What does "No Call Out Charge" mean?

Risteard

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?

As I already explained they have an hourly rate, potentially with a higher rate for the first hour. It's not a quarter-hourly rate. To suggest that it is is either disingenuous or idiotic. 

sand_hun

TELLIT01 said:

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?

He spent 5 minutes traveling to the job and 15 minutes looking at the boiler.

I would have hired them to complete the job, IF they:

a) Had availability

b) Had the part

They had neither, so I called someone else who could do it straight away.

It's worth noting, I accept the fact they're going to charge me for the few minutes of work they did. What I objected to was their misleading claim of saying they "don't charge for call outs" - they led me to believe I'd only incur fees if they actually carried out actual repair work.

In any case, their quote for the repair was considerably higher than what I paid to the other gas engineer.

Fortnite_hero

Someone somewhere has to pay for travelling time etc.  There is 2 ways this can be done.  If my hourly rate is £35 pH then to try to make sure I get paid travelling I would say there is a £50 call out fee.
   Now a lot of people don't like call out fees so many companies now say no call out fee but the first hour is £85.00. They will not split that hour so you will pay even if it takes 5 minutes.

 I like in a rural area and could spend 2 to 3 hours travelling which I would have to charge for somewhere along the line.

 Always ask for the first hour cost and you won't go far wrong.

grumbler

Fortnite_hero said:

Someone somewhere has to pay for travelling time etc.  There is 2 ways this can be done.  If my hourly rate is £35 pH then to try to make sure I get paid travelling I would say there is a £50 call out fee.

Possibly, but this encourages trradespeople just to 'sell' their travel time and discourages them to do the work in one visit even if this is possible. Once I needed my fridge repaired under extended warranty. The repair company was paid by the insurer. They did their best to waste their (and mine) time and to make as many visits as possible.

And many people spend good 3 hours per day on commuting. Nobody pays them for this.

 Now a lot of people don't like call out fees so many companies now say no call out fee but the first hour is £85.00. They will not split that hour so you will pay even if it takes 5 minutes.

I don't see any difference except in the term/name used. In the OP's case they deliberately missed the last part - obviously to mislead the OP.

 I live in a rural area and could spend 2 to 3 hours travelling which I would have to charge for somewhere along the line.

This is another argument against flat callout charges (or 'the first hour fee' if you prefer).

macman

The supplier has been perfectly honest about their charging structure. They don't charge any call-out fee, and once on-site, they charge an hourly rate, or part thereof. 
The OP seems to have no understanding of the diagnostic process: this is often the majority of the work involved. Once you have diagnosed the fault, then fixing it is relatively trivial, and (should you have the part available), quick.
It should also be remembered that no-one books their call schedule on the assumption that a job can be fixed in 15 minutes. You'd probably allow an hour minimum, so if it turns out to be user error or something utterly trivial, you are not going to be able to recover the income you'd have earned in the remaining 45 minutes, should you only charge for 15 mins.
People who complain about this have invariably never been self-employed or understood the many overheads of running a business.

TELLIT01

sand_hun said:

TELLIT01 said:

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?

He spent 5 minutes traveling to the job and 15 minutes looking at the boiler.

I would have hired them to complete the job, IF they:

a) Had availability

b) Had the part

They had neither, so I called someone else who could do it straight away.

It's worth noting, I accept the fact they're going to charge me for the few minutes of work they did. What I objected to was their misleading claim of saying they "don't charge for call outs" - they led me to believe I'd only incur fees if they actually carried out actual repair work.

In any case, their quote for the repair was considerably higher than what I paid to the other gas engineer.

The original person doesn't have psychic powers which is why it was necessary to visit and diagnose the problem in the first place.  Nobody can carry every part required for every problem in stock.  They would have no way to know whether they had the part or not until they did the original diagnostics.  The second person called had the benefit of being told what the problem was and knowing if they had the part available.

Basically, the OP is being utterly unreasonable in their expectations.

grumbler

TELLIT01 said:

sand_hun said:

TELLIT01 said:

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?

