What does "No Call Out Charge" mean?

sand_hun

Hello, if a plumbing / gas company tells you they don't charge for call outs, what does that actually mean?

Does it mean they will come to your property and do a basic diagnosis of your issue without charge?

Or does it simply mean they don't add the cost of traveling from their site to your home to the fee?

Thanks

Risteard

Essentially it probably means very little. They might not charge a "call-out fee" but have an increased rate on the first hour, as an example. Nobody will come out for free, and that is what you need to remember. "No call-out fee" is potentially misleading - or perhaps it would be fairer to suggest that it is likely to be widely misunderstood. I wouldn't take it to mean that you won't have to pay anything being honest.

sand_hun

Aaah, I see. Thanks for clarifying. I had raised this question under the following circumstances.

One Friday back in February, when the weather was still pretty much freezing, our boiler had suddenly stopped working. I spoke to a gas engineer company and discussed the issue and asked about their rates. They informed me there was "no call out charge" - so I took this to mean we'd only incur fees if they actually carried out repair work. The engineer showed up and spent 10-15 minutes diagnosing the issue. He couldn't diagnose the specific fault but suggested we needed a new part. They said they didn't have any availability until the following week - and it would be Tuesday before they could get hold of the part. I didn't fancy several days without heating / hot water so I rang around and managed to get another plumber who said he could fix it right away (which he did). I notified the first company and asked them not to order the part and informed them I'd found someone else. Days later the original company billed me for £70 + VAT.

Bit annoying but I guess I have no option other than to pay it. I do understand that people charge for their time but I wish they hadn't used the term 'no call out charge' as it led me to believe we wouldn't be charged (unless they actually carried out the repair).

So what it essentially means is that their call out charge is hidden within an estimate charge. I wish they had been clear / honest about this.

grumbler

Risteard said:

 I wouldn't take it to mean that you won't have to pay anything being honest.

Neither would I. And I'd ask them how much they charge per hour for their work. Then I'd tell them to get lost after hearing £336 per hour.

Risteard

grumbler said:

Risteard said:

 I wouldn't take it to mean that you won't have to pay anything being honest.

Neither would I. And I'd ask them how much they charge per hour for their work. Then I'd tell them to get lost after hearing £336 per hour.

It's nonsense to claim that they charged "£336 per hour". £70 +VAT as a minimum charge doesn't mean that it's £280 +VAT per hour. If I attend somewhere for 5 minutes or for 59 minutes they will be charged the same amount.

grumbler

Risteard said:

grumbler said:

Risteard said:

 I wouldn't take it to mean that you won't have to pay anything being honest.

Neither would I. And I'd ask them how much they charge per hour for their work. Then I'd tell them to get lost after hearing £336 per hour.

 It's nonsense to claim that they charged "£336 per hour". ... If I attend somewhere for 5 minutes or for 59 minutes they will be charged the same amount.

Nonsense? OK, tell me how they came to £70+VAT and what would have they said if asked in advance?

Yes, unlike these conmen you honestly call this 'callout charge'. Without a callout charge it's either "£336 per hour" or "£168 per 1/2 hour" or "£84 per 15 minutes" - whatever you prefer.  Or is it per a minute?

fenwick458

grumbler said:

Risteard said:

grumbler said:

Risteard said:

 I wouldn't take it to mean that you won't have to pay anything being honest.

Neither would I. And I'd ask them how much they charge per hour for their work. Then I'd tell them to get lost after hearing £336 per hour.

 It's nonsense to claim that they charged "£336 per hour". ... If I attend somewhere for 5 minutes or for 59 minutes they will be charged the same amount.

Nonsense? OK, tell me how they came to £70+VAT and what would have they said if asked in advance?

Yes, unlike these conmen you honestly call this 'callout charge'. Without a callout charge it's either "£336 per hour" or "£168 per 1/2 hour" or "£84 per 15 minutes" - whatever you prefer.  Or is it per a minute?

what? none of this makes any sense, it just sounds like you are ranting about call out charges again. 

grumbler

What exactl

fenwick458 said:

grumbler said:

Risteard said:

grumbler said:

Risteard said:

 I wouldn't take it to mean that you won't have to pay anything being honest.

Neither would I. And I'd ask them how much they charge per hour for their work. Then I'd tell them to get lost after hearing £336 per hour.

 It's nonsense to claim that they charged "£336 per hour". ... If I attend somewhere for 5 minutes or for 59 minutes they will be charged the same amount.

Nonsense? OK, tell me how they came to £70+VAT and what would have they said if asked in advance?

Yes, unlike these conmen you honestly call this 'callout charge'. Without a callout charge it's either "£336 per hour" or "£168 per 1/2 hour" or "£84 per 15 minutes" - whatever you prefer.  Or is it per a minute?

what? none of this makes any sense, it just sounds like you are ranting about call out charges again. 

What exactly makes no sense? £84 per 15 minutes?  That's exactly what the OP said. The rest is just primary school maths.

And, if you bother to read, I am FOR callout charges, not against. And  never was. What I was against (in another thread), was 'ridiculous' callout charges.

chrisw

15 minutes on site and 45 minutes travelling maybe?

fezster

When you hear £84 for 15 mins, you think that is absolutely absurd. But if you speak to many small business owners / one man bands, you then appreciate all of the overheads they have and that 15 mins on-site usually means 3x or more that in total spent. In those circumstances, it makes more sense.

However, OP, I would ask the question - if there was "no call-out charge", what exactly is being charged for? Unless they did some work on which costs were agreed, they have no legitimate basis to charge you. If they are being misleading with their slogan, then I'd use that to morally justify to myself why I'd refuse to pay it. Unless you signed something to the contrary, I'd like to see how this would ever play out in court against you (not that it would ever get that far).

TELLIT01

sand_hun said:

Bit annoying but I guess I have no option other than to pay it. I do understand that people charge for their time but I wish they hadn't used the term 'no call out charge' as it led me to believe we wouldn't be charged (unless they actually carried out the repair).

So what it essentially means is that their call out charge is hidden within an estimate charge. I wish they had been clear / honest about this.

They spent time diagnosing the problem but they weren't allowed to come back to complete the job.  Do you really think they wouldn't/shouldn't charge for the work they have done?