Overcharged by plumber?

danofessex

in future ask for a estimate for the price on the phone, he/she may say i think the problems this but i will need to look to be certain.

ask for a rough idea of time and cost including parts.

smaller items probably will probably involve higher percentage mark up than more expensive items. plus the time taken to get the parts will probably be added.

when his saying about charges and saying marketing, his not explaining what he means very well.
His trying to say the fee he charges isn't all wages, it's his expenses fuel, insurance, advertising ETC.

some plumbers locally charge £90-£110 an hour at the higher end of the scale. i know some that are even more for example on weekends.

so ask first or find a company with a clear price structure.

Jackinbox99

£250?! christ, i bought a new toilet for 50quid last week, litterally took me 1 hour to swap the whole old toilet for a new one, and that included cutting the water pipe back and fitting new fittings on it.

danofessex

agree with jackinbox99 i could buy a cheap bathroom for that.

Radsteral

dont know what toilet is that but if you had the time, you could have bougjt the same as you got for 200 quid and delivered.... think you would be the one to set foot on it .. or sit on it

the thing is, if i was asked to quote for a small job , i d say 180.00 including materials, without seing it..
if you insisted i should look at it, that will be around 250-280.
time is money they say .

you agreed mainly for the purpose of your friend being at your house..some builders may get the blame, this one, i wouldnt blame him even though he overcharged ...he didnt put a gun on your head, just said i can do for 200.quid.
shops, airlines, all businesses price depending on circumstances ...
looking to fly on 23d of december...the ticket is 570.00 thats 480 pounds more than when i flew in september... british airways knows that if i dont buy it, somebody will

canyouhelp

Thanks for your replies... I will know better next time! I do feel quite stupid but I only bought my flat last year so it's the first time I've had to do anything like this before. And I will know not to get people round when I'm too busy to properly think things through as well.

canyouhelp

Just to let you know that after several weeks, the plumber phoned me last week having seen all the bad reviews I'd written on various websites (I thought I'd been more subtle but it must have been obvious it was me!). He offered me £70 back to take them off.

Now I know it kind of defeats the object of reviews as I did want people to know about him, but I agreed. Just thought I'd also post it on here so people know that the internet does give you some power in these situations. Maybe he's learned a lesson...?

heretolearn_2

Plumbers can have you over a barrel. You were given a quote, accepted it, the work has been done, I don't see what you can do.

I was seriously overcharged by a plumber a couple of years ago who didn't even fix the problem! Just a random firm out of Yellow Pages in an emergency. After that I asked the neighbours and got a recommendation and the new guy is a diamond! Had the same problem as you - leaking inlet on toilet - water everywhere, he spent an hour fixing it an only charged £40 total. Had him out last week as some of our radiators weren't working, turned out to be stiff thermostats, he took 30 minutes to go round all the radiators with a can of WD40 and a few well-aimed whacks with the handle of a screwdriver, only asked £15. No idea how how makes a living but we'll give him all the tea he can drink to keep him happy!

Move on, ask around to find a good plumber BEFORE the next emergency.