plumber bill exorbitant?

[Fred]

Had the following work done and do now wonder about invoice level:

remove old sink plumb in new sink plumb in dishwasher (there was none beforehand, so the connections had to be made this time) pretty extensive joinery work to reorganise the new sink and move the odd cupboard.

The joiner has invoiced 135 for all the joinery work which I paid ten days ago. The plumber has now invoiced 230 for the plumbing, I bought the sink myself.

The joiner was there all day, hence no queries re his work and invoice, the plumber worked only for about a good two hours. 230 quid for two hours worth of simple plumbing with virtually no material cost seems exorbitant to me, how about you guys, any opinion? And what can i do after the work has already been completed.

And if you now say the golden rule is to get written quotations then yes, I should have done so, but it's the same plumber who gave me a reasonable quote for a boiler swap and some radiators, so I did not think much of this little sink/dishwasher job. I am now of course tempted to get myself a few more quotes for the boiler. Oh and location is York. I don't know but it seems that location does make a difference when it comes to tradespeople.

Fred

[Alex]

Before paying the bill ,ask for a breakdown of the costs,it is a reasonable request and you may find that a reduction will be forth coming.Personally I would not pay this bill and would request what his hourly rate is and try to negotuate from there

[logized]

Asking about plumbers charges in a DIY newsgroup is a bit off topic as many people here don't usually have to pay them! However, I recently found an interesting web guide to the price of having jobs done -

- looks like a common problem with plumbing jobs.

Dave

[Brian G]

Bloody hell, I'm glad that I can do most of those jobs myself. On second thoughts, I should retrain as a plumber :-)

Brian G

[Dave Plowman (News)]

How long did he have to travel to get to and from your place? Did he have to pick up fittings, tube, etc? All these things have to be paid for.

You can only but ask for a reduction. Or just pay what you think fair

*but* be prepared to be sued - and of course not be able to use him again. Or, perhaps, any of his mates.

But there's no laws stating hourly rates for anything.

[Andrew McKay]

Don't bother. I have it on good authority that in a couple of years time there will be more plumbers than work, and inevitably that means prices will fall.

Besides which, I provide plumbing services and according to the prices shown on that web site I should significantly uplift my charges.

Andrew

If you need help with those general DIY projects you can give me a call. More information about what I can help with can be found on my web site:

[wounded horse]

Seems a lot of work for 2 hours including "Extensive Joinery work". Wish I could go that fast. On the other point, I have already noticed that the prices I can get for a job are tighter than a year ago. People will cancel the day before a job saying they have got a friend to fit an outside tap for example, for £30 including the parts.

[Fred]

Nono, the joiner was employed/paid separately. He did a days worth of excellent work, was introduced through the plumber but invoiced himself. No queries about him. The plumber was there to provide the plumbing only: new tap & discharge for dishwasher, swap sinks. If the joiner had invoiced the 230 quid and the plumber the 135, I would not have complained because the joinery is excellent.

Fred

[John]

Read the original posting again, the joiner invoiced £135 on top of the £230!

"The joiner was there all day, hence no queries re his work and invoice...."

This happens to me all the time on smaller jobs. If I have a few to do, I try to organise it so I am doing jobs in the same area in the same day, that way kept busy and a decent days wages. It only takes 1 or 2 'cancellations' and I am effectively working all day for £30.00!

Just on a side issue Fred, the plumber hasn't included the joiners bill has he , not realising you paid him direct? i.e. £230 - £135 = £95 still steep but much more reasonable. May be worth asking him.

HTH

John

[Paul Mc Cann]

Just a few thoughts. A tradesman will usually price a job in 'days' or=20 'part days' on the not unreasonable assumption that it will take a=20 minimum of 1/2 day to do nearly any job by the time he drives to and=20 from job etc. so the fact that he only spent 2 hours on his knees can be=20 a bit misleading.

If I am unsure about a tradesman I usually ask him the price and then=20 how long it will take to do the job. You can often see the penny drop=20 when he attempts to imply how quick he is and realises you are working=20 out his daily rate.

We were recently quoted =A31900, =A32500 and =A35250 for the same wiring jo= b.=20 The high price was from people we had employed before and felt we could=20 trust !! Lowest price got the job and did it first class. However when=20 asked to wire in 12 double fluorescents to an existing switch they=20 quoted =A3800. I did it myself in just over a day .

You have to be on your toes all of the time.

--=20 Paul Mc Cann

[Owain]

"Fred" wrote | 230 quid for two hours worth of simple plumbing with virtually | no material cost seems exorbitant to me,

115 an hour. Less VAT is £97.50 an hour.

| it's the same plumber who gave me a reasonable quote for a | boiler swap and some radiators, so I did not think much of | this little sink/dishwasher job. I am now of course | tempted to get myself a few more quotes for the boiler.

The boiler quote is probably reasonable. It will have been priced as a full job. However if the sink job was done as a 'can you just do this as well' then that is where trades make up their profit especially when the punter does not ask the price first.

| Oh and location is York.

Not Woodthorpe by any chance?

Owain

[Dave Plowman (News)]

How about travel time? This obviously becomes proportionally less on the hourly rate for a longer job.

[Kevin]

I tend to do the same, get a price then innocently ask how long the job will take. Knock off my estimate for materials and divide by number of people expected to do the job. If its much more than my job pays I tell them to sling their hook. Kevin

[stuart noble]

These guys' rates are linked to the housing market. They know you're making a fat profit from their labour and they want a slice of the action. Supply and demand I spose.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

In article , stuart noble

[Andrew McKay]

On Mon, 25 Oct 2004 17:54:49 +0100, "stuart noble"

[stuart noble]