Advice on "plumbing" invoice. We already accepted exorbitant quote before we got wise

Lit_Up

So. To cut a long story short in November 2009 we paid some cowboys to take out a bath and stick in a shower. They charged something like £1700 pounds. They cocked up the job and made a shower base out of MDF which got sodden. Their tiles came off.

We hired GSR plumbing and heating LTD to redo the work. Here is their quote. Not really understanding DIY terminology we thought it was some major plumbing work needed. I now realise that it was not. We need to get them to bring the price down. How would we go about this?


Ref: Bathroom works.
To carefully remove and set aside existing shower cubicle and tray.
To remove existing shower tray base and discard.
To build new shower tray base as necessary.
To re fit shower tray and cubicle, and make good wall tiling as necessary.
To supply and fit altro flooring to match existing over remaining section of base.
To remove existing extract fan.
To diamond core hole above shower into bedroom behind to facilitate installation of new fan, and run new 110mm ducting at high level through bedroom to outside airbrick, and box in as necessary.
To supply and fit new low voltage fan.
To make good wall where old fan was fitted.
To move existing wc suite slightly to the right for comfort, correctly fix pan to floor And supply and fit new flushpipe and cone.
To apply new white silicone seal around bathroom as necessary.
To investigate damp patch in bedroom and report findings.
To rub down and frll bathroom ceiling, and apply 2 coats of white specialist bathroom paint.
To clear all related rubbish from site.

Materials and Labour: £1750.00 plus vat. = £2056.25 inc vat

Please note that since this quote was given, it has transpired that we did NOT need this guy to put in a new shower or shower tray, nor to taking away existing shower tray base, nor is altro flooring being supplied or fitted, nor is the WC being adjusted.

Basically in laymans terms, they lifted the shower off and found some sodden MDF which was used by the previous cowboys. Also a few inches of water underneath. They reconstructed the base and then retiled where the tiles were faulty. They then reinstalled the shower (note - no new shower) and then drilled a hole through the wall to install a new fan. Then stuck boxing in the room on the other side.

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v483/naughty_aaron/bathroom/

I was since told by somebody on these boards that £2056.25 inc vat is far too much to be paying for this.

andrew-b wrote: »

Which leaves?:
where's the plumbing here? Or have you missed items? None of this needs plumbing skills so you don't need to be paying plumbers rates. A sparks should be able to do the fan for you (Part P notification required). Sealant ..a handyman or DIY it. Damp investigation is something to deal with seperately..which may or may not be plumbing related - could lead to vary variable costs. Painting ..decorator, handyman or DIY. Rubbish..next to nothing.
For that i'd say £150-250 fan (supply and fit) , £50 sealant, say £250 decorator ..£550 absolute max. DIY it for your mum and next to nothing ..apart from cost of spark to hook up the fan to do things by the Part P book. Myself i would just use the existing fan duct unless there is a good reason not to - i wouldn't want ducting (even boxed in) running through bedroom like that.

I'm literally sick to my back teeth of getting ripped off by workmen, it seems to happen all the time. This is the second firm we've paid money to sort out a fairly standard bathroom issue. The first time they do shoddy work and rip us off, now these guys seem to be overcharging us because they think we're rich or something. We're not. Are there no honest workmen out there? I'm now writing to them to try and bring the price down. I was thinking of emailing them the following. Any feedback greatly appreciated.

Hello,

I am writing to query the invoice received. I accepted your quote previously as I did not know how severe the problems were in the bathroom. During the course of your work, and as a result of your exploratory findings, it became clear that very little actual plumbing work was needed. In layman's terms, the work turned out to be more along the lines of handywork, tiling, and decoration. It now seems to me that we have been vastly overcharged based upon the uncomplicated nature of the actual work required and materials used.

In your recent invoice you have chosen not to fill in the fields provided for the number of hours spent doing the work, the hourly rate, the materials used, nor the cost of labour and materials. As I now realise, the cost of materials for you was very cheap in relation to the price you have put on the invoice. No new bathroom hardware was required, eg toilet, sink, or shower cubicle. All that was required was sealant, tiles, a new fan, and additional ducting and boxing, and bathroom paint. I supplied the magnolia paint for the boxing in the bedroom.

In addition, there are several items on the original quote which you did not carry out as this was not needed. You did not supply nor fit new altro flooring, nor did you move existing WC suite slightly to the right nor fix pan to floor. We were also looking for a solution to the damp patch in the bedroom, not simply for you to report findings. Even so you did not supply any written report, and also, nor did you provide any written guarantee for the work.

To conclude, I would appreciate it if you could reappraise your invoice to more fairly reflect the nature and cost of the work completed. In addition, please indicate the number of hours spent doing the work, the hourly rate, the materials used, and the cost of labour and materials. Please also provide a written guarantee of the work.

ENDS

bobhawke

That is very expensive for what you had done but if you accepted the price and told them to go ahead with it then there is nothing you can do.

Lit_Up

Why is it that people in this industry either rip you off for not doing the work, or rip you off for doing the work? What the hell?

darich

If I had accepted it then found out I was being ripped off I'd cancel.
They can complain all they like but I'd still cancel.

EDIT - if you can find someone else to give you a more reasonable quote then tell the first company, that you found someone else who'll do it for less.....see if they're willing to price match - at least you'd be giving them a chance.
If they cannot match or refuse to then the deal is off.

Lit_Up

thanks. unfortunately the work has now been completed... but i haven't paid yet.

phill99

If they haven't done part of what was expected, then you shouldn't be expected to pay for that part of the job, nor should the plumbers expect to be paid for it. However, for the rest of it, if you have agreed their charges and they have done what was expected of them , then you are obliged to pay.

shane42

the quote says refit tray not replace, so they quoted correctly i would say, but the price is over inflated ..roughly £750 i would say would be fair

Lit_Up

750 inc vat...? christ. they've raped me by asking for £2,000

1984ReturnsForReal_2

Lit_Up wrote: »

750 inc vat...? christ. they've raped me by asking for £2,000

People are quoting you the wrong figures on here & the one that says 550 is having a laugh..


Did they do tiling or not?

You say "their tiles came off"

Lit_Up

1984ReturnsForReal wrote: »

People are quoting you the wrong figures on here & the one that says 550 is having a laugh..


Did they do tiling or not?

You say "their tiles came off"

No mate you haven't read it properly. The recent work that I'm referring to here is redoing work that a previous cowboy cocked up. Read the first bit again

1984ReturnsForReal_2

Lit_Up wrote: »

No mate you haven't read it properly. The recent work that I'm referring to here is redoing work that a previous cowboy cocked up. Read the first bit again

Ahhhhhhh

Have you paid them?

If they didnt do the work on the quote they shouldnt have been paid.

I would of just given them £200 per day per man + parts & that would of been generous.