Mates Rates?

[The Medway Handyman]

I was approached by a lady over the road who wanted some radiators fitting urgently. I quoted her £20 per hour regardless of when. Spent 5 hours one day & 4 hours the next (Saturday) & billed them £180.

Don't really know them that well, just neighbours.

Work involved running complete new pipework with soldered joins (they didn't want compression), linking rads through walls, fixing rads to walls etc.

Customer supplied pipe & most fittings.

I didn't charge for the hour I spent getting the fittings he hadn't ordered, nor did I charge for the half dozen fittings from my toolbox. Job was a good un if I say so myself.

They complained about the bill, saying that they thought 'mates rates' would be much cheaper. They thought about £130 would be nearer. I don't really want to fall out with neighbours, so I negotiated to £150 to finalise the matter.

So, I ended up with £16 ish per hour for a 100% quality job. Doesn't sound dear to me. Last time I agree to 'mates rates'.

I reckon £20 per hour is cheap for a plumber?

[Stuart]

As a "consumer" and having regard to the time you spent on the job I'd have been happy to pay the £180 .

Stuart .

[guv]

I would have reminded her you quoted your rates and stuck to it. If she knows of plumbers that charge those rates, why didnt she use one of them? Besides, Ive never found any of my mates giving me discounts and always avoid asking in case of any problems that I wouldnt want to fall out over. As you say, a neighbour is just that, particularly if they are not friends. Why she would expect preferential treatment is a mystery. No doubt she is speaking about you of how you ripped her off.

I wont argue with that. I am getting a new bath fitted on Sunday and being charged £300 for a days work. Shame you are not nearer - you could of been one of my "mates" and I wouldnt have quibbled! ;-)

[Andy Hall]

Sad isn't it when people take advantage... Agreeing the half way compromise makes good sense although really neither party was probably completely happy with the outcome.

Next time I guess you'll be too busy.....

[Andy Dingley]

I'll work for free, but I never work for cheap.

[<me9]

*Never* do jobs in your line of trade at 'mates rates' to friends / aquaintences. It's a recipe for disaster, either not getting paid, or a mass falling out, particularly with neighbours. We found out the hard way (in a different line of business).

Never mix business with pleasure, as the saying goes.

[ARWadsworth]

What are your rates for beating up some neighbours? Your website says We are here to help with all those little jobs that need to be done ...... and some of the bigger ones too! Adam

[Dave Plowman (News)]

My rate to *true* mates is zero. And I'd expect the same from them. To

*anyone* else, full price. I did once work on a 'short' - a film made on a small budget - for much less than my norm on the promise it would lead to more full paid work. But despite much praise for my work, nothing came of it. I then discovered some others were paid the going rate for working on it.

[Grunff]

That's a very wise approach, and I fully concur.

[John Rumm]

Another potential gottcha (especially if dealing with a large block of work) is that HMRC have been known to try it on in the past, and request back tax on the job assuming you charged it at normal market rates even when you did it for discount/free!

[Andy Dingley]

That sounds great -- a day's work, so that everyone gets pissed off.

Why not charge them double instead? At least that way one of you ends up happy.

[dom]

I would have drawn their attention to this further "discount" already built into the bill.

The rule is the customer pays for everything. The garage doesn't give you free petrol because you're helping out a neighbour.

You might find it useful to have somebody else at least check your quotes and final bills and make sure you're not underpricing yourself. It's the classic early pitfall of self-employment.

"Mates rates" apply to mates that will help out with reciprocal work. Are they offering to mow your lawns next summer?

What they mean is "We don't really know you, nor will we do anything in return, nor will we be willing to stick to our promise to pay the agreed, already discounted price"

Did they seem genuinely in financial difficulty and in need?

[dom]

Good policy. I'd also do a little charitable bit to those genuinely in need.

[Stuart Noble]

I imagine Medway Handyman will abandon his hourly rate system eventually because somehow you don't get paid for preparing for jobs, or running around getting materials. There's nothing like a fixed price to settle things on both sides. Even then, there are grey areas. For example, I was painting a sash window window this week and, on lifting the lower sash to its maximum, both weights got jammed in the box. Took me an hour to free them. Not my fault, not really the customer's either.

[tony sayer]

In article , The Medway Handyman writes

Round this way if I could find a plumber for that sort of money I could re hire him out for £40 !..

[DMac]

I've heard it said elsewhere that if *both* parties feel they've been "done" then the price was about right

[Andy Hall]

That's called lose-lose. Marketing schools always talk about win-win.

While this is a bit of a "fingers down the throat" phrase, there is some validity to it. Really a transaction should leave both parties satisfied with the outcome for themself and the other party as well. That's more likely to result in repeat business which is a lot less expensive to find than new business for the supplier and a lot less hassle for the customer in finding a good supplier.

When one thinks of it that way, it's pretty difficult for a reduced price job for a neighbour to meet those criteria

[xscope]

Sounds like a Karpman Drama Triangle..

[Dave Liquorice]

You quoted a rate it took 9 hours =A3180 is the bill. End of story, alwa= ys assuming you did the job at a reasonable progress rate...

I don't work for free, except for people I know well and trust that ther= e will be something reciporical later. For instance I helped a mate design= and specify a multipoint satellite TV reception system and what sort of =

router/switch to get for his LAN. I can now borrow his trailer and if I =

need help with something bulky awkward I'm sure he'll come over for nowt= .

Hourly rates are fine but the first hour needs to be double(ish) any subsequent hours otherwise the costs for getting to and fro mean you wor= k for free. A vehicle costs at least 40p/mile when you take into account insurance, maintenace, depreciation and fuel. So at =A320/hr a job more =

than 25 miles away won't make any profit at all. Then of course there is= the time it takes to travel. In the domestic arena I doubt paying for travel directly would go down well but a larger first hour is acceptable= .

[EricP]

I am a punter that detests getting ripped off by over-priced tradespeople. You quoted a reasonable rate and they should have paid it to you for work done.

This is a good example why tradespeople go rogue and inflate their bills.

Next time they want anything done, don't bother.