When a drain clearing job has nearly a 300% mark-up from a go-between...

Risteard

JJAM said:

I'd be interested to get people's thoughts on this. I contacted a personally recommended plumber last week, notifying them of a bad drain blockage that has been going on for some time in my second floor flat, with water initially not draining well in my bathroom sink, leading to water also rising up in the shower and a bad smell. For about two weeks, this has also led to the water draining poorly in the kitchen sink and water rising up even more in the shower with even worse smells. 

They suggested checking that nobody else in my building was experiencing similar issues. They aren't, so it was clear that it was a localised issue. They stated that the average cost for clearing such blockages was £250, and on the basis of this "likely" cost, asked for a 50% deposit in order to go ahead and book "their" drainage clearance company. It was pretty clear that they were just using another company and that they would be taking some money off the top, which I was fine with, feeling that at least they'd be using a good company, rather than me picking one out from Trusted Traders, for example. I did this about 9 years ago in fact re a plumber when I had a bathroom leak going into the flat below, who was very highly reviewed, who recommended that I flood my bathroom to flood the property below and then put in an insurance claim for a new bathroom (I didn't do this, obviously). So you can understand my reticence...

I wasn't given a specific time for the drainage company but a 4 hour window - for a quote of £250, seemed a bit odd but by this point I just wanted the problem sorted. 

They turned up this morning with a motorised snake and it was sorted in 5 minutes. He then checked that the water was draining fine in all sinks and the shower - all good. He asked about how I was going to settle up and I told him it had been booked through a plumber. He then told me that it would have been £85 had I booked direct. He spent all of 10 minutes at my place and I was happy to not have a horrible smell in my flat for the first time in ages...

The plumber then got in touch, asking if it had been sorted, to which I replied "Yes, it was sorted in minutes!". They then replied, saying that they'd send an invoice for the balance...

Bearing in mind that I'd already paid a deposit of £125, I phoned the plumber twice to have a chat. With there being no answer, I emailed them, politely saying that I couldn't see how there was a balance to sort out bearing in mind what the person from the drainage company told me about the cost - I did say that I was grateful for them booking a recommended company, but even £40 for that (nearly 50% extra on top) seems a bit too much. As such, I didn't see how any more payment was due - in fact, my words were "I won't be paying any more money". 

This has been met with an email with an invoice for the balance. They've stated that they made it clear that the minimum charge would be £250 - this is not the case. That amount was referred to as "anticipated" and "likely". They've referred to the comment by the operative as throwaway and "frankly mistaken". They've mentioned how their experience as an advanced plumber, building services engineer and surveyor comes into play, and that several emails and texts were exchanged between us. This is a valid point - but how does that justify a mark-up of nearly 300%?

I would be interested to get other people's opinions on this matter as right now, I'm unwilling to pay the balance. 

You have no case. You agreed to the cost.

Robin9

JJAM said:

Would anyone be happy paying that amount for a job that took 10 minutes?

You are paying for skill, expertise, training and for a piece of kit to do the job that will have cost a small fortune. The expertise can be as little at knowing where to hit something with a hammer 

PS Very surprised that the drain mans charges are as little as £85

PPS My insurance included  drain blockage -  does yours ?

rob7475

JJAM said:

Would anyone be happy paying that amount for a job that took 10 minutes?

You're paying for the person's knowledge, training, equipment, travel time too though. He could have messed around and dragged it out for a couple of hours and still achieved the same end result

Ebe_Scrooge

JJAM said:

Would anyone be happy paying that amount for a job that took 10 minutes?

If you're not happy paying for it, there's a simple answer - go and buy the appropriate tools and do the job yourself

As others have said - you're not just paying for a tradesman's actual time spent on the job, you're paying for his skills, knowledge, training, not to mention the cost of his equipment, which can be quite a substantial outlay.

Admittedly in this particular case it does sound a bit iffy on the part of the builder.  And there are undoubtedly some rogue traders out there.  But when considering the price of any job, it's only fair to bear in mind what you're actually paying for.

My first remark there was somewhat tongue-in-cheek.  But the idea is very valid - why are you paying someone else to do the job rather than doing it yourself (whatever the job may be)?  It's because the tradesman has the knowledge and the correct tools for the job, and you don't.

comeandgo

JJAM said:

Would anyone be happy paying that amount for a job that took 10 minutes?

The job took 10 mins because of the tools and machines they have, which are not cheap.  Im thinking along the line that being told it cost £85 as being a joke, my plumber takes £99 for call out and first half hour.

JJAM

Totally fine with paying the person who did it £85. 

My issue is with the go-between plumber who applied a near 300% mark-up to that amount.

DB1904

JJAM said:

Totally fine with paying the person who did it £85. 

My issue is with the go-between plumber who applied a near 300% mark-up to that amount.

The you should have used that plumber. You agreed to £250, the jobs been done so pay up.

FaceHead

Did you get a second quote, even by just googling the prices big companies charge? If you did, you'd see that £250 is way over the top, and big companies provide a fixed fee and guarantee to justify their £100+ charge over the £85 of this independent guy. 

Whilst going with a personal recommendation is good you still need to combine it with your own due diligence and common sense. 

Edit: you need to pay, and then to tell the recommender to stop recommending them, or using them. 

JJAM

Well the plumber offered to substantially reduce the outstanding balance so I'm glad I raised my issues with them and persevered.

womble12345

I bought an apple from Tesco the other day for 50p, I have since found out that it only cost the person who grew it 10p, can I go to Tesco and moan about their markup?

I think that it doesnt matter what the service actually cost you have to pay the builder what you originally agreed.