Electrician's invoice after 2.5 years - What are my rights?

Hello dear construction friends.

I currently have a small problem with our construction company or rather their former electrician.

After 2.5 years, we have now received an invoice from the electrician for various special services performed. According to the Building Code, I know that they are legally entitled to charge for various trades within 3 years if they have provided their service.

Now, this leads to my problem. It concerns various items that I ordered directly from the construction company before we signed the contract. I have my parents-in-law as witnesses since they were present at the time.

During the construction phase, I then asked our construction manager whether these ordered items would be considered or charged, and I was told that these are included in the lump sum price (these items were neither listed nor subsequently added on the service overview).

Of course, it was also my fault because I could have checked more carefully before we signed something, but nevertheless, the construction manager confirmed it to me over the phone.

The electrician should get his money, no question about that, but I do not see why I should bear the full amount just because the construction company forgot to include it in the calculation.

How can I best argue this now, or what is the legal situation?

I would suspect that you have little chance of success and that you have to pay the electrician anyway once the service has been rendered and commissioned by you.

However, I have little idea.

I could imagine that you can sue the construction company – then you have to prove it – unclear whether your parents-in-law are sufficient as witnesses. If necessary, you can find other builders who have suffered the same fate.

What does the construction company say about it?

What amount is it about? The costs for the procedure/legal advice are certainly not insignificant.

If it is not stated anywhere, how is the electrician supposed to prove the other way around that -whatever- was even commissioned? Or am I misunderstanding something now?

If you are a "Schwein," you first reduce the invoice, transfer the difference, and write an email explaining why you reduced the invoice. After that, the electrician will surely contact you to say that this is not acceptable, and then you will agree on half.

I would suspect that you have little chance of success and have to pay the electrician anyway once the service has been provided and commissioned by you.

However, I have little knowledge.

I could imagine that you can sue the construction company – then you have to prove it – unclear whether your parents-in-law as witnesses are sufficient. If necessary, you can find other builders who have suffered the same fate.

What does the construction company say about it?

What amount are we talking about? The costs for proceedings/legal advice are certainly not insignificant.

The amount is under 1000 euros. In other words, a court case is not worth it. The construction company, of course, denies everything at first (was not ordered, we never talked about it, etc.). We will have a personal meeting soon to discuss the matter (construction company and us). The problem is that the electrician and the construction company are also having conflicts and apparently are taking it out on the customers.

If it’s not written anywhere, how is the electrician supposed to prove that - whatever - was even commissioned? Or am I misunderstanding something?

He probably can’t prove it directly like that, only based on the invoice he first issued to the construction company and then to us. But I don’t have anything signed or similar from him. The thing was also that he didn’t even get the service overview from the construction company and had no idea what should go where, etc.