Mobile Mechanic Call Out Fee

burlingtonfl6

Supersonos said:

burlingtonfl6 said:

thethinwhiteduke said:

EcoR1 said:

I'm a mobile mechanic, I charge a £40 call out fee which includes the first 30 minutes of diagnosis even if it only takes 30 seconds. However I _always_ make the customer aware of this at the first contact. Whilst your mechanic is not horrendously expensive he is dodgy for not being up front with his costs. Although normal garages are often as bad with not discussing costs with the customer until after the work is done.

Thanks, yes that was my point. I've got no issue paying him for what little time he was there, but in fairness he didn't give me the opportunity to say 'no' to him coming round, which I may well have done if he had been upfront in the first place.

Lets hope you never have to use a solicitor. They'll charge you for posting a letter!

Actually a lot of solicitors will offer the first 30-60mins for free to discuss the issue and let the client decide whether or not to proceed. 

So it's not unreasonable for the OP to assume the mechanic would do the same - pop round for free to diagnose so the OP could get a price and decide whether or not to continue with the work. 

He popped round, diagnosed it, gave the car a jump start and got her on the road. 
I bet you wouldn't do that to a complete stranger for nothing and if you did, you wouldn't be in business long

Stubod

I would expect a "call out fee" for any basic service to be at at least £60, electrician, plumber, locksmith et all.......

..and if they offered to "waive it" subject to buying a battery of them then just but the battery and it hasn't cost you anything?

Bluebell1000

A couple of years ago our dishwasher broke down. I called someone for a free repair quote, and he passed me onto someone else, as he was unable to help. It never occurred to me to check that person was also doing free quotes, and was charged a £20 call out fee to be told that our dishwasher was beyond economic repair. We paid, but it was an annoying situation to be in and I really think people should be clear at the outset what their charges are. So I sympathise with the OP as we have been in a similar position. We felt it wasn't worth the hassle of arguing about it, and we'll just never use that person again. 

Ibrahim5

I think I would be pretty fed up as the mobile mechanic. If you know you need a new battery you order it online and fit it. Keep him out of it. Instead the OP called him to fix it and then refused the fix. Just messing him about. If you had agreed to the fix the callout fee wouldn't have been mentioned. If he was charging an extortionate amount for the battery and you knew it and pointed it out he probably would have accepted that he was ripping you off. But he was charging a reasonable amount. Sounds like a reasonable guy doing a reasonable job. Shouldn't call out someone to fix something if you don't want it fixing.

justworriedabit

Bluebell1000 said:

A couple of years ago our dishwasher broke down. I called someone for a free repair quote, and he passed me onto someone else, as he was unable to help. It never occurred to me to check that person was also doing free quotes, and was charged a £20 call out fee to be told that our dishwasher was beyond uneconomic repair. We paid, but it was an annoying situation to be in and I really think people should be clear at the outset what their charges are. So I sympathise with the OP as we have been in a similar position. We felt it wasn't worth the hassle of arguing about it, and we'll just never use that person again. 

Exactly, it happens and I've also given examples and what to do before calling someone out. I guess we can all learn from this.

dipsomaniac

Many companies do free estimates/quotes so it's not unreasonable for op to expect this.

It was up to mechanic to be clear on charge before visiting and now has lost any repeat business/recommendations

thethinwhiteduke

Stubod said:

I would expect a "call out fee" for any basic service to be at at least £60, electrician, plumber, locksmith et all.......

..and if they offered to "waive it" subject to buying a battery of them then just but the battery and it hasn't cost you anything?

So you'd be happy if they sprung it on you at the end of the conversation? How do you ascertain what is a reasonable charge for a basic service? Most of the trades you describe are upfront about call out fees, and are sometimes proud to announce "No Call Out Charge" if that's their policy. Last time a locksmith came out to me, he was immediately upfront on the costs. As I said previously, the MM had plenty of opportunity to do so earlier - he chose not to.

lemondrops69

dipsomaniac said:

Many companies do free estimates/quotes so it's not unreasonable for op to expect this.

It was up to mechanic to be clear on charge before visiting and now has lost any repeat business/recommendations

Double glazing or builders might give a free quote, but an emergency call out service? So you'd call out a plumber in the middle of the night for a leaking pipe and expect a free quote? You'd have to be pretty naïve to think they'd offer a free quote.
If I had to call anyone one out for anything, even for a planned service I'd ask about the cost first 

dipsomaniac

Stubod said:

I would expect a "call out fee" for any basic service to be at at least £60, electrician, plumber, locksmith et all.......

..and if they offered to "waive it" subject to buying a battery of them then just but the battery and it hasn't cost you anything?

Depends on the mark up on battery

Billy_B_North

Supersonos said:

thethinwhiteduke said:

EcoR1 said:

I'm a mobile mechanic, I charge a £40 call out fee which includes the first 30 minutes of diagnosis even if it only takes 30 seconds. However I _always_ make the customer aware of this at the first contact. Whilst your mechanic is not horrendously expensive he is dodgy for not being up front with his costs. Although normal garages are often as bad with not discussing costs with the customer until after the work is done.

Thanks, yes that was my point. I've got no issue paying him for what little time he was there, but in fairness he didn't give me the opportunity to say 'no' to him coming round, which I may well have done if he had been upfront in the first place.

Exactly.  And by not telling you up front, he's essentially now holding you to ransom.  You may not have entered into the contract had you known his call-out charge.

And by not advertising his charge up-front,  he could just be plucking a figure out of the air.  £60 doesn't sound all that bad, but what if he'd suddenly declared it was £500?

Don't pay and explain to him why you're not paying.  That'll give him a chance to change his practices and hopefully not rip-off the next unsuspecting person.

Why would they not pay? The job was done as requested, and the fee is perfectly reasonable. No-one has been ripped-off here, but you are suggesting that the OP tips off the mechanic to teach him a lesson despite him having done nothing wrong.