big bill for half hour work !

Radsteral

Couple of months ago , i was installing my kitchen and somehow , while i was drilling on a wall i hit the main electricity cable supply. Thank god no injury or anything.
Called Uk power networks-the company responsible for the cable networks which swifty sent 2 guys .
They assesed the damage and said they will need to call a crew to open a hope on my driveway to disconect the energy temporary, and so reinstall the new fuse on my kitchen .
2 guys from Laing O Rurke came in after 1 hour and within half hour, located the cable and opened a hole half a cubic metre....put for small fences and left.

the 2 initial guys from power networks dealt then with the job and power was reconected.

few days later having been left with a hole right on front of my door i closed it myself and packed up the fences.
About 3-4 days latter i see a small car with Laing o Rurke signs on front of my driveway and speak to him telling him to please take the fences and that i dont need the hole filled or reinstated in the previous state as i have already done it... its in a bad state the whole driveway and i m planning to do it in new in august--- to which he agreed .

1 month latter from the date of damage i get a bill from uk power networks with a breakdown

uk power networks bill £374.00 + £74.00 for the materilas(new fuse) which seem very reasonable for emergency work and that also they were the ones who spent most of the time on my house
other charges from contractors ie laing o rurke =£ 1812.00 !!!!!!!!!!!!! to be paid within 2 weeks !
working in the building site myself, i know well that for a cubic metre of earth removal you cant charge more than 60.00 plus vat no matter how rich and desperate is the client...and add the logistics and arrangement for the job still i find it unbelievable to pay 1812.00 for half hour work for 2 guys .
Plus, i dont know if that stands but i didnt employ Laing o rurke and twice during the works i asked roughtly how much it ll cost me but got no answer -we are just workers they said .

have complained to uk power networks via email and 1 month now they only said ll investigate but no other things, leaving me hanging up and unable to plan for my house or holidays

paddyrg

Ouch!!

Maybe they're taking the mick purely because they know they can? Can you get them to itemise the invoice?

pinkshoes

Return the bill to Laint O Rurke and tell them that you have not employed them, only UK Power Networks, so they need to send the bill to UK Power networks.

visidigi

Radsteral wrote: »

1 month latter from the date of damage i get a bill from uk power networks with a breakdown

uk power networks bill £374.00 + £74.00 for the materilas(new fuse) which seem very reasonable for emergency work and that also they were the ones who spent most of the time on my house
other charges from contractors ie laing o rurke =£ 1812.00 !!!!!!!!!!!!! to be paid within 2 weeks !

The invoice is from UK PN.

Radsteral

thank you for replies.
when i spoke to uk power networks i asked to make sure what was their charge and what was laing o rurkes and they specified that as in the breakdown , 1820 is the bill they have recieved from laing o rurke

peachyprice

Can you not claim on your house insurance?

Radsteral

i tried to be ahead of the game and called direct line when i had the accident..before the bill came .
Being the first insurance for a house i had..(this is my first house and this is the first year in the house).. i seem not to have chosen for what direct line called it as ''accidental damage'' so no cover for it it seems .

fluffnutter

Ask for a full itemised breakdown. If you don't believe it to be reasonable, stand your ground, refuse to pay and let them take you to court, bearing in mind you could lose of course. But this is crazy money and you need to find out exactly what this bill comprises.

Radsteral

I have put aside 1000 for court costs if that goes to that stage and yes, wont pay without a fight .
being a van driver it makes me sick now seeing laing o rurke vans around;) should i go head on with one of them?;)

unless the court are corrupt like in my native country, i dont see how a judge can award 1820 for so little work but then again..

OlliesDad

Radsteral wrote: »

I have put aside 1000 for court costs if that goes to that stage and yes, wont pay without a fight .
being a van driver it makes me sick now seeing laing o rurke vans around;) should i go head on with one of them?;)

unless the court are corrupt like in my native country, i dont see how a judge can award 1820 for so little work but then again..

Any court action would be against UK Power Networks. As long as they can prove that they are being charged a high sum from Laing o Rourke i can't see you being successful.

I admit though, that does seem excessive.

Radsteral

so , if you get unlucky to hit a cable, then you can expect to pay whatever they sent on the post?

o rurke sound irish- are they looking to put a charge to reinstate irish economy or what ?
i m trying to find they way they charge as somehow even with emergency calls you are entitled to some sort of indications of charges before work starts and i wasnt given any