Mobile Mechanic Call Out Fee

thethinwhiteduke

Hi,

I'm trying to gauge opinion on the above subject.
During the last snowy cold snap the car wouldn't start, and I pretty much figured it was the battery causing the problem. 

A few weeks later I contacted a mobile mechanic via Facebook Messenger. Told him I thought the battery was flat, could he come round and have a look and maybe get it started. He came round, had a look at the battery level, jumped started the car and called someone about sourcing a new battery.
He told me the cost of the battery plus labour - which was fine - he then told me that if I didn't go ahead with installing a new battery that there would be a £60 call out fee regardless. He never mentioned that on Messenger or prior to jump starting the car. It's not mentioned anywhere on his business Facebook page either.

Should I dispute this with him? It appears that under Consumer Law, I am within my rights not to pay him anything as he didn't state the call out fee prior to looking at my car.

However, he did get me back on the road so I have no problem recompensing him for his time and what he did, but he was there for literally 5 minutes and just jump started my car. I think £60 is excessive for what he did and the time he was there, plus the fact he didn't mention the call out charge earlier.
Am I being reasonable?

TIA.

Alter_ego

He was only with you 5mins, but how long getting there and back? What did he say about charges when you made contact?

thethinwhiteduke

Alter_ego said:

He was only with you 5mins, but how long getting there and back?

He lives around a 3 minute drive away.

AdrianC

He came round to your place.
He used his equipment to get your car started.
He told you parts were required, and this was the price.

You think it's unfair for him to charge for his time and that equipment if you don't use him to source and fit those parts.

He might have spent five minutes at your place, but how much time was taken out of his day by responding to your call?

burlingtonfl6

In my opinion, you are being unreasonable.
From your post I read it as you didn't go ahead with the work, so the call out fee applied.
I don't know what you do for a living but I guarantee you don't do it for free.
£60 for answering a call, in winter, driving there, finding the fault and factoring in fuel cost's plus your time isn't out the way.

thethinwhiteduke

AdrianC said:

He came round to your place.
He used his equipment to get your car started.
He told you parts were required, and this was the price.

You think it's unfair for him to charge for his time and that equipment if you don't use him to source and fit those parts.

He might have spent five minutes at your place, but how much time was taken out of his day by responding to your call?

I can see your point. As I mentioned earlier, he lives very close by, so not really taken any time out of his day, and I was surprised and am annoyed about the fact he wasn't up front about the charge prior to looking at the car. 

thethinwhiteduke

burlingtonfl6 said:

In my opinion, you are being unreasonable.
From your post I read it as you didn't go ahead with the work, so the call out fee applied.
I don't know what you do for a living but I guarantee you don't do it for free.
£60 for answering a call, in winter, driving there, finding the fault and factoring in fuel cost's plus your time isn't out the way.

OK, again, I can see your point. However, the call out fee wasn't discussed beforehand, and I didn't know about it or that it was £60. I would have thought twice about saying he could come round if I did.
If it was me, I would tell someone about there being a call out fee before carrying out any work. It is mentioned in consumer law for a reason. 

burlingtonfl6

thethinwhiteduke said:

AdrianC said:

He came round to your place.
He used his equipment to get your car started.
He told you parts were required, and this was the price.

You think it's unfair for him to charge for his time and that equipment if you don't use him to source and fit those parts.

He might have spent five minutes at your place, but how much time was taken out of his day by responding to your call?

I can see your point. As I mentioned earlier, he lives very close by, so not really taken any time out of his day, and I was surprised and am annoyed about the fact he wasn't up front about the charge prior to looking at the car. 

So you expected him to come and diagnose the car for free so you can take it somewhere else to be fixed?
The fact you were surprised about any up front charge suggests you expected to pay nothing

Alter_ego

So did you ask about his charges? Perhaps you thought it was free?

There is no charge for this post, it's pro bono.

AdrianC

Simple solution. Use him to replace the battery. You've said it was a reasonable price.

thethinwhiteduke

Alter_ego said:

So did you ask about his charges? Perhaps you thought it was free?

There is no charge for this post, it's pro bono.

Thanks. At least you were upfront about it!
No I didn't ask his charges. The reviews on his Facebook page say that he's reasonable (unless that's family and friends posting), so I (maybe stupidly) assumed that he ask for a small charge for his time if he was only there for 5 minutes? Not £60.
Isn't the onus on him to tell me the charges prior to coming out?