Cost of new fence

Questioner

Last year I moved into a new-build house in a row of 5 houses. It concerns a terraced house. For a uniform image, after consultation, the same fence parts were chosen for all 5 houses via an App group. One of my direct neighbours announced the price quotes now that it had been decided to award the work to an acquaintance of his, who later turned out to be his brother-in-law, a man with a landscaping company. However, the price quote for the work between me and this neighbour would concern a lower amount, namely 750 euros, a discount due to the family relationship with the gardener and this was also communicated as such via an app message between him and me. Since the fence is on the property boundary, I am of the opinion that, in accordance with civil law, I do not owe more than half for this fence, namely 375 euros. When the invoices were sent to the residents by the gardener after the work, I noticed that the discount between my neighbour and me was not included. In the end I paid about 275 euros more than my neighbor. I would like to see this money refunded to my account as an undue payment. The gardener waves away all objections and the neighbor does not want to discuss the matter with me. He pretends to want to maintain a good relationship with his brother-in-law and also with me. The latter will not work in this way and I have been sidelined. Can I successfully take legal action against this undue payment?

Lawyer

You are obliged and have committed to pay half of the cost of the fence between you and your neighbour. This fence had a reduced rate, so you should pay half of the reduced rate. You have now paid too much. The gardener is of course entitled to full payment, but in the relationship with your neighbour, where you each have to pay half of the gardener's costs, you are entitled to reimbursement of the amount such that you have each paid half of the gardener's costs for the fence between you.