Increasing project cost 3-4 times during finalisation stage

Unfinished drupal development project.

[Future]

We have a contract with a development company (DC) for drupal migration work from 5.x to 6.x
Project was initially agreed on a fixed cost.

Project consists of 33 points in all, out of same 10 points are unfinished and has bugs.
Now during the end of project (DC) says they initially quoted a wrong figure and now the project costs 3-4 times the initial agreed cost, according to them they quoted 68 mandays initially which was wrong but the project has taken more then 220 man days.
(DC) states they had lot of problems as all there SR. developers quit due to which the project got delayed.

They have stopped working further on this project and demands additional amount until which they wont work
The new migrated code 6.x requires lot of fix, and the entire site theme is screwed compared to old theme.
It seems like a complete waste of 15000 US$+ here.

Surprisingly this company was recommended by Acquia.
Can we do something in this case ?

[LifeinAsia]

IANAL, but...

Can we do something in this case ?

Sue. Or at least talk to a lawyer. You probably won't be able to get all your money back, but you should be able to get some back, depending on the terms of the contract, as the project is not completed nor on time.

says they initially quoted a wrong figure

Their mistake is not your problem. I assuming that price is one of the reasons you went with them?

all there SR. developers quit due to which the project got delayed

Again, their mistakes are not your problem. You paid for the completion of the project; their inability to retain qualified employees is not your fault.

[wheel]

YOu said:

Project was initially agreed on a fixed cost.

But what should really be clear is:

Project was agreed on a fixed cost.

You either had an agreement or you didn't. As long as you didn't change the conditions, the agreement should stand. Sounds like they're just gouging you.

I'd use that as a barometer as to what to do.

[aspdaddy]

Did your requirements change much from the original spec ? What it very clear / detailed what needed to be done obn this project and in what timescales ?

[ergophobe]

Like everyone says - if you had an agreement, end of story. I can think of a zillion cases in my life where I've benefited and paid dearly for such agreements. You know going in that if you ask for a fixed bid, a smart contractor is padding his bid to cover screwups in the estimate.

The key here, though, is whether the original contract was a fixed bid or an estimate based on projected manhours.

I have never had a mechanic, general contractor, plumber, electrician, tree cutter or any other respectable tradesman try to weasel out of a fixed bid contract. I've had some look like they wish they could, but they've never even asked. Recently, a mechanic gave me a price based on 4 hrs labor. He ended up taking over 10. No price change. But he knows that I send everyone to him, I've bought six sets of tires there and more and more. He's getting it out of me on the back end.

I have also had some *refuse* to give me a fixed bid because they felt there were too many unknowns and basically just said "you'll have to trust me on this" which I did, with excellent results (after checking references or, in some situations, after having done business with them already).

But trying to triple a fixed bid partway through the process? I'd see a lawyer.