£312 + VAT for 8 hours electrical work?

[Alarm]

So where was this "tradesman" found?
Why was no price discussed?

This has to be a wind up.

And your wrong, the charges HAVE to only be what he charges.

I never move without a firm quote, with an option for revisions which have to be discussed. This is because of the nature of my trade.
I charge as I see fit, sometimes lower than others sometimes higher. Still get the work.

Not what you might deem as "reasonable". What is reasonable to you could be insulting to me.

To close on your final point, an agreement must have been reached. The bloke never turned up out of the blue and decided the words were required.

 

[^woody^]

What is reasonable to you could be insulting to me.

It's not what is reasonable to me or to the OP. Its what is reasonable in context of typical industry rates for the type of work performed in the region and for specific times of day (ie day, night or weekend) or other factors.

You will find that a roofer may agree with an OAP that £5000 is reasonable to change one roof tile. Just because the OAP agrees, and just because the roofer invoiced for "what he charges" does not make the charge reasonable ... or even lawful

 

[expertgasman]

It's not what is reasonable to me or to the OP. Its what is reasonable in context of typical industry rates ....

You will find that a roofer may agree with an OAP that £5000 is reasonable to change one roof tile. Just because the OAP agrees, and just because the roofer invoiced for "what he charges" does not make the charge reasonable ... or even lawful[/quote]

Yea, but £35 per hr still isn't in the league of rip off rates.

I was at a fire sevice today. They had just had a Vaillant combi fitted, in the same poition as old one. Less than 2 days inc. a 90 min p/flush (acc. to client). £2800. He was convinced that was a really good price. How much prifit per hr was that?

 

[mickyg]

both the customer and the trader are both naive for not discussing charges beforehand. A dispute is now potentially on the cards. I have no sympathy with either tbh. I wouldn't dream of starting a job without discussing some kind of pricing structure first.

 

[Whitespirit66]

The spark doesn't need to justify anything.

Yes he does

Just because a price was not agreed, does not mean that some random figure can be charged.

He needs to submit an invoice based on fair industry rates

How much are fair industry rates?

My hourly rate will be half of BG's. Who's rate is fair, considering BG has much bigger overheads than me?

I don't understand customers who make no effort to check rates/quotes before a job, then put far more effort into posting on here complaining and trying to get some money back from whoever carried out the work.

 

[expertgasman]

How much do people expect us to earn after expenses?

A police officcer with 10 years experience is on a basic plus "competance pay" totalling £37,800. He will also get paid overtime, and enjoys paid lunch and tea breaks.

Lets say we want to work 38 hours per week, and spend 5 hours of that on admin / sorting van / meetings with bank, accountant etc / quotes / .

Assume 8 weeks holiday / bank holiday / sickness

To acheive the same as a 10 yr copper (withhout their FANTASTIC paension and sick pay scheme) we need to charge £26.03 + VAT BEFORE we account for expenses.

 

[adlplumbing]

the charges are fair woody end off
yes they should of asked
but i don`t normaly get asked unless i am charging a part
which i can sort out in under an hour which i charge 40 as base rate
so don`t why he should haggle for his money

 

[petit_pablo]

£30+vat P/H seems reasonable, especially for oxfordshire. Its not just his time your paying for.

 

[corgiman]

seems more than fair to me

 

[oasistechnical]

we charge £45 per hour under 30 miles from base
we charge £55 to 65 for anything up to 6o miles
after that its price to travel, + labour, materials

the firm i used to work for set out a price depenedant on client!!!

if you are on a maintenance agreement, then thats completely different!

Oasis

 

[WestmidsChippy]

anyone know when the next tradesmen uk meet up will be?

getting sick of these lazy sparks/plumbers earning silly money

putting micky aside it is a reasonable price, fook me in the last 5 years alone a simple thing such as a chocolate bar has doubled in price!

Must have been ten years ago plus when a chippy/bricky overall pay went on the rise only for it in the last two years to be equelled to what blokes were getting paid over 25 years ago.

about time everyones prices went up because the way i see it everyone else including your admin seem to be on some good money for what they do.

i agree with you woody but hopefully it might pave the way for the rest of us in the near future having the lazy bastwerds doing what they do, give it time...

if not we'll just hang 'em from there scrap cable

 

[tim00]

There was a long discussion on these issues some time ago on this or some similar site. The detailed and worked out general consensus for a self employed trades person was £35/hr or go work for wages.

One telling factor was to totalise all the capital invested in the enterprise and imagine the same amount invested in a savings account - a factor often missed in the self-employed vs wages discussion.

 

[Bodd]

Seem totally fair to me. As long as he has done a good job. If he has'nt done a good job , not registerd and works from the back of a an estate car then you may have a point.

Bod

 

[D_Hailsham]

I am reminded of the very old joke about a man with a dent in his car who takes it to the bodyshop to have it knocked out. The job is done and the man receives a bill for £50, which he thinks is exorbitant. So he writes to the bodyshop asking for a breakdown of the costs.

Back comes the reply:

Hitting dent with hammer - £1
Knowing where to hit dent - £49.

 

[Alarm]

Old but so true.

Thanks for reminding me of that one.