Tradesmen! Am I Being Ripped Off!!!!

[Steve Firth]

Hampshire, so a hog would suffice.

[John Rumm]

Most frightening example I heard was from a friend who ran a small groundworks business that specialised in augured piling (he had a small pile drilling/driving machine that could be driven through a front door of a house to do underpinning inside etc).

First couple of years of trading the insurance was about 2K. Next year they wanted 26K, after than 134K! (managed to get that down to 96K IIRC by shopping around). In that time they had no claims or anything - just the insurers changed their mind about the risk profile of businesses that dig holes! Needless to say, they folded the company the next year since they were in effect working for the insurers.

[Lurch]

On Sun, 15 Apr 2007 22:02:22 +0100, John Rumm mused:

How the hell do insurers manage to come up with figures like that. That is just insane.

[Owain]

Why do you think it's called "furry boots toon"?

Owain

[Owain]

nuffin wrong wiv a good ampshire og.

I used to live near Beastly Eastleigh.

Owain

[John Rumm]

It does make you wonder. When I did the software for the central control computer for the comms system in the EH101 Merlin helicopter, our insurance costs were something like £650/year. I have a suspicion that doing something that allows one of them to fall out of the sky might represent a more expensive risk than drilling through a electric cable.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

At the end of the day you pay what is asked for or do without. You can't force anyone to work for what you consider a reasonable amount.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I'd simply tell a customer who expected me to absorb transport or parking charges to get stuffed. And NHS premises will have some sort of pass system available.

[Lurch]

On Mon, 16 Apr 2007 08:51:06 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)" mused:

That's generally my view, although sometimes I can see why he customer would be a bit miffed at paying 20-30 quid extra per day for parking charges.

As we are generally workign on the security side then we get to park pretty much anywhere as most sites (not just NHS) as most parking rules are enforced in house, ultimately. I have a stack of passes in the van for various car parks and sites.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Just imagine wearing a kilt there with the wind whistling round the Trossachs.

[Mark]

IME it's a lot higher than 1/2 for small jobs, which means even more phone calls. For larger jobs it's less.

It's often quicker to do the job yourself than to make all those calls :-)

M

[Owain]

Aye, it could freeze your Ballochs off.

Owain

[Owain]

If they don't, just add the cost of parking onto the bill.

Plus usual markup, of course ;-)

Owain

[Derek Geldard]

Especially when the parking revenue goes to them.

Some have a hardship scheme, you have to queue at the "Poverty" window. Some you can get the boss of the dept. to phone the car park admin but it's likely to introduce 20 -40 mins worth of delay you can't charge for at the end of the job when you want to be getting home. So I usually just pay the £2.50 - £3.50. Southend General wanted me to pay £18.00 for 8 1/4 hours of parking. I had to walk right to the back of the site to speak to the dept (having just walked the trip once with my kit), then walk back to the car.

I don't know of any hospital that will issue an on-going pass. It would seem to be sensible to issue an annual pass when they sign an annual contract.

DG

[John Rumm]

Cunningly designed building that isn't it - everything is positioned as far away from everything else as possible!

[Andy Hall]

Q: "What's worn under the kilt?"

A: "Nothing. Everything's in perfect working order."

[Owain]

A2: kilt hose and ghillie brogues.

Owain

[Philipj.cosson]

it's not the cost per hour i object to, it's the walking off the job half way through to 'just do this other little job...'

once the floor is up and the radiators delivered they know they have you over a barell and theat 2 week job just keeps on stretching...

just imagine if a surgeon did that!

[Brian Sharrock]

Isn't the mantra;- Surgeons bury their mistakes ....?