If you stayed in a hotel for say, a weekend, and you put money behind the bar to cover any drinks or snacks you would expect, on checkout, to have an itemised bill, a possible refund or the need to pay more for any extra items consumed above the money paid in advance – Right?
Similarly I gave my builder €150 up front to buy materials for work he would carry out for me. When his final bill was presented I had only received bills for materials totalling €87. When I told him that I would only pay him in full when I received bills for the remaining €63 material costs he objected most strongly and would not accept the amount offered for his labour minus the unbilled quantity for materials.
Additionally the bills that had been presented were hardly legible and bore no supplier name, date of purchase, tax or paid stamp.
When I demanded a bill for the remainder of the €150 he simply wrote one out himself worded “materials used on site” and threw it at me.
I vow never again to sympathetically pay upfront to accomodate a builder with little capital so that he can buy materials for work requested.