Too few meters calculated in quotation and invoice. Can this be charged?

Questioner

I bought a wooden floor and had it laid by a timber merchant. He first came to measure the floor and then sent me a quote. I agreed to that. After I had paid the bill, I received another bill a few weeks later. When I asked, it turned out that the merchant had calculated too few meters for the skirting boards in the quote and bill, 30 meters instead of 50 meters. Do I have to pay this additional bill?

Lawyer

This is an error that could have been known to you when you saw the quote. That makes this issue a bit more difficult to assess in this case; or was the number of meters not stated on the quote?

Questioner

The number of meters was on the quote, the invoice only showed a total amount of the floor and other things I had bought. And no, I had no idea that there were too few meters on the quote. Because the trader measured it himself, it did not occur to me that it would not be correct.

Lawyer

I find this to be an obvious mistake by the contractor, which could have been seen by you. The law does make a difference when it comes to the question of who can be held responsible (and liable) for the mistake. If this were to come before a judge, you would not be in a strong position. After all, it is not a matter of a few meters but of a 40% deviation. The contract for work does mention the prices and additional work. If a fixed price has been agreed, then that fixed price applies; however, there is an error/mistake/typing error at the root of it and in my opinion you cannot rely on the principle of trust. That would be the case with a small deviation of 2 or 3 meters.