Cost of Repairing a Gas Leak, £600??

WiserMiser

Presumably you were given an hourly on-site rate but the total job cost wasn't stated because the time to complete couldn't be known until after completion? In other words, it was an estimate not a quotation.

Was the hourly rate specified to be for just one person? Effectively you've had up to eight manhours but been charged for six, then reduced to five, which can't be all bad.

By all accounts it looks and sounds like they've done a good job that's fully achieved the objective.

So the takeaways are that he's £100 down on what he expected to be paid, and no doubt he'll explain things a bit better in future. You've paid £100 more than you expected, so you'll ask more questions next time.

Call it quits and relax in the knowledge that things won't go ka-BOOM in the night.

MonsieurT

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81956032#Comment_81956032

OK. I've not been in this situation before, so didn't know what to expect.

I suppose one should not be surprised at the cost of things any more, especially in London.

The real mistake was not getting an idea of final price up front - acknowledged by the gas engineer - depending on potential scenarios.

My thinking was that the leak zone was essentially known beforehand & it was always going to be a question of removing the skirting to check behind. Once they did that, the horizontal 1m-long steel piping was revealed & seemed the likely culprit (being prone to corrosion after 50+ years). This was verified after the pipe was brushed & wiped to get a sniffer reading - pinhole leaks being easily covered over by debris.

(Just miffed that this comes as an unexpected hit at moment when a bunch of other bills are hitting.)

MonsieurT

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81956420#Comment_81956420

Excellent reply, WiserMiser. I like your balanced "epilogue".

I'm reconciled to the matter now. Another lesson learned.

I'm on to the next thing. The builder who had disappeared for almost 2 weeks, showed up the day after the gas leak was fixed, and is back on the job repairing bits 'n' bats around the home. The £100 I saved from the leak repair will go straight into this.

Maybe I'll be back on MSE to moan about the builder. 😉

Cheers!