charged for free glazing quote

bestyman

Thanks for Mr.T for highlighting my main point in bold .
The quote was for the glass replacing, the OP had the option of accepting or declining this free of charge, hence FREE QUOTE .

Obviously an offer of a temporary repair or request for a temporary repair was made which involved WORK which was agreed to by both parties.
Please look up FREE QUOTE and WORK in the dictionary.

ben500

But the implication here is the agreement to work being carried out was obtained by subterfuge and not contract.

Aiadi

bestyman wrote:

No , Bestyman is not having a laugh, in fact I was trying to advise this new member based on 20 years of self employed call out experience in the building trade.

Why are you so suprised? The OP did not ring Shelter or the salvation army. The OP rang a business and not a charity. Businesses survive by charging customers.

Sometimes I will offer to give a free quote and this will result in work been done. As stated before if you take goods or services from them expect to pay . The fact that you have not agreed charges in advence does not make you excempt from payment, if this was the case I would be getting a free taxi ride home every night.

At some point in the conversation /free quote the OP will have asked for or agreed to WORK been done.

Would you do your job for free? Get up tomorrow and fill your car with fuel , spend time doing your work and lay out materials and then charge the customer nothing? If the answer is yes then let me know what you do , Im sure I`ll find you something to do at my house.

Bestyman

You seem to completely ignore the fact that the OP called out the glazer for a FREE QUOTE- its completely ridiculous that the OP was supposed to guess that he'd have to pay for the bit of plastic - if the guy said 'I'll put up a bit of plastic but it'll cost you £110' then there wouldn't be an issue. Since when do companies send invoices to people without the customer first having agreeing to paying for the work?

Rex_Mundi

Having spent nearly 25 years in the glass trade, I'm sort of split over this one.

If the guy made the door safe. It's not unreasonable to expect to pay for this (I wouldn't do it for free unless I knew I had the reglazing job). £65 for a minimum callout charge doesn't sound unreasonable to me. It may sound a lot for a little bit of work, but you also have to figure in the guys time and travel into this (and VAT).

However...................

Any charge for doing this should have been made absolutely clear before any work was carried out, and agreed by you. The £111.21 (£94.65+VAT) sounds way over the top to me just to make a door safe. The only way I could see this amount justified is as an emergency callout after business hours (eve/night/Sun). This amount makes it look like a bit of a con to me.

I think that trading standards is your best bet. See what they say, and follow their advice.

MrT_5

bestyman wrote:

Thanks for Mr.T for highlighting my main point in bold .
The quote was for the glass replacing, the OP had the option of accepting or declining this free of charge, hence FREE QUOTE .

Obviously an offer of a temporary repair or request for a temporary repair was made which involved WORK which was agreed to by both parties.
Please look up FREE QUOTE and WORK in the dictionary.

Original post from OP. Whilst at the house the workman said he would make it safe and put a piece of film over the door.

At some point in the conversation /free quote the OP will have asked for or agreed to WORK been done.

Exactly where did the OP say she was offered the services of this person? "The workman said he would make it safe" No talk of cost, cash or I'm another cowboy taking you to the cleaners lady!

Okay we are in dispute but the way I read the above is that if you are called out for a FREE quote, you expect to get the commission for the work no matter what? Do you sit there with the prospective customer until they agree to your charges or just threaten them with a lump hammer or something? I cannot see the point you are making and by the look of other postings, no one else can.

bestyman

Aiadi wrote:

You seem to completely ignore the fact that the OP called out the glazer for a FREE QUOTE- its completely ridiculous that the OP was supposed to guess that he'd have to pay for the bit of plastic - if the guy said 'I'll put up a bit of plastic but it'll cost you £110' then there wouldn't be an issue. Since when do companies send invoices to people without the customer first having agreeing to paying for the work?

The OP called the glazier out for a free quote and got a free quote. In addition to this an agreement was made for the glazier to effect a temporary repair . The fact that charges in advance were not agreed does not excuse the OP from paying, indeed many transactions are done this way .

Im still waiting for an offer from any one of the above posters whos happy to work for free.( my gardens a mess) .

Aiadi

bestyman wrote:

Im still waiting for an offer from any one of the above posters whos happy to work for free.( my gardens a mess) .

If one of us came to do your garden for free, you wouldn't get charged, because we specifically agreed to do it for free here beforehand. So your point doesn't stand up. You see the OP never agreed to pay any money before the guy did any work.

What is comes down to is that you have to get an agreement before you expect to be paid anything- using your analogy, would it be ok for me to go next door and do their gardening without first mentioning charges/money, and then post a bill through the door?

bestyman

Nan Night xxx

MrT_5

The following could be based on a true story.All characters are ficticious, names have been changed to protect, well just about everyone.

Me: ring ring.

BM: Betsyman glazing how can I help you.

Me: I see from yellow pages that you give free quotes?

BM Yes that is correct.

Me: Can you please call at 52 Everglade Terrace to give me a quote as my window is broken. Quotes are free aren't they?

BM:Yes quotes are free as our advert says. Will tomorrow at 9 do?

Me: That's fine, see you tomorrow.

Next day.

BM: Knock knock.

Me: Hello, Mr Betsyman?

BM: Yes that's me. I've come to look at your broken window.

Me: Come in, that's the one there, bloomin kids around here are devils.

BM: Well (sharp intake of breath) bit of a problem that, what with the interior seal gone. Full of gas these things you know. Very expensive that gas.

Me: Oh dear, that sounds really bad.

BM: It is.

Me: What kind of figures are we looking at?

BM: Well let me see, new glass unit, special gas, new seals, bit of damage to the plast... er PVC(U), labour, well er we are talking about 500.60 quid plus vat. Cash 400?

Me: Really, that much? I'm not sure I can afford that. Would my insurance help at all?

BM: Hmmm? (Sharp intake of breath) Doubt very much whether you could claim on that. Besides would take you years to get a claim processed.

Me: Well I think I had better get advice from my family and friends. Maybe I should get other quotes from different firms?

BM: Okay lady, no problem, shall I just make it safe for you as I am here?

Me: Erm I'm not sure, but if you don't mind?

BM: No problem, leave it to me. (five minutes later). Sorted, bye now.

Two days later.

Me: Ahh the postman has arrived. What? A bill for fixing my broken window from BM?

Me: Ring ring.

BM: Betsyman glazing how can I help you.

Me: This is Mrs Me of 52 Everglade Terrace. You have sent me a bill for work that I never agreed to. I wouldn't mind but it is for over a hundred quid for a few minutes work. I think that is disgraceful.

BM: Fair enough, rather than pay, you come and do my garden. That okay with you?

Me: Suppose so! How much work is there?

BM: Take you about two weeks to complete.

Me: Well by your reckoning, you will owe me about ten million quid.

BM: Don't push it or the boys will be round.

Me: Sorry I will arrive at 5 am sharp.

Two minutes later.

Mr Betsyman? John Smarmygit BBC Rogue Traders here, can you explain.......

bestyman

Good Morning,

Mr.T that was sooo funny, really did make me laugh.

Where it all fell apart was when she agreed to BM making it safe ( agreed to him working on her windows)

Anyhow, I have been rudely awaken by a potential customer this morning at 8 am who has a plumbing problem. When I return home later today with some money from saving someones house from flooding which I will spend on kids shoes etc. please dont think any less of me.