He spent 5 minutes traveling to the job and 15 minutes looking at the boiler.

I would have hired them to complete the job, IF they:

a) Had availability

b) Had the part

They had neither, so I called someone else who could do it straight away.

It's worth noting, I accept the fact they're going to charge me for the few minutes of work they did. What I objected to was their misleading claim of saying they "don't charge for call outs" - they led me to believe I'd only incur fees if they actually carried out actual repair work.

In any case, their quote for the repair was considerably higher than what I paid to the other gas engineer.

Basically, the OP is being utterly unreasonable in their expectations.

He expected to hear "at least £84 for visiting you". Is this really an unreasonable expectation? 

GDB2222

sand_hun said:

TELLIT01 said:

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?

He spent 5 minutes traveling to the job and 15 minutes looking at the boiler.

I would have hired them to complete the job, IF they:

a) Had availability

b) Had the part

They had neither, so I called someone else who could do it straight away.

It's worth noting, I accept the fact they're going to charge me for the few minutes of work they did. What I objected to was their misleading claim of saying they "don't charge for call outs" - they led me to believe I'd only incur fees if they actually carried out actual repair work.

In any case, their quote for the repair was considerably higher than what I paid to the other gas engineer.

You asked the wrong question. You should have asked what they do charge. It’s reasonable to charge for the diagnostic time, the time taking the call in the first place, the time invoicing, etc. It’s normal to have a minimum charge to cover all that, or an increased cost for the first hour, and I assume that you would have found that out, if you had asked. I can well understand that you didn’t, because you were mostly concerned about getting the boiler fixed, but then it’s a bit late to complain after you get the bill.

sand_hun

macman said:

The supplier has been perfectly honest about their charging structure. They don't charge any call-out fee, and once on-site, they charge an hourly rate, or part thereof. 
The OP seems to have no understanding of the diagnostic process: this is often the majority of the work involved. Once you have diagnosed the fault, then fixing it is relatively trivial, and (should you have the part available), quick.
It should also be remembered that no-one books their call schedule on the assumption that a job can be fixed in 15 minutes. You'd probably allow an hour minimum, so if it turns out to be user error or something utterly trivial, you are not going to be able to recover the income you'd have earned in the remaining 45 minutes, should you only charge for 15 mins.
People who complain about this have invariably never been self-employed or understood the many overheads of running a business.

Disagree. If they had been "perfectly honest" as you put it, this situation wouldn't have arisen. A perfectly honest company would have made it clear that while they won't charge for coming out and traveling to a client's home, they will be charging to provide an estimate for the repair". Prior to the appointment, I was led to believe on the phone, that "no call out charge" meant we would not incur fees unless the repair was carried out.

You're also wrong about people who complaining about this having never been self-employed - I am a self employed sole trader.

GDB2222

sand_hun said:

macman said:

The supplier has been perfectly honest about their charging structure. They don't charge any call-out fee, and once on-site, they charge an hourly rate, or part thereof. 
The OP seems to have no understanding of the diagnostic process: this is often the majority of the work involved. Once you have diagnosed the fault, then fixing it is relatively trivial, and (should you have the part available), quick.
It should also be remembered that no-one books their call schedule on the assumption that a job can be fixed in 15 minutes. You'd probably allow an hour minimum, so if it turns out to be user error or something utterly trivial, you are not going to be able to recover the income you'd have earned in the remaining 45 minutes, should you only charge for 15 mins.
People who complain about this have invariably never been self-employed or understood the many overheads of running a business.

Disagree. If they had been "perfectly honest" as you put it, this situation wouldn't have arisen. A perfectly honest company would have made it clear that while they won't charge for coming out and traveling to a client's home, they will be charging to provide an estimate for the repair". Prior to the appointment, I was led to believe on the phone, that "no call out charge" meant we would not incur fees unless the repair was carried out.

You're also wrong about people who complaining about this having never been self-employed - I am a self employed sole trader.

The fairest way of putting this is that there was a misunderstanding about the charges. Maybe they should have insisted on telling you, or you should have asked.