Plumber charges query

glocal

Property Management contracted a plumber to repair the toilet waste pipe in my apartment. Over a number of visits various other small issues cropped up, so I asked the plumber to repair them since he was coming in anyway and I would pay the extra bit privately. Now he wants to charge me nearly £400 for parts and labour. When I questioned that he said these charges come from his price list for estate agents.

My mistake was I didn't ask for quotations as things were cropping up and reasonably (but naively) assumed I would pay for extra time and parts. For example, it never crossed my mind I would be asked to pay £35 for a replacement flush button that broke in the process. He says it costs him £15 to buy, but I see you can get one for under £5 from Screwfix (around the corner from here) and it literally took him 2-3 minutes to fit. I can understand paying more if a plumber comes in just to do that. The same thing happened with various other items -- eg £20 for under 15 minutes to swap a shower mixer that I supplied.

My question is can a plumber charge anything he wants simply because there was no quote? Or am I being unreasonable?

TIA

flashg67

Can you work out all the extra time he spent & ask him for receipts for any parts then come to an agreement. His charges do sound high - he seems to be charging per job rather than for his total time.
Without a quote it's difficult to argue, but is equally difficult for him if he didn't tell you how much before he did the jobs
Yes, you should have asked, but IMHO, he should have told you how much
I know it's wrong, but if he's a sole trader, he might be willing to take less for cash...!

Doozergirl

I presume that the replacement flush button didn't just magic itself into his hands? It has to be fetched and time has to be paid for.

Why would you not ask for a quote for these things? As you talk about this happening over a number of visits, I would fully expect it to cost more than if it were done in one. Every visit takes time to get there, time to talk about the next job, time to fetch materials, time to set up, pack up and then actually do the job - whichever applied on each day.

I can't even imagine where £20 isn't a reasonable price to swap a shower mixer, regardless of time taken.

always_sunny

glocal wrote: »

My question is can a plumber charge anything he wants simply because there was no quote? Or am I being unreasonable?

TIA

I would have thought he could charge whatever is in his price books and invoices you accordingly. i.e. no cash in hand.
If you go to a fancy burger joint and you order a simple burger and fries and the bills comes to £30, you can't say, at McD is £10, how dare you to charge me that much.
You didn't ask for a quote, he carried out the work.

glocal

Doozergirl, I think you missed the part that he was around anyway for more demanding repairs on behalf of Property Management. Otherwise, charging 10x £35 to fit 10 flush buttons in one visit would be reasonable. Going with the pricelist, this is not as inconceivable as it sounds, and if you don't ask for a quote it's fair game. How ethical is that? 2 x £25 to replace two rusty bolts?

Always_sunny, this was not fancy burger joint quality. There is now a new 21mm gap between my cistern and the wall. If you want to charge that much and per job, then you have to complete each job to a certain standard.

Thanks, flashg67. I think it was under 3 hours but I am not happy with the quality of the work either, so if he insists on these charges he will have to come back to put things right.

EDIT: I forgot to say these prices don't include VAT which is added in the end.

Doozergirl

i think you missed the part where you gave us a full breakdown of the bill and a minute by minute account of what happened. We're going on what you've told us.

always_sunny

glocal wrote: »

Doozergirl, I think you missed the part that he was around anyway for more demanding repairs on behalf of Property Management. Otherwise, charging 10x £35 to fit 10 flush buttons in one visit would be reasonable. Going with the pricelist, this is not as inconceivable as it sounds, and if you don't ask for a quote it's fair game. How ethical is that? 2 x £25 to replace two rusty bolts?

Always_sunny, this was not fancy burger joint quality. There is now a new 21mm gap between my cistern and the wall. If you want to charge that much and per job, then you have to complete each job to a certain standard.

Thanks, flashg67. I think it was under 3 hours but I am not happy with the quality of the work either, so if he insists on these charges he will have to come back to put things right.

EDIT: I forgot to say these prices don't include VAT which is added in the end.

Not really I am afraid, there're no maximum amount that can be charged, it's your duty to ask for it. He can charge £200 outcall fee. So the question is, has he completed the work you have hired him for?

robotrobo

always_sunny wrote: »

I would have thought he could charge whatever is in his price books and invoices you accordingly. i.e. no cash in hand.
If you go to a fancy burger joint and you order a simple burger and fries and the bills comes to £30, you can't say, at McD is £10, how dare you to charge me that much.
You didn't ask for a quote, he carried out the work.

Surely you wont have to pay at mcdonalds do you?,
or do i live in another world.:)