Can a garage charge what they like for Parts !

Headsetuser

I recently put my vehicle in for it's annual M.O.T....I took a phone call to be told it needed new brake pads and an offside cv gaiter and it had a problem with the rear light cluster..the cost including M.O.T would be £220...When I went to collect my vehicle 2 hours later the jobs were done..the price was £235.98...I paid up and went home.It was when I checked the invoice I couldn't believe my eyes...
The Labour cost was highlighted and set at £35
The M.O.T £45
The brake pads..(universal)..Not genuine £69.95+20% vat = £84
The cv gaiter..(universal)..£54.20 +20% vat = £65
...I thought initially there must be an error here...this surely isn't right...so I went back to check the pricing of the parts...
To my horror...he told me that the price of each part included the fitting/labour cost...but the invoice clearly states Unit price of the item...there is no mention of labour or fitting along side the part...as this is already listed and had been added to the total seperately.....The pads he used I could of purchased for £17..The gaiter at a cost of £6...inc vat and I am not in the trade...How can he get away with this ?...what can I do ?...
..The invoice reads to me that he has only charged me £35 labour...when in actual fact he has hidden other labour costs in the price of the parts...Hhmmm...can anyone help me get money back ?:mad:

Nodding_Donkey

If you didn't agree a price before then you just have to swallow it.

nobbysn*ts

Apart from that they did agree to £220, not £235.98. Having said that for new brakes, a cv boot, and working on the back light, and the mot. So pads and gaiter, say £30. MOT £45. 2 hours labour maybe £70. so £120 (inc vat) and £45, so £165 all in? Maybe a play with the back light as well. So £50 over on the original quote, and extra £16 on top. So yes, up to £66 too dear, but at least £16.

arcon5

He's already told you that's not just parts but parts and labour. Get real if you think 35quid is all the labour. That's not even 1hr.

I would though be questioning what the 35quid is if labour has been included in parts price.....

Headsetuser

arcon5 wrote: »

He's already told you that's not just parts but parts and labour. Get real if you think 35quid is all the labour. That's not even 1hr.

I would though be questioning what the 35quid is if labour has been included in parts price.....

............
Exactly...The labour charge of £35 is listed seperately...this he said was for 1 hour....however..he then went onto say labour was also charged in the parts price,,,although it clearly stated on the invoice (unit price)..no mention of extra labour charge...He had the vehicle 2 hours...so what has he done...it seems as if he has hidden the other hour in the parts price...but the parts are still excessively over priced in my humble opinion...
To me it reads he has only earnt £35 today of this job if you get my meaning !

Headsetuser

nobbysn*ts wrote: »

Apart from that they did agree to £220, not £235.98. Having said that for new brakes, a cv boot, and working on the back light, and the mot. So pads and gaiter, say £30. MOT £45. 2 hours labour maybe £70. so £120 (inc vat) and £45, so £165 all in? Maybe a play with the back light as well. So £50 over on the original quote, and extra £16 on top. So yes, up to £66 too dear, but at least £16.

..........
My calculations on pads and gaiter were the same which still allowed him a reasonable mark up on parts all things cosidered...so to the labour charge for the 2 hours work plus vat and M.O.T...£165...so bang on...but where do I go from here ?...
....to charge me £235.98 is highly excessive...

Joe_Horner

Anybody can put any mark up they like on (most) things they sell. That's the beauty of a free market economy

As for the total, you were more or less happy with the price quoted (give or take £15.98) before you checked the prices, and agreed to the total beforehand.

It really doesn't matter how that price is broken down, nor does it allow him to avoid tax or anything like that because mark-up on the parts counts as profit just the same as labour does when he does his accounts.

At the end of the day, you do always have the option of buying the £17 brake pads and the £6 gaiter and fitting them yourself of course......

Headsetuser

Yes Joe....
I guess your take on events here are quite right also...I do see what your saying as correct...I did agree to have the work carried out in the first instance for the price quoted.....however...It's only when you take a look at the invoice to see how he arrived at this figure...you get the full picture and can't help feeling he has just ripped your arms out....lesson learnt I guess...he will be losing 4 vehicles based on his actions here..just from my immediate family....NOT HAPPY RIGHT NOW !!

nobbysn*ts

Headsetuser wrote: »

..........
My calculations on pads and gaiter were the same which still allowed him a reasonable mark up on parts all things cosidered...so to the labour charge for the 2 hours work plus vat and M.O.T...£165...so bang on...but where do I go from here ?...
....to charge me £235.98 is highly excessive...

£70, over your life, never go back, and rubbish them to everyone you know?

deanos

Can a garage charge what they like for Parts !

yes they can

photome

Not sure what your complaint is apart from being overcharged by £15.98.

You agreed to £220 so i would have questioned that before paying.

Other than that what does it matter how the bill is itemised and it doesnt matter how much they have charged for parts.

£35 seems very cheap for labour, garages around here charge 3 times that for an hour