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Companies charging extra - claiming they have been in property more than an hour
TheDeterminedBromptonette
Posts: 3 Newbie
in Energy
Two companies recently, one being British Gas, have recently charged me extra money for their staff and repair being apparently working for more than an hour in my house. With British Gas, I timed the arrival and departure and it was well within the hour. But they have charged me £165 for the one off repair, no itemised bill, no warning, but it's £125 for the first hour and then £40 for any following 15 minutes. I have complained, but no response so far. An electrician's firm recently did the same thing, I have also queried it, also no response. Is this a racket??!
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Comments
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It's not a racket.0
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Is travel time included? Shouldn't be in my opinion but maybe that's part of the problem.I’m a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on Debt Free Wannabe, Old Style Money Saving and Pensions boards. If you need any help on these boards, do let me know. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com. All views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.
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⭐️🏅😇🏅🏅🏅🏅🏅0 -
No, it's not.0
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What does the contract you had with the relevant companies say about this? Does it give a timescale which comes within a quoted visit, with subsequent "extra/over" costs? (This would include a verbal conversation along the lines of "we expect the job to take no more than an hour, but if it does then we charge pro-rata at £175 an hour - OK?")🎉 MORTGAGE FREE (First time!) 30/09/2016 🎉 And now we go again…New mortgage taken 01/09/23 🏡
Balance as at 01/09/23 = £115,000.00 Balance as at 31/12/23 = £112,000.00
Balance as at 31/08/24 = £105,400.00 Balance as at 31/12/24 = £102,500.00
£100k barrier broken 1/4/25
Balance as at 31/08/25 = £ 95,450.00. Balance as at 31/12/25 = £ 91,100.00
SOA CALCULATOR (for DFW newbies): SOA Calculatorshe/her0 -
How were you billed? If on your BG bill, raise a complaint then go to the Ombudsman after 8 weeks, providing your evidence that they were there for less than 60 minutes.
If via debit/credit card, raise a dispute via your card provider, again providing your evidence that they were there for less than 60 minutes.
This "intentionally work just over the billing threshold" is a common act/allegation (depending on which side you're on) which is why I'd always get the engineer to note their arrival time and departure time whilst there.0 -
Time on site not just in your property?No, it's not.0 -
Hoenir said:
Time on site not just in your property?No, it's not.
Yes, you need to understand what the time includes, e.g. sitting in van doing paperwork, ordering parts and so on. The devil is in the detail.
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