Gardener dispute? Need legal advice?

Questioner

On August 26, I have an appointment with the gardener to pave my front and back garden. He said the back yard would be done the same day and then he would finish the front yard another day. My yard is 8 feet deep and 10 feet. The landscaper paved 3 feet and then left. He was there at 7:45 and left around 1:30. Later these people would come to finish the garden, well fine. On August 29th he came back and finished another part of the back garden. This was on September 1st. The garden was still not finished. Because here and there some broken tiles had to be removed. We would install a number of spotlights in the garden and the gardener would take care of the holes and have the holes made in the concrete tile, 2 x his drill burned out because he did not know what to do and had drilled through it. Gardener indicated that he would not buy another drill because it costs him too much money. I indicated to rent a drill and share the costs. The gardener did not want this because he had a rental company himself. Gardener would come back on September 5th to finish the entire garden including the hole drill. Waited all day for the gardener at the end of the day I called him and wondered if they were still coming. No they did not come anymore because they were working on another job. This was the last straw for me and I indicated that I wanted them to finish everything on September 5. This was not going to work and in the end I made another appointment and in this he had promised to have everything finished on Thursday September 7. This did not happen. Which is why I indicated that I would look for someone else. On Friday I gave them the opportunity to come by but they refused. I had a hole driller come on September 13 who cost me €75. I had already made a down payment of €300 on September 7, the rest would come when everything was finished. The total amount is €630, the gardener has already deducted €130 from this. Now the gardener will finally receive €200 - €75 from the hole driller. He has indicated that he does not agree with the amount of €125. And that he will call in legal assistance and hire a lawyer to still get the €200. We only had a verbal agreement and did not have anything signed on an agreement. How can I best solve this. The garden is still not finished, I also need to have someone come and repair his work.

Lawyer

Now that the gardener no longer wants to continue with the job after having had the opportunity, you can terminate the agreement in writing. You would be wise to also mention the verbal agreements in the letter as confirmation. You do not have to pay the remaining amount now that there is a breach of contract. If you have suffered damages due to exceeding the deadline of September 7, you can also recover this from him. If the gardener refuses, a letter from a lawyer can get the matter moving. Please contact me directly and without obligation.