Emergency plumber- have I been scammed? And what can I do?

shinytop

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82013360#Comment_82013360

Sorry but you are talking complete ballcocks. The measure as you put it, is what a reasonable trades person would charge for such a job, taking into account the short notice, call out fees, time spend, materials used and anything else. That's not £4500.

What would you think it reasonable to charge to fix a gas leak in my house? The price of the house because it might have blown up? (I'll give you a clue; it was a lot less)

People make unwise decisions, especially when under pressure and there are other people out there who take advantage of that. That's what seems to have happened here.

XRS200

That plumber should be ashamed. £4.5k for 2 hours!!!

john.h

Looking at Pimlico plumbers who are supposed to be very expensive. For a plumber from 12am-7am it’s £210 plus vat an hour with no call out charge.
For over £4000 I would have expected a new boiler fitted and a couple of new radiators inc with the job.

HillStreetBlues

Unlike a quote, an estimate is just that it, it's a guide and not legally binding.
The OP didn't know how long it would take or what was needed, it seems the estimate was completely wrong with the time spent.

Section62

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82013879#Comment_82013879

But in this emergency situation the trader wasn't giving an estimate of time, they were giving an estimate of fixing the problem then and there. Whatever that involved. If the plumber had still been there at 3am on the Saturday morning would people think £4500 was too much? Emergency response is a gamble - a gamble whether a job will come up, and a gamble how involved the job will be. AFAIK there is nothing legally stopping a trader pricing their response to an emergency to reflect the risk they are taking. It could be called "surge pricing" if that makes people more comfortable with the concept.

It is Ok for folk like shinytop to say things like "People make unwise decisions", but there is a distinct lack of suggestions forthcoming of what alternative approach people would have been taken on the Friday before a bank holiday weekend on discovering a leak and not being able to isolate the water supply themselves. Or on being told it could cost up to £6000, what exactly these folk would have done next?

With hindsight there are many things the OP could have done to avoid the situation. But that is a separate issue to whether the plumber's charge is lawful.

HillStreetBlues

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82013890#Comment_82013890

If the plumber needed to replace every pipe then the cost would be above the estimate, as it's not set in stone.
The whole point is the plumber wasn't still there at 3am.

A car breaks down and manages to get to the garage, the garage looks at it as says will be about £1200-£6000, person agrees as they need the car ASAP.
Car fixed, person asks what's was wrong with it, garage states it was a blown fuse, we replaced it, that will be £4.5k please as that in the range of the estimate!

Section62

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82013901#Comment_82013901

If the plumber needed to replace every pipe then the cost would be above the estimate, as it's not set in stone.
The whole point is the plumber wasn't still there at 3am.

No, the whole point was the plumber was giving a price to diagnose and solve the problem, not a quote for two hours labour.

A car breaks down and manages to get to the garage, the garage looks at it as says will be about £1200-£6000, person agrees as they need the car ASAP.
Car fixed, person asks what's was wrong with it, garage states it was a blown fuse, we replaced it, that will be £4.5k please as that in the range of the estimate!

I've never heard of a garage operating that kind of pricing model. But if the garage said "we will chage between £1200 and £6000 for fix the car" and you say "please go ahead" because it was an emergency, then would you really expect the garage to charge you just 10p for the fuse and £1 for the labour?

Bigphil1474

An estimate is just that. If it turns out it's an easy fix that takes 2 minutes it doesn't justify charging £thousands for a job that you would normally charge £100 for. There's no defending anyone who would do otherwise.

Section62

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82014095#Comment_82014095

What law has the plumber broken? That someone else would do the job for £100 doesn't compel the plumber to do the same, in just the same way that some people earning minimum wage doesn't mean you have to. He is operating in an unregulated (for costs and charges) industry where there is freedom to set whatever level of charges he wants, provided the client is able to make an informed choice and that the final charges conform to what was agreed.

You work for a LA? What would they do if someone like the OP contacted them to complain about the charge? The ones I've worked for would be sympathetic, but in the circumstances all they could offer would be advice how to avoid a situation like that in the future. I.e. plan ahead.

Instead of all the cries "that's outrageous!" and "obscene", where is the practical advice to the OP for what they can do about it? I imagine it is missing because people who understand the situation have come to the same conclusion I have - that though somewhat distasteful, the charge is not unlawful and if the OP agreed to pay that amount then there is very little they can do about it without the risk of paying significantly more in legal costs, with low chance of winning.

If you feel the charge is outrageous then write to your MP to demand a change in the law. Though if you imagine the law could compel plumbers to do half a day's 'emergency' work for £100 then the next problem will be the near total lack of emergency plumbing services, save for those companies providing insurance-style service for an up-front monthly premium. Supply and demand.

stuart45

It'll be interesting to know what the insurance company say.