2 hours to fix a toilet leak

[LeakyCistern]

Hi,
I'd just like to ask you knowledgeable folks if 2 hours for a plumber to fix a leaking connection in a closed coupled toilet is reasonable.

The job was complicated by the fact that the fixings between the pan and cistern had rusted so he said that he needed to:

- remove the toilet
- cut the fixings with a multitool
- replace the connector kit
- replaced valve (which was requested)

Would probably take me 12 hours of faffing (and then still leak ), but I'm struggling to understand how it would take a pro 2 hours, but then I really don't know.

Does 2 hours seems at least close to reasonable?

 

[just pumps]

Yes.

 

[CBW]

Well, they’re 10 hours quicker than you . Not unusual for a plumbing job to spiral, time wise.

 

[Charlie George]

2 Hours seems very reasonable to me, did he also charge a callout fee, if not then too cheap.

 

[yartin]

I think it also depends on the hourly rate, it could take him 2 hours if he is slow and charging around £40/hr but too expensive if charging around £80/hr.

 

[kidgreen61]

Toilets can be a nightmare, what starts off as a 5 min job can take ages, I remember having to take a grinder to the cistern bolts on one once, after I'd spent an age coaxing the rusted screws out of the wall.
Another one which should have been an easy job was ruined by the installer, who couldn't be bothered to drill a couple of holes in the plasterboard to secure the cistern, thought it would be fun to use a whole tube of silicone (a couple of dabs would have done) to glue it to the wall.
Then, sometimes, every joint you disturb decides to leak.
Then there's the access issue, why do some manu's make it so difficult to access things?
Rant over.

 

[Deleted member 292770]

Better that he takes 3 or 4 hours if need be and not have it leaking through your kitchen ceiling.

 

[LeakyCistern]

I think it also depends on the hourly rate, it could take him 2 hours if he is slow and charging around £40/hr but too expensive if charging around £80/hr.

It was actually £80/hr + VAT

For the parts (connector kit and valve) I've been charged £40 + VAT. I found the exact valve at SF for £7.50, so not terribly impressed by the mark up.

 

[ianmcd]

well just do it yourself then, because you dont have to pay Vat, Income tax, national insurance, vehicle insurance , road tax, fuel, professional registrations, advertising , bank charges, accountancy fees, tools purchase and calibration, and god forbid make some money to live on after all that

 

[Munroast]

Hi,
I'd just like to ask you knowledgeable folks if 2 hours for a plumber to fix a leaking connection in a closed coupled toilet is reasonable.

The job was complicated by the fact that the fixings between the pan and cistern had rusted so he said that he needed to:

- remove the toilet
- cut the fixings with a multitool
- replace the connector kit
- replaced valve (which was requested)

Would probably take me 12 hours of faffing (and then still leak ), but I'm struggling to understand how it would take a pro 2 hours, but then I really don't know.

Does 2 hours seems at least close to reasonable?

1½ of those two hours was probably spent playing on his phone posting barking mad conspiracy theory nonsense on internet....

seriously though, probably took up half his day by the time he had spoke to you on the phone,picked up part, travel to your home then back to base, then made out invoice...
£380 a day - 91K a year - 21k to run business (tools vans) so 70K a year -

conclusion - does all sound a bit steep to me.

 

[LeakyCistern]

Yeah, I get it, which is why I only asked if two hours was a reasonable amount of time, and didn't ask if £160 + VAT was reasonable labour.

He sets his hourly prices, and that's fine, I have no issue with that. I was just responding to the other poster.

But I did want to know if a 2 hours job should have taken 2 hours, and I think it is fair to ask that. I'm sure no one would suggest that you should charge a customer for two hours, for a job that takes one hour. Just charge them more per hour.

As for the parts mark up I do think that is questionable. Looks like I have paid four times what they actually cost.

The overheads should probably be baked into the hourly rate, rather than cost of the parts.

 

[Munroast]

did he actually spend 2 hours in the house doing the work?

some jobs just turn into a nightmare and take a disproportional amount of time, other very simillar repairs can be very simple and quick. Should you cap or restrict charges for the former?, but then you need to overcharge when it went amazingly quickly - but that sounds unfair too. May be a higher call out charge then lower hourly charge sets a better balance.

 

[yartin]

It was actually £80/hr + VAT

For the parts (connector kit and valve) I've been charged £40 + VAT. I found the exact valve at SF for £7.50, so not terribly impressed by the mark up.

Sorry but you've been ripped off. How much is a new toilet , around £100? It would have been easier to throw old and fit new one, don't use him again. It won't take more than 2 hours to fit new one, a good plumber would do in 1 hour.

£80 + VAT is too high, are you in central London?

 

[opps]

I wouldn't go as far as to say that you were ripped off but the mark up on the parts is pretty eye watering. That said, if the had to go out to pick the part up, he may have charged much more.

 

[just pumps]

Sorry but you've been ripped off. How much is a new toilet , around £100? It would have been easier to throw old and fit new one, don't use him again. It won't take more than 2 hours to fit new one, a good plumber would do in 1 hour.

£80 + VAT is too high, are you in central London?

Were you there? If it was all straight forward and easy then yes an hour is doable however if every nut, bolt and screw was rusted with cistern stuck to wall and pan stuck to floor in a room slightly wder than the cistern width then I doubt I could do that in one hour.