Stunning plumber's bill

nickj_2

keystone wrote: »

Mmm. OP seems to have run away!

Cheers

is that because they didn't get the answer they wanted , £200 is a lot of money , but at 8-00pm on a sunday night , you're not going to get someone to do a 40 mile round trip and then give you a bill for £30.

AndyPK

Seams ok to me for a Sunday.

Dan-Dan

zigglewigler wrote: »

If your took the trouble to read previous post, you'd see that my mother called the contracted plumber to her property.

Wait till Monday? She wanted it done, out all week working.

Turn stopcock? What do you think happens when she turns it back on when she needed water?

Learn plumbing? Well I have fixed leaks and done plumbing in my homes, plumbing isn't difficult, I once had to show a plumber how to clear an airlock, took me 5 mins, after he faffed around for 30 mins sucking the tap with his hoover.

But I wasn't there to help. Any more useful tips?

So just pay? Don't complain. Do what most British people do and give in? The charge is excessive! I didn't start this thread to ask whether people agree with the charge, wanted to know if anyone had gone through dispute process.

But it seems everybody is just too willing to pay without complaint.

No , no more tips , because you sound like an ignorant !!!!!!

roddydogs

Surprise they sent a "Bill" & didnt demand cash up front (or CC/Debit card)

drummer_666

this OP made me laugh/shake my head... what do you expect? Emergency plumber, of course there are premium rates.

And of course they charge more in time and expenses to get to you if they are away from their base. They are working out of hours, so the company base is irrelevant.

doodlesmum

zigglewigler wrote: »

If your took the trouble to read previous post, you'd see that my mother called the contracted plumber to her property.

Wait till Monday? She wanted it done, out all week working.

Turn stopcock? What do you think happens when she turns it back on when she needed water?

Learn plumbing? Well I have fixed leaks and done plumbing in my homes, plumbing isn't difficult, I once had to show a plumber how to clear an airlock, took me 5 mins, after he faffed around for 30 mins sucking the tap with his hoover.

But I wasn't there to help. Any more useful tips?

So just pay? Don't complain. Do what most British people do and give in? The charge is excessive! I didn't start this thread to ask whether people agree with the charge, wanted to know if anyone had gone through dispute process.

But it seems everybody is just too willing to pay without complaint.

:rotfl: seriously that statement made me laugh "plumbing is"nt difficult" well i can assure you my husband has been to jobs where people have assumed its easy and ended up nearly flooding the house.Some things if people are confident they may well tackle but are there others that need a qualified plumber .My husband did all the necessary exams and also an apprenticeship and has been in the trade over 25 yrs .So you pay for a plumbers knowledge and skill and i think you will find that at unsociable hours you are going to pay more unless you want to tackle it yourself and potentially end up with an even bigger bill because you think you know what you are doing :whistle: ultimately only you can make that choice.

AlexMac

Endsleigh Insurance offered me home emergency cover (mainly leaks and power failures) for something incredible like £20-25 as an add-on to my contents insurance last year; 1st time I've ever fallen for it in over 30 years of everyone from the Gas Board to the Milkman trying to sell me overpriced similar cover (I'd moved into a new house so diodn't know how bad the plumbing was).

And guess what- next month I got a leak. On a Sunday. Fixed. Fast. Free (or maybe a few quid excess). Simples.

Even better, I got the number of the local solo trader who they sub-contracted to do the job, as he was really competent (the statutory Polish Plumber) and next time I had an urgent problem in my (uninsured) rental flat he turned up in an hour and fixed it for (a pre-negotiated quote of) £80; admittedly a weekeday and he was local...

Not sure what the moral is but since the water board took on more responsibility for shared sewers, and more players have entered the market, it seems the cost of emergency leak cover has tumbled, so maybe the OP's mum should compare costs - probably on this website somewhere if you search

missprice

zigglewigler wrote: »

The premium for Sunday eve was £60 per hour. Fine. 1 hour job.

Most plumbers do not charge call out or mileage, that's what the £60 per hour is for, any call out charged has to be declared, in this case £120 travel money would have meant they wouldn't have gotten the job, and another professional firm would have been called out of the yellow pages, charging £80 per hour ALL IN. No call out, no mileage.

Do people here honestly think that they are paying plumbers these rates per hour because they are so phenomenally skilled?:rotfl:

The rate covers all the costs of business.

are you for real OP? Do you really believe that £200 for a Sunday evening 'emergency' repair is excessive?
Do you think that in these days of ever increasing in price diesel/petrol there would be no charge in some format for travel costs. Do you think Plumbers get free vans and can carry every conceivable spare part needed in said free van that costs nothing to run or insure or fix?

zigglewigler wrote: »

Don't misquote me, I said and I quote 'Please, if you think £200 for a 1 hour job, even on a Sunday represents value, keep it to yourself.'

The pejorative term is your choice, it's the difference between asking someone to leave and telling them to f off.

Sunday eve. 20.00pm, what difference would that make? Look up emergency rates for Sunday, all day all night. It's the same.

You said:"There is no industry standard for any charges in the construction business so you are on a non starter there, just because you have had quotes from others that means absolutly nothing"

Really? The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, look it up. Charges have to be reasonable, along industry standards, so other quotes are exactly what a small claim court would refer to, also charges have to be declared up front rather than trying to deceive the consumer that they will pay for the 'job' only. The plumber is trying to justify £120 travel expenses because they were part of the 'job'.

You assert that I would lose in court, read the Unfair Trading Regs then try to that argument again.

Do you think that said plumber actually wants to leave home at 8pm on a Sunday with no idea when he may get home just for someone that could have turned off the water to prevent the leak til a better more convenient time and then argue for the money he charged for a call out of emergency proportions?
if the bill had said part was £175 plus VAT would that have made you feel better that you were not charged for travel time? or would you then rant about how much the part cost instead?

zigglewigler wrote: »

If your took the trouble to read previous post, you'd see that my mother called the contracted plumber to her property.

Wait till Monday? She wanted it done, out all week working.

Turn stopcock? What do you think happens when she turns it back on when she needed water?

Learn plumbing? Well I have fixed leaks and done plumbing in my homes, plumbing isn't difficult, I once had to show a plumber how to clear an airlock, took me 5 mins, after he faffed around for 30 mins sucking the tap with his hoover.

But I wasn't there to help. Any more useful tips?

So just pay? Don't complain. Do what most British people do and give in? The charge is excessive! I didn't start this thread to ask whether people agree with the charge, wanted to know if anyone had gone through dispute process.

But it seems everybody is just too willing to pay without complaint.

frankly if your so damn clever at fixing things why did you not see this problem coming and fix it before it broke?
the bill is far from excessive and everyone on this thread has told you so and you still don't believe them.
well my OH is charged out through the week at £35 ph and 3 times that on a weekend and that starts from his leaving home to when he gets back so travel is included. oh and that's cheap:eek:

evoke

Perhaps a lesson has been learned: OP should ask his mum to invest in home emergency cover as an option on her home insurance. It might cost a bit more per year for the insurance but should soften the blow if a tradesman is needed urgently.

jimi_man

Caveat emptor.