Billed by electrician for labour but problem not fixed

Fletchy

I contacted a local electrician as my hot water heating was not working. He came in and looked at my timer switch and immersion for around 20 minutes. He said the fuse was blowing and that I would have to get a plumber in as he thought it was the immersion. He left with the fault not fixed.

A week later I received a bill for £40 describing the work as for labour "Check immersion heater circuit. Faulty immersion".

I thought as he couldn't fix the problem and left me in the same position that I wouldn't be charged. I was not told there would be any charge. I wasn't given any paperwork and didn't sign or agree to anything.

Would I be in my rights not to pay this? I have since had the problem repaired by another tradesman.

suisidevw

Surely it's your fault for calling out completely the wrong trade? If I was a leccy and called out, spent some time at your house and found what the problem was I'd definitely be billing you and expecting payment! People don't work for free?!

Fletchy

It took HIM that long to find out that he couldn't (or wouldn't) fix the problem. It turned out that the fault was the immersion i.e. electrical.

Spicy_McHaggis

Fletchy wrote: »

It took HIM that long to find out that he couldn't (or wouldn't) fix the problem. It turned out that the fault was the immersion i.e. electrical.

Did you expect him to come to your home for free?

d0nkeyk0ng

Unless there was an obvious "no call out fee" somewhere, you don't have a leg to stand on. You should have checked before calling out whether there was a charge to have a look.

jhs14

I sympathise with you as he was only there for 20 minutes and was unable to fix the problem, but he is well within his rights to bill you for his time, and £40 isn't unreasonable for the hassle of coming out, even for just 20 minutes.

baldelectrician

I charge for fault finding

If you ask someone to carry out a task of work (looking for a fault ) then it is chargeable.

Let me change the angle - how many people go to work and say to their boss- don't bother paying me for the last hour?

My company policy is that if I work ( not looking and giving a price to a client) I charge money.
There is a use of tools and equipment from fault finding ( such as a test meter that costs £965 and requires to be calibrated ).

pendragon_arther

Was the other tradesman who fixed it a plumber or an electrician?

Davesnave

You employed someone to check what the fault was with your hot water system.

If he identified your problem, he has as much right to bill you for his time as, say, a structural engineer, who might tell you why your house has a crack in it. You wouldn't expect the engineer to fix that!

Crinkmeister

So, is changing an immersion heater a job for an electrician or a plumber? It's not clearly one or the other - is it? However, as your man identified the immersion heater being the source of the problem, why did he not change it? I suggest you don't use him again if he is not willing to follow through a job to completion.

thescouselander

I'd say an immersion heater is a job for a plumber. Yes, there are electrical connections but they are very simple and well within the capability of a plumber.

On the other hand I wouldn't expect an electrician to be going round equipped to drain a hot water tank down and then remove the immersion heater (which requires a special tool) and then to put everything back which could require further plumbing materials..

The lesson here - make sure you call the right tradesman. Also £40 doesn't sound unreasonable for the electrician's call out and diagnosis.