Your agency sent you a bill for work you never asked for
If your web agency has sent you an invoice for work you never asked for or approved, you are not obliged to pay it without question. UK contract law requires both sides to agree on work before it is chargeable. Ask for written proof of your approval - if they cannot produce it, you have grounds to dispute the bill.
What just happened
You opened an email and there is a bill. Maybe it is a few hundred pounds for "site optimisation". Maybe it is a thousand for "security work". Maybe it is a vague line item called "additional development" with no breakdown.
You did not ask for any of it. You did not approve it. You did not even know it was happening. Now the agency expects you to pay.
This happens more often than agencies would like you to know. It is a billing tactic - assume the client will pay rather than push back, because most of them do.
Do you actually owe it?
Probably not. In UK contract law, a supplier cannot do work and then bill you for it unless you agreed in advance. That agreement does not have to be a signed contract - an email saying "yes go ahead" counts - but there has to be something.
So ask yourself two questions:
- Did I ask them to do this work, in writing or otherwise?
- Did they tell me it would cost extra before they did it?
If the answer to both is no, you have a strong case to refuse the invoice. The exception is if your original contract has a clause covering "necessary maintenance" or "emergency work" - in which case, dig that contract out and read it.
Even then, the work has to be genuinely necessary and the cost reasonable. "We updated some plugins so here is £400" does not pass that test.
How to respond to the invoice
Do not pay it. Do not ignore it either. Reply in writing - email is fine - and ask three specific things:
- What exactly was done, with dates and detail
- Where is the written approval from me for this work
- Which clause of our contract covers it
Keep the tone calm and factual. You are not accusing them of anything, you are asking for the paperwork. If the work was legitimate, they will produce it within a day. If it was not, you will get vague language, defensiveness, or silence.
If they cannot produce written approval, tell them - in writing - that you dispute the invoice and will not be paying. Keep every email. If they threaten debt collection or court, they almost never follow through, because they know they would lose.
Why agencies do this
Some of it is genuine confusion - a developer did some work, a project manager assumed it was billable, nobody checked. Most of it is not.
The business model of a struggling agency leans on what the industry politely calls "scope expansion". Clients on a retainer get billed for things the retainer was supposed to cover. One-off jobs grow line items that were never quoted. The hope is that you are too busy to argue over a few hundred pounds.
An invoice you cannot remember agreeing to is not a clerical error. It is the business model.
How to stop it happening again
Whether you stay with this agency or move on, set one rule going forward: no work happens without a written quote and your written approval. Not a phone call. Not "we just got on with it". Email or nothing.
If your current agency refuses to work that way, that tells you everything. Surprise invoices are not a side effect of how they operate - they are how they operate.
If you are ready to move on, SkipTheAgency works differently. Anything beyond your plan gets quoted in writing before it starts, and you sign off before any work happens. The Maintained plan is £65/month flat - content changes, updates, support, all included - so the question of surprise invoices does not come up. If you do need something bigger, you see the cost first.
No assumed approvals. No "we thought you wanted this". No invoice you cannot remember authorising.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to pay an invoice for work I never approved?
Generally no. Under UK contract law, work must be agreed in advance to be chargeable. If the agency cannot show written proof that you authorised the work, you can dispute the invoice. Ask them to produce that approval in writing before you pay anything.
What if my contract mentions necessary or emergency work?
Read the clause carefully. Even broad maintenance clauses require the work to be genuinely necessary and the cost reasonable. Routine updates or vague "optimisation" usually do not qualify. If in doubt, get a second opinion before paying.
Can the agency take me to court if I refuse to pay?
They can threaten to, but they rarely follow through on small disputed invoices. If there is no written approval and no contract clause covering the work, they would struggle to win. Keep all emails and stay polite and factual in writing.
How do I tell which charges on my invoice are legitimate?
Match every line item against your contract and your sent emails. If you cannot find a quote, a request, or an approval for it, flag it. Legitimate work has a paper trail. Surprise charges do not.
Should I cancel my direct debit to stop further charges?
If you pay by direct debit you can cancel it through your bank at any time. Tell the agency in writing first to avoid confusion, but you are not obliged to keep paying while a dispute is open. Switching to invoice-based payment gives you control.
What stops a new web provider doing the same thing?
A clear written agreement that no work happens without prior approval, plus a flat monthly fee that covers normal changes. Ask any new provider how they handle out-of-scope requests before you sign anything. Their answer tells you everything.
No surprise invoices. Ever.
SkipTheAgency's Maintained plan is £65/month with content changes included. Anything bigger gets quoted in writing first - you decide before any work starts.
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