Overcharged by plumber?

canyouhelp

Hello

I wanted to ask your advice as I think I have been overcharged for some plumbing work. (I feel very stupid but I was very busy and getting stressed and only realised afterwards)

I had a problem with my toilet which was overflowing and I worked out that an inlet valve needed replacing.

I called a local plumber who looked at it and said that he would try to fix it, but then said it would need replacing. He called someone at the office and gave a vague description of the valve before saying it would cost £250 to order a new one and replace it. He told me the parts were difficult to get hold of.

I told him I would have to look around at some other quotes but when he went away I realised that the toilet now did not work at all, (due to what he had done!) so I phoned him back and he said he had found a valve that he had taken out of someone else's toilet cistern (?) and that he would change it for £200.

I agreed as at this point I just wanted the toilet fixed (I have a friend staying at the moment and didn't want it not working) and he took around an hour to do the work.

However I now know that the parts cost about £30 and for the amount of timehe took I cannot understand how it cost £200.

What should I do? Should I stop the cheque?? I called him and he said that I agreed the quote and it was fair, and that the parts cost at least £70 and the rest was labour. Should I just put it down to experience or should I stop the cheque and offer him a cheque for a lower amount?

latecomer

Surely if the parts came out of someone else's toilet then they cost nothing? did you ask how long it would take for the job to be done? If they said several hours and then it only takes one you probably have a case for getting as reduced bill.

otherwise probably just have to put it down to experience. But make sure you tell all your friends, family and neighbours about it.

keystone

You have been seriously overcharged in my humble estimation. However stopping the cheque is not an option as he is entitled to be paid for the work he has done and by stopping it you deprive him of that even if the invoice was too high. If you stopthe cheque you will be commiting a cheque fraud offence and he woiuld have every right to pursue you for it.

Nevertheless I think you should attempt to negotaite particularly as it sounds as if he has done a job on the quiet without his employer knowing about it. I suspect he wouldn't want his employer to know if that is the case and you have a strong negotiating position. Was the cheque made out to him or to his company and did he give you a proper receipt?

Cheers

1984ReturnsForReal_2

canyouhelp wrote: »

Hello

I wanted to ask your advice as I think I have been overcharged for some plumbing work. (I feel very stupid but I was very busy and getting stressed and only realised afterwards)

I had a problem with my toilet which was overflowing and I worked out that an inlet valve needed replacing.

I called a local plumber who looked at it and said that he would try to fix it, but then said it would need replacing. He called someone at the office and gave a vague description of the valve before saying it would cost £250 to order a new one and replace it. He told me the parts were difficult to get hold of.

I told him I would have to look around at some other quotes but when he went away I realised that the toilet now did not work at all, (due to what he had done!) so I phoned him back and he said he had found a valve that he had taken out of someone else's toilet cistern (?) and that he would change it for £200.

I agreed as at this point I just wanted the toilet fixed (I have a friend staying at the moment and didn't want it not working) and he took around an hour to do the work.

However I now know that the parts cost about £30 and for the amount of timehe took I cannot understand how it cost £200.

What should I do? Should I stop the cheque?? I called him and he said that I agreed the quote and it was fair, and that the parts cost at least £70 and the rest was labour. Should I just put it down to experience or should I stop the cheque and offer him a cheque for a lower amount?

What was the part he replaced then?

Full name & price & retailers name.

maninthestreet

Presumably this was the ball-valve that was replaced? These cost a few pounds each. Even with labour, £200 sounds expensive.

hethmar

Well, you have been overcharged - how did you pay? Ring Trading Standards to see if they can help. BUt if you agreed to the cost .........

canyouhelp

It was an inlet valve and flush mechanism, I did point out to him on the phone today that he told me he already had it but he said that was irrelevant. Unfortunately he doesn't work for someone else, the cheque was made out to his company name. I just tried to talk to him but he said that the price was fair and he wasn't open to any negotiation. From what Keystone says I can't really stop the cheque can I- especially as of course he knows where I live! Suppose I will just have to be more careful next time.

Unless anyone thinks there is anything else I can do??

1984ReturnsForReal_2

canyouhelp wrote: »

It was an inlet valve and flush mechanism,

right.

so it wasn't just the fill valve as you indicated.

Now we need a picture of your toilet insides.

Did he tell you how much he charged per hour?

canyouhelp

I'm at work at the moment so I can't take a photo until later... No he didn't give me a charge per hour, he just told me how much it would cost.
I think that he misled me by telling me that they were hard to get hold of. He made a call to someone else and asked how much they cost but I now think that this was a set-up, he gave such a vague description of the cistern that it would have been no use to someone anyway.
I called him today and asked for an explanation of why it cost that much and he said it was 'parts and labour', he said that the parts cost around £70 (I think more like £40-50) and I then asked whether he charged £130 an hour. He said that it included the time he took to go away and find the parts, and then said something weird like I had to pay towards his marketing and everything else as well!
Also, by the time he had messed around looking at it, it wasn't working at all, which is why I had to call him back.
I've just called Trading Standards and they said I could stop the cheque but it was kind of on shaky ground as I would have to prove it was an unreasonable price.

1984ReturnsForReal_2

I would quickly ring him back up & ask him what his hourly rate & callout charge is & tape it if you can.

macman

You certainly can stop the cheque as long as you're prepared to front it out with him. Unlikely that this rip-off merchant is going to take you to the small claims process...
Then just send him a cheque for an amount you consider is reasonable. But it's not going to be very pleasant I suspect.
But first you need to establish what parts have been supplied and what his call out and hourly rates are.