Plumbers bill 9.5 hours £856

Herpyderpy

I was away and my wife called out a plumber for an oil boiler fix, that after new parts installed didn't work and needed a new boiler.  That's life and new problem.
Excluding parts but included VAT the labour bill is £638 for 9.5 hours work.  Which I think is very high, what they did was charge per person per hour and am curious to know if this is allowed for what was a boiler investigation.
I'm happy to pay reasonable fees for their work and thought 250-350 per day was about right but not £638.  I'm not paying it right now as I'll get legal advice but curious to know if others have gone through something similar.
PS - they also quoted £7k for a new oil boiler, thinking that was high I got 2 other quotes both at £4k all in.

Slithery

How much did they quote you before starting the work?

Jonathan_Powell

I’m no expert but I got quote £2,000 recently for a new gas boiler and fitting. Can’t think an oil boiler would be that much different. Looks like you’re being taken for a ride. I always get a quote on the whole job. !!!!!! agreeing an hourly rate.

Herpyderpy

Slithery said:

How much did they quote you before starting the work?

i was away and my wife called out someone and didn't get a quote.  In my mind 2 people on day 1 for 2 hours is fine, but 2 people to work exclusively on a boiler and parts on day 2 for 7.5 hours is excessive, there isn't enough room for 2 people.
Happy to pay for parts, 2 people on day 1 for 2 hours.  Not happy to pay for 2 people on day 2 for 7.5 hours when 1 person would do.
Sale of goods act blurb:

When it comes to work itself, the act states that a tradesman or professional has a 'duty of care' towards you and your property. Any standard or price you agree must be honoured. But if it isn't agreed in advance the work must be done to a reasonable standard, at a reasonable cost, and within a reasonable time.

So if you haven't fixed a price, you don't have to pay a ridiculously high bill. All you have to pay is what you consider 'reasonable' and invite them to sue you for the rest. Be careful though, in some circumstances when you are withholding payment you may have a claim made against you by a supplier if you are in breach of contract. What's a reasonable amount would be what similar tradesmen would have charged for the job.

Ectophile

£638 / 9.5 = £67.16 per hour.  That's not cheap, but not stupidly expensive either.

The problem is why it took 9.5 hours to decide they couldn't fix the old boiler.

Risteard

It's only £28/hr each (+VAT). Doesn't sound unreasonable (in fact sounds cheap) on the face of it.

southcoastrgi

Personally I'd be asking why it took so long & what parts to decide it wasn't repairable, I'd be questioning their competence at fault finding / boiler repair tbh  

tacpot12

A boiler swap normally costs about £2,400-£2,800 and take two days. I replaced the boiler at home recently and had the boiler in a rental property a couple of years ago. The boiler and associated parts might be about half the cost, so say £1300 for labour, or £92/hr based on 2 x 7hr days.
I don't think you are being overcharged, especially if you are in the South-East. 
The issue you have is that someone (your wife?) asked the plumber to replace the boiler. Whether it needed replacing or not, that is what they were asked to do, and that is what they did, and they did if quick time, and didn't charge for the job, but charged for their time, which seems to have saved you money. 

Risteard

southcoastrgi said:

Personally I'd be asking why it took so long & what parts to decide it wasn't repairable, I'd be questioning their competence at fault finding / boiler repair tbh  

I don't disagree there, but to claim that it's a ridiculous charge for two men for 9.5 hours each is nonsense. The real question is whether it should have taken 9.5 hours to determine that it wasn't fixable, which is of course subjective.

MX5huggy

Jonathan_Powell said:

I’m no expert but I got quote £2,000 recently for a new gas boiler and fitting. Can’t think an oil boiler would be that much different. Looks like you’re being taken for a ride. I always get a quote on the whole job. !!!!!! agreeing an hourly rate.

No oil boilers are significantly more expensive than gas boilers, Worcester Gas boiler £940 from plumb nation Worcester oil boiler £2400. 

£4K depending on the boiler and extras needed is about right.