Being charged for 2 electricians

Neutreus

Good morning,

I've recently had some work carried out by a 'friend'. We've had the invoice through now and it's somewhat higher than we expected (this our own fault as being a friend we didn't agree a cost up front). However, on his invoice, included within the labour is a double charge for one day where he brought along his assistant/apprentice.

His normal charge is £25 per hour (which I think is reasonable) but for this one day, he doubled it to £50 per hour. I just wondered if that was normal practice?

Thanks for any advices and have a good day all.

Dan-Dan

I would not be best pleased paying the same rate for a qualified spark as for his labourer or apprentice but as you say , not agreeing a cost beforehand you have not a lot of options

ariba10

With a friend like that's you don't need any enemies.

EssexExile

Two people working one day or one person working two days - makes no difference.

Annie1960

£25 per hour seems very cheap for a qualified electrician.

What was the work, and how much was the total bill? That will give people a better idea of whether the overall price was reasonable.

Doozergirl

Both people have to be paid. £25 is his own hourly rate, so if you get 16 hours work out of a day, then you pay for 16 hours.

When our electricians bring mates, they are also qualified electricians.

If you don't agree something up front then the cost is going to be a bit of a shock as people don't place a huge amount of value on labour. If he is a friend, I don't that he would be taking advantage. £25 is a very reasonable

One has to be very careful working with friends and it's disappointing that you've used quotation marks to describe him. Don't forget that expecting a discount could also be taking advantage. I always agree that we pay the going rate when I take someone on. Even my best friend who helps me with marketing sometimes. She works hard and deserves to be paid.

Oh, when I get a bill I don't like, I just pay it as quickly as I possibly can. Then I don't have to think about it any more

teneighty

£25 per hour for a qualified electrician is OK but not for his "apprentice mate"

I believe it is always better to get these things out in the open, just ask him. Along the line of...."Hello George, I'm very happy with the work and I was just writing out the cheque and I noticed the item for the day when little Jimmy was helping out....is that figure correct?"

TheCyclingProgrammer

I don't think its particularly unusual for him to charge the same rate for him and his apprentice.

Yes, his apprentice isn't fully qualified, but your friend also has to mentor and oversee his work and there's probably also some profit margin there too. He's a business, not a charity.

He presumably brought in the apprentice to get the job done more quickly. If he'd done it by himself but took twice the amount of time, you'd still be paying the same.

Icecannon

You need to give more details, as if working all day, you would normally receive a daily rate rather than an hourly rate, so without knowing all the facts it's hard to say if you are being over charged.

You really can only go by the total charged to see if it's a fair price. If he has undercharged else where but added a bit much on his mates rate, what difference would it make, if you are happy with the end price.

Owain_Moneysaver

EssexExile wrote: »

Two people working one day or one person working two days - makes no difference.

Except that some jobs are quicker done with a second pair of hands, so the equation might be

two people working one day or one person working three days.

Some jobs really can't be done by only one person, eg if someone has to feed in cable at one end whilst the other person pulls at the other.

£25 an hour for a tradesman is cheap.

Alfrescodave

Surely the question is what kind of work was the apprentice doing? If he was just handing tools etc to your friend, then yes £25/hour is not acceptable.
But if he was doing wiring and similar jobs that perhaps your friend just checked when finished then the price is a good one.


Did you see what the apprentice was actually doing?