I'm being quoted for heavy machinery that won't be used

built4thekill

I've recently applied for a gas pipe diversion to allow the building of our extension. This has been quoted to £2590 incl VAT by Northern Gas. Of this 790 is labour and 415 material (12m of pipe). The remainder and therefore the bulk is for heavy machinery that they won't use. Basically I'll be doing all the digging and excavation, an option I requested. Heavy machinery cannot be used anyway because there's no access through my terraced property. I've explained this to them but they maintain that their contractor travels with his heavy machinery so we need to pay nonetheless. I've pointed out how ridiculous that sounds but they're not budging (pending a call back from a manager). Do they have valid grounds?

tacpot12

I would say that they have valid grounds if they cannot avoid the charge from their contractor, but is sounds like the contractor wants to charge them £1385 just for transport! This seems excessive as the cost is really just diesel and wear and tear on the lorry, but the contractor has probably justified buying the machinery on the basis that it will be used a certain number of times a year and has priced this into their contract with Northern Gas, so they still need to make a charge per job for it, even if it the machinery is not required. Your job will probably be only one of a handful this year where they cannot use the machinery.

It's definitely worth asking the manager if they can avoid the charge at all, and when he says "no", ask if they will knock a bit off from their margin as you are footing the bill to become their customer, and you don't want to start the relationship as a disgruntled customer. It's a matter of being pleasant and try to get the manager to use whatever flexiilty they have to reduce the price a bit. 

angelom

Wow, that sounds really frustrating! It's baffling when you're being charged for something that clearly won't be used, especially when you've arranged to do the hard work yourself. It seems like a classic case of bureaucracy not bending to practical realities.

I’ve dealt with similar situations in our industry at Lindum Packaging, where clients face unnecessary charges related to machinery. We always strive to offer solutions that make sense for the actual needs of the project. If only more industries would adopt that kind of thinking!

Keep pushing for a fair assessment, and fingers crossed for a sensible resolution. Good luck with your extension!