiry date and listed exclusions prevent most arguments. That is our advice from the sections below.
Why the wording matters
The labels “quote” and “estimate” are common usage rather than terms defined in the Consumer Rights Act. What the law looks at is what was said and agreed. Section 50 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 says that every contract to supply a service includes as a term anything said or written to the consumer about the trader or the service, if the consumer took it into account when deciding to enter the contract, or when making a decision about the service afterwards.1
In plain terms, a figure you put in writing could become part of the deal. A message saying “the price will be about £1,200” and one saying “the price is £1,200” can lead to very different conversations later. A label on its own will not rescue you. If you call something an estimate but word it like a firm price, the words you actually used are what matter.
If you never agreed a price
Section 51 covers the situation where the contract does not fix a price or say how it will be worked out. In that case, the contract is treated as saying the consumer must pay a reasonable price for the service, and no more.2
That sounds fair, but “reasonable” is exactly the sort of word people end up arguing about. Agreeing the figure up front is much cheaper than disputing it afterwards.
Other promises that come with every job
Two more parts of the same Act apply to every consumer service contract. The work must be done with reasonable care and skill,3 and if no time was agreed, it must be done within a reasonable time.4 So a quote that says nothing about dates does not leave timing open-ended, and it is better to state your expected start and finish.
What a good quote contains
This checklist is our practical advice. Each line closes off a common argument.
| Include | Why it helps |
|---|---|
| Customer name and job address | Shows who and what the price is for |
| What is included, line by line | Stops “I thought that was included” |
| What is not included | Easier to raise now than mid-job |
| Price, and whether it includes VAT | See our guide to VAT on quotes |
| How long the price is valid | Protects you when material costs move |
| Expected start date and duration | Sets expectations on timing |
| What would change the price | Such as hidden damage, or extra rooms |
| Payment terms | Deposit, stages and final payment |
| How to accept it | A signature, a reply, or a link |
Handling the unknowns
Some jobs cannot be priced until you see behind the plaster. Our suggestion is to separate what you know from what you do not:
Fixed price for the agreed work: £1,200 including VAT. If we find damaged plaster, we will stop and agree the extra cost with you in writing before continuing, at £X per square metre.
This gives the customer a firm number, shows them the risk and how you will treat it, and means extra work is agreed rather than sprung on them. Whatever you call the document, what matters is that the customer can tell what they will pay.
Selling away from your premises
If the customer agrees to the job in their own home, or straight after you met them there, extra consumer rules are likely to apply, including a right to cancel within 14 days. See our guide to cancellation rights for trades.
Speed matters too
A careful quote is only useful if it arrives while the customer still wants the work. If quoting means going back to the office and doing sums in the evening, your price may land after someone else’s. Research on online enquiries suggests that responding quickly makes a real difference, as we cover in how fast to reply to a lead.
That is the problem our quick quotes software is designed to solve. Your prices, options and VAT rules are built in, so the numbers are consistent, and the customer can sign on their phone. Unusual jobs can be flagged for a site visit instead of showing a figure you would have to back away from.
Sources
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UK Parliament, Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 50, legislation.gov.uk, accessed 7 November 2026. ↩ ↩2
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UK Parliament, Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 51, legislation.gov.uk, accessed 7 November 2026. ↩ ↩2
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UK Parliament, Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49, legislation.gov.uk, accessed 7 November 2026. ↩
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UK Parliament, Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 52, legislation.gov.uk, accessed 7 November 2026. ↩
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