electric work- rip off?

tweed13

Had some electric work done in Birmingham, wondering if it was a rip off.

Had 3 spotlights fitted in bathroom, fan fitted, light switch changed and plugs removed as was converting a former bedroom

Had high voltage line moved for cooker in kitchen, and some plug sockets repositioned.

Has cost 655- 250 per day (two people) plus 155 parts.

not sure where the 155 parts is from as fan was provided, and only 3 spotlights, and not really any new sockets.

cheers

27col

Seems a bit steep. As to the £155 for parts, you will have to ask the contractor to itemise them.

iamcornholio

It's a bit late now wondering if it was a rip off. What did you agree beforehand?

£125 per day is OK, but I'm not sure that this was two days work for two sparks (one spark and one mate may be)

Parts seem very high too

Tucker

£250 per day is excessive.

normal rates are £120 to £150 tops.

I had my extension wired with 5 double sockets, three wall lights, one outside light, replacement consumer unit fitted and two new double sockets added to the kitchen. I supplied fittings, he supplied cable and back boxes, conduit and he had to do it over two days, pre plaster and post plaster - Cost £310 - North Manchester.

Yooj_2

tweed13 wrote: »

Had some electric work done in Birmingham, wondering if it was a rip off.

Were you happy with the standard of the work?

tweed13 wrote: »

Had 3 spotlights fitted in bathroom, fan fitted, light switch changed and plugs removed as was converting a former bedroom

Had high voltage line moved for cooker in kitchen, and some plug sockets repositioned.

how many sockets re-positioned? And was it within a plasterboard stud type wall, or a brick/block type wall?

tweed13 wrote: »

Has cost 655- 250 per day (two people) plus 155 parts.

not sure where the 155 parts is from as fan was provided, and only 3 spotlights, and not really any new sockets.

cheers

I would say that this work could be stretched to two days, dependent upon different scenarios, however, on the flip side, it could be a days work.

As previously mentioned, what was agreed beforehand, in terms of estimate, quote, agreement, since it is difficult to question now.

£250 per day (£125 per spark per day, or £175/£75 for spark and mate, or whatever) is reasonable in my book.

£155 does seem a tad steep though.

Yooj

hylandz

The £250 day rate seems ok spark + mate, but I reckon the job could of been easily done in a day with no hiccups. Especially with the 2 of them!

£155 for the parts seems a quite steep, £15 per spot light + 50% mark up should be £67.5

suresajj2

Hi
I have a similar query but dont know where to ask:
I had called a washing machine repair company and the engineer visited my home. I said there's a leak and he put some gum and fixed it. But he charged £65 for that work and did it in about 20-30mins. After he put the gum, he asked us not to start washing machine for 2 hrs as the gum needs to dry.
When I started the washing machine, it started to leak from a new place, apparently, damaged during his inspection of the machine.
Plus, he didnt give me the receipt and I forgot to ask him.
So, I called him again and he came in but couldnt fix the issue. We asked him for receipt this time and he just wrote on back of his visiting card and gave it to me (well, I was not at home, so he handed the card to my wife).
Whom can I approach with regards to the receipt as he is not clearly paying any VAT or tax on that?

Cheers!

Yooj_2

suresajj2 wrote: »

Hi
I have a similar query but dont know where to ask:

Firstly, you probably need to start your own thread, however...

suresajj2 wrote: »

I had called a washing machine repair company and the engineer visited my home. I said there's a leak and he put some gum and fixed it. But he charged £65 for that work and did it in about 20-30mins.

Ok...where did he travel from...Did you get/ask for a copy of his standard call-out charges prior to the visit?

suresajj2 wrote: »

When I started the washing machine, it started to leak from a new place, apparently, damaged during his inspection of the machine.

How do you know that the second leak was not already there, but masked by the original leak?

suresajj2 wrote: »

Whom can I approach with regards to the receipt as he is not clearly paying any VAT or tax on that?

Did his original quotation state he will be charging you VAT?..Did the receipt that he made out state that VAT was charged?

It is not he that pays VAT, it is you.

How can you tell that he is not paying tax?

Yooj

phill99

"Whom can I approach with regards to the receipt as he is not clearly paying any VAT or tax on that?"

How do you know? As a sole trader he is probably not registered for VAT as his turnover will be below the registration limit (£68k per annum last time I looked). And how do you know he isn't putting it through his books? The fact that he has now issued a receipt, albeit on the back of a business card, means it is traceable and therfore he will probably put it through his books.