Has anyone dealt with something like this? I'm not sure what my options are.
scope creep with no amendment. I've been dealing with this for about 3 months now and the situation isn't improving.
Am I overthinking this or is this a real legal issue worth pursuing?
Have you tried reaching out to your state's bar association? They sometimes have free resources or mediation services.
Project manager with 15 years of experience here. Scope creep without a formal change order or contract amendment is one of the most common disputes in services contracts, and at 146K you need to take this seriously.
The good news is that even without a written amendment, you may still have legal grounds to recover for the additional work. The doctrine of quantum meruit allows you to recover the reasonable value of services provided, even if they were not covered by the original contract. If the client requested additional work, accepted the deliverables, and benefited from them, courts generally will not let them keep the benefit without paying for it.
For the current dispute, send a detailed accounting of all work performed outside the original scope, with references to the specific client requests that triggered each item. Attach this to a formal demand letter. At 146K, most clients will negotiate rather than risk litigation, especially if your documentation is strong.