The reason I am cynical...

[R D S]

...and generally trust nobody.

We have a gas heater at work fitted by the heater seller's fitters of choice. I didn't get a good feeling from these guys when they were installing.

Recently it refused to light, so phoned the seller who in turn asked me to phone the fitters. 'Oh yeah', he said, 'its common for those to need a [some regulator or summat] and its over a year old so it will need a service etc, about £250 mate, when do you want me to come.' I told him i'd get back him and something about the way he was mad keen to pin me to a booking made me tell him to leave it.

I phoned the seller again, see if they could recommend a different engineer, fortunately this time I got someone competent, he had me open a paned, unscrew a little cover and push a switch, heater fixed.

Bastards.

[Ed Sirett]

Niether seems to be a reasonable approach in my book. The former truly are predators the latter was ok until he arrived to find out why it needed to be reset. At least it should have been something like "call me if it goes again you might have a more serious problem".

[R D S]

Sorry I wasn't clear, and like everything I post there are typo's, 2nd guy talked me through it on the phone so it cost nothing.

[Ian Stirling]

Not the point. It's not a fix. What you presumably did was simply to reset the overheat thermostat. However, it overheated for a reason. This should be fixed.

[geoff]

In message , R D S writes

Well not necessarily

Was it the overheat cut off or the reset switch?

did you ask him, so you know how to do it yourself next time?

Its quite possible that there's a common failure on these boilers and if you gave them the same lack of useful information that you've posted here, what else would you expect them to say ?

Of course, being someone with a technical background, really, you should have tried to work it out a bit yourself

People often get ripped off because they are ignorant, so now go along and learn how your boiler works

[R D S]

Precisely.

His advice might have been better recieved if I was asking why a heater might not fire and if it didn't have an underlying tone of condescention.

My post was one about a heating engineer overly keen to come (just happens to have one in the van, free that afternoon etc...) out and change a part which as it stands appears to be working perfectly.

Fuck me usenet is annoying.

[Man at B&Q]

Yes you were

[geoff]

In message , R D S writes

That bit seems to be missing from your original post

and maybe he carries the particular bit which he thought you would need because its a common failure point on the appliance

the fact that someone else talked you through the problem is neither here nor there, it's just a difference in mentality

You're an optician, you therefore must have some kind of physics / technical background

You have a bike - you should have some idea about mechanical systems

... yet you post like a hairdresser

[R D S]

to quote me... "I told him i'd get back him and something about the way he was mad keen to pin me to a booking made me tell him to leave it."

Well I prefer the mentality of the guy who tells me to push a button for free to the mentality of the guy who guesses that I need to spend £200 replacing a potentially perfectly working part, but each to their own.

What's that sir, you cant see out of your specs? Mmmh, I recommend you get yourself in sharpish for a sight test and a brand new pair.... Or you might just want to wipe that smudge off them.

I have a pushbike, is that what you mean?

I am not ashamed to say I know f*ck all about gas heaters. I have a carpet cleaner I can't fix as well.

Maybe I am due a career change.

[geoff]

In message , R D S writes

"just happens to have one in the van"

sorry, where was that ?

Of course, but you don't get someone like him (or me) very often

and it doesn't pay the rent

I'll be in touch for those cheap lenses sometime

Why were you posting in UKRM a while ago then ?

Then you have the mentality of someone who deserves to be ripped off

[geoff]

In message , R D S writes

You really just don't get it, do you ?

[R D S]

I thought I had put enough background in the OP, it didn't need to be an autobiography.

Then I am right to be cynical, wouldn't you say.

I am toying with the idea of taking my test.

So there are people who deserve to be ripped off? I agree that many people are ripe for a ripping off but *deserve*?

[R D S]

I do get it mate, I really do.

But I guess you haven't got the equipment/know how to make yourself a pair of specs[1]. If you come to me I won't rip you off or suggest that you should be.

I would rather see rip off merchants dealt with properly[2] than have every Tom Dick and Harry poking about inside dangerous equipment they know little about.

[1] On second thoughts, *you* probably do! [2] Don't worry, I 'm not so gullible to expect that will ever happen.

[geoff]

In message , R D S writes

Well, yes, I do to a sufficient extent for a layman. Of course, not being professional, there's quite a lot I don't know - the difference is that I've made an effort to at least have a fundamental understanding of the tools and principles involved

There will always be people who take advantage of the ignorant, you just seem determined to remain in that category

That is my point

[geoff]

In message , R D S writes

maybe you also didn't give the first tradesman sufficient information on which to make a more informed diagnosis

maybe you just assumed that he knew your thoughts - as above

In this world, those who doggedly prefer to remain ignorant can only blame themselves

sorry mate, the world is not a cuddly toy

[R D S]

If that was the case then he shouldn't have made any diagnosis.

Anyway, that is my last word on the matter, my post was about the fact that the world is full of conmen, you seem to agree, this has since descended into an argument about how much the layman should know about the appliances which surround him/her in order to avoid being ripped off.

[R D S]

Go on, surprise me....