Ripped off??

[Squaredy]

23 minutes ago, Shaff said:

Plumbers seem to have a bit of an attitude regards pricing. £500 a shift for turning up with a couple of spanners is taking the piss. 

 

In recent years plumbers have become very gready I am afraid.  It is just so easy for them to condem a boiler and make a grand profit from less than two days work that this seems to be what they expect these days.

 

Did the plumber make all the costs clear when quoting?  If the £1000 was not the whole cost was this clear?  If not I wouldn’t pay any more and find someone else to finish the job.

 

The lesson of course is get the quote in writing and read it carefully and always remember the difference between a quote and an estimate.

[Yorkshire Brummie]

Evening chaps,

Only my opinion but I would say tradesmen could be comparable within a number of industries.
Just because there will be a number of “plumbers” who rip people off with shoddy workmanship and overpricing there will be plenty who do high quality work for a fair price. I’m sure we all know of so called “tree surgeons” who are capable of just such malpractice.... I think the Op. is probably spot on, pay him for what he quoted minus the materials he himself paid for. Although if you feel it could drag on and on then possibly worth full payment to wash your hands of it.... then take it up with trustatrader.
Hope you get it satisfactorily sorted
Cheers
I

[Khriss]

1 hour ago, Mick Dempsey said:

Well, you do it then!

I bloody do! It ain't hard but it is a faff. Easier than tree work...... K

[Thesnarlingbadger]

If he hasn’t given you a written quote then he hasn’t got a leg to stand on. Tell him to stick it. If I made my customers wait that long and then up my price they would have the same attitude to me and I wouldn’t blame them for it. He’s lucky he got that out of you.

[trigger_andy]

13 minutes ago, Thesnarlingbadger said:

If he hasn’t given you a written quote then he hasn’t got a leg to stand on. Tell him to stick it. If I made my customers wait that long and then up my price they would have the same attitude to me and I wouldn’t blame them for it. He’s lucky he got that out of you.

Agreed, no way would I have paid the £700 let alone more. 

[eggsarascal]

26 minutes ago, Thesnarlingbadger said:

If he hasn’t given you a written quote then he hasn’t got a leg to stand on. 

Is this correct?, I only give written quotes on bigger jobs. Verbal agreement and a handshake most of the time.

[Squaredy]

1 minute ago, eggsarascal said:

Is this correct?, I only give written quotes on bigger jobs. Verbal agreement and a handshake most of the time.

A contract is a contract, and does not have to be written.  But how do you prove what was agreed if it is not in writing?

 

If the plumber takes the OP to court for non-payment, the court will expect him to prove his claim - if it is just one person's word against another who knows how the court would rule.

[Ratman]

Is this correct?, I only give written quotes on bigger jobs. Verbal agreement and a handshake most of the time.

You’ve an honest reputable reputation past on by others Yolky! Social media shite recommendations and the like i.e trust a trader are bollocks, and often just give the right for them to charge the earth! I’d pick you over a trust trade any day cocker [emoji106] but i’m a bit old fashioned! [emoji6]

My dad wanted a boiler fitting, he did the trust trader route..... as it happened he picked an ex school colleague of mine. I thought fair enough on this occasion cos i knew him!..... worst decision he made, and was meant to be a mate! Shite job and never gave him a cert! I ended up in bother cos i ended up knocking on his head!

Stick to who ya really know i say, and if it means paying a little more to get them to travel or whatever, then its worth it!

 

 

[eggsarascal]

2 minutes ago, Squaredy said:

A contract is a contract, and does not have to be written.  But how do you prove what was agreed if it is not in writing?

 

If the plumber takes the OP to court for non-payment, the court will expect him to prove his claim - if it is just one person's word against another who knows how the court would rule.

I guess it's different trades, I can't always give someone a price until I've started the job, an example, someone rings me with a blocked drain, easy, £90 if it's local and in the working day, this is where things change, the customer then asks me to camera it to find out why it blocked, price goes upto £150, if I camera it there and then, now I find a collapsed pipe. If it's a fleet drain that I can dig by hand I'll quote it there and then and do the repair, all of this on a verbal agreement. I guess I could email them a quote on site but I've never bothered. If it's a planned job I would send a quote.

[eggsarascal]

12 minutes ago, Ratman said:

You’ve an honest reputable reputation past on by others Yolky! Social media shite recommendations and the like i.e trust a trader are bollocks, and often just give the right for them to charge the earth! I’d pick you over a trust trade any day cocker but i’m a bit old fashioned!

My dad wanted a boiler fitting, he did the trust trader route..... as it happened he picked an ex school colleague of mine. I thought fair enough on this occasion cos i knew him!..... worst decision he made, and was meant to be a mate! Shite job and never gave him a cert! I ended up in bother cos i ended up knocking on his head!

Stick to who ya really know i say, and if it means paying a little more to get them to travel or whatever, then its worth it!

 

 

I guess so, I did a job Friday that I under priced, thought I would be done in about six hours, it took me 10. The customer asked if it was still the price I quoted, I said yes, drew my money and went home kicking myself, my mistake, my problem.