is it fair to have to pay for a plumber's quote?

donglefan

a plumber was called for a heating problem, and when the problem was described to him, he said it sounded like the diverter valve.

he came round and found it was the diverter valve and quoted for fixing it.

his price was more than the cost of the most expensive british gas repair and cover, so i went with bg.

now i received an invoice for diagnosis and quoting and would like to know if this is normal and reasonable

tacpot12

It's not unheard of. Some plumbers will charge a callout fee, usually at least £60, to come out to look at a problem. They will usually do about 30-60 minutes work for the callout fee, and charge additional for parts and labour over that covered in the callout fee.

Bear in mind you are not just paying for their time on the call, but all the time they have spent learning to diagnose a problem that you could not.

How much was the charge for the diagnosis?

Ideally, the basis for their charges should have been discussed before you asked them to come out.

corum_uk67

I think it's a bit unfair if it wasn't made clear from the outset that he would be charging a callout fee to provide you with a quotation.

I've had several quotes recently for a new boiler, all wanted to come and inspect the job first but none charged for their quote.

The plumber I eventually went with even came back a week after fitting the boiler to fit a pressure reducing valve after the stopcock, as my property didn't have one. He did that for free!

It's luck of the draw who you get I guess.

brightontraveller

[FONT=&quot] Client is responsible to ask etc same as every other business if they choose not [FONT=&quot]then [/FONT]ignorance, etc isn't grounds not too pay but may be used in mitigation.... [/FONT]

southcoastrgi

So which way around did this happen ?
Did he come out & diagnose the problem & then you went with BG or did both of them diagnose the issue, both companies will have covered the diagnostic fee in the repair cost, personally I wouldn’t have told you the problem until I got the job I would have just giving you a cost to repair

scd3scd4

What's he getting out of this job if he quotes and you give the work elsewhere??

glasgowdan

scd3scd4 wrote: »

What's he getting out of this job if he quotes and you give the work elsewhere??

It's part of running a small business...giving quotes really shouldn't be charged and every small business should be able to do it.

What would you say if you asked a landscaper round to quote to sort a boggy lawn, he told you what he'd do and then asked £50 when you tell him you're not going to go ahead with It?

somethingcorporate

brightontraveller wrote: »

[FONT=&quot] Client is responsible to ask etc same as every other business if they choose not [FONT=&quot]then [/FONT]ignorance, etc isn't grounds not too pay but may be used in mitigation.... [/FONT]

Rubbish, the plumber is the professional who should make their terms of business clear to their customer.

This tactic is underhand and I certainly wouldn't pay without proof I had agreed it beforehand (pretty sure any claim in court would fail without any reasonable proof). I've had dozens of quotes from tradesmen in the past, none of which I have had to pay for.

Alex1983

I agree, if he’s asked to have a boiler fitted I wouldn’t expect to pay for a quote, I’m sure most will add a small amount to every quote to cover there time but if your asking someone to diagnose a fault and you go to someone cheaper after they have diagnosed the problem you can’t expect the 1st person not to bill you for there time.

scd3scd4

glasgowdan wrote: »

A landscaper getting to the bottom of a drainage issue isn't worth paying for but someone spending probably the same time opening a boiler is?

Tell that to a garage or an electrician tracing a fault.

Many computer repair places will still charge for their time to diagnose a fault even if you say no to the repair!

Next time you have a fault on your boiler.........tell them you will expect them to turn up. Open the boiler up, spend time finding the fault and then put it back together. Then once they explain what is wrong you will decide if to go with them or call another engineer out who is cheaper. Of course you now know what is the fault so can save money and time!!!

Let us know how you get on.

David_Aston

Just for clarification for when I need work done. Is it reasonable, or not, to ask a tradesman/woman if they charge for giving a quote?