Advice on overcharging?

[kmsgirly]

I feel quite upset about this so go easy on me

We asked a roofer to have a look at our two chimney stacks as we had a damp patch in our bathroom. He said- 2 day job, £550 to grind, re-point and weatherseal / make watertight. No scaffolding required. Booked him in for 24th And 25th. Come 24th - he can't make it as his labourer is sick. Come today- he turns up at 10am, half hour break and leaves at 2pm. Half a days work and he says it is done. His quote is fixed price and I feel like I have been stung big time. Any suggestions please?

 

[JohnD]

Who recommended him?

 

[kmsgirly]

He was the only person who replied on Rated People. He had good ratings....

 

[JohnD]

"Rated People" charges people to be listed, and charges them for leads. So it is basically an advertising site.
https://www.ratedpeople.com/new-signup/d/0f05541d86b4?gclid=CP3asJ6sksgCFc-6GwodOn0ANA

You would have done better to ask around friends and neighbours.

 

[kmsgirly]

Ok but that's not really helping my query, that's just being clever. I have moved to a new area, been let down by a couple of "recommended" people and we went with this guy because he turned up when he said he would basically. We work full time and we don't have endless weeks to wait. If it transpires there is nothing I can do I will have to swallow it- but I am respectfully asking if anyone can advise- either re cost or how to approach the builder re them?

 

[Bosswhite]

Have you got a quote in writing that stipulates what work he should have done ?

How did you agree to him carrying out the work, regarding making sure the chimney valleys are watertight , again any paperwork ?

You could give your local Trading Standards Office a ring, they may know of him and investigate.

If he has done the job according to the price given, and the work is satisfactory, not a lot can be done.

 

[kmsgirly]

Please don't get me wrong- I am happy to pay for work done properly... I just feel that £550 for 3.5 hrs when he originally said 2 days- feel done over (in one sense). How will I know if it's working? I guess we'll have to wait for a rain shower? I wondered if it was worth raising the 2 days turning into 3.5 hrs or is that not a valid question? What would you do?

 

[jagillham]

It is not really a question of over charging, but if the job has been done right.

You were willing to pay X for Y. So long as Y is done right, then you can't really complain. (Although it seems a lot for little time!)

Did you mention this at the time to him today? Was it 2 people - you may end up paying a full day rate regardless.

 

[Buxus]

I disagree, you're relying on his professional experience to decide what work needs doing and then quote appropriately, you agree to the work based on the time and the cost. I would offer him payment for a days work and see if he kicks off. If he's turned up a day late and finished on time then he can't argue he's lost income from other jobs either.

 

[noseall]

I disagree, you're relying on his professional experience to decide what work needs doing and then quote appropriately, you agree to the work based on the time and the cost. I would offer him payment for a days work and see if he kicks off.

So you accept a quote, job gets done satisfactorily, then you offer to pay less than the stipulated quote?
Under what premise?

you agree to the work based on the time and the cost.

No, you are agreeing to a quote. If the customer had agreed a pro rata day or hourly rate with the bloke then ok.

 

[Whitespirit66]

He was the only person who replied on Rated People.

Groan!

 

[noseall]

If I was to do anything then it would be to look at confirming that the work has been done properly. I would question as to how an estimated time of two days work can be successfully condensed into 4 hours.
Mention that you may get the work checked in order to verify that you have got value for money.

 

[TonyW2]

I don't blame you for feeling upset.
This is an example of attempting to stay within the letter of the law whilst actually obtaining money by false pretences. You were induced to enter into an unfair contract by his misrepresentation of the service offerred. It's like applying a false description to goods. Changes to consumer law will in future apply to service descriptions.
i would not like to say how it would end if you did not pay and were pursued through small claims court because it would come down to what was said and what was agreed.

 

[Bosswhite]

I assume when he first came to the property to view the work he did not get up on the roof for a close examination, so therefore had to use his professional knowledge as to what the problem was and amount of time taken to fix it, also to allow extra time if there were further problems,
he gave a figure based on what he saw which was accepted,
the fact the price was not based on an hourly rate but a job rate, the fact that he was able to sort the job out in a shorter time than given in the original visit plus the fact the price was accepted,
did he misrepresent the work involved, there are no other quotes to compare the work with, so I cant see that argument
so long as he has solved the problem, IMO the original quote stands
Shops are entitled to charge what they feel is reasonable for a product, differences in prices are accepted
One should make sure they get more than one Quote /Estimate

 

[matz]

no one knows if the job is satisfactory until it rains and weeks later. The whole thing revolves around whether the job is done right or not. It puts doubt in mind when someone says it will take 2 days then it takes 3 hrs. If it were me I'd get an independant inspection done to ensure the job is done right and pay the approx £75 for it as for me it would now be a point of principle. Roofs are a nightmare. I had all this with a rental prop which needed paraphet lead gutter. I had quotes from £900 upwards. In the end I paid £2200 and had a firm in that does listed buildings and cathedrals and they did a great job. The latter firm charged me £75 to give a quote and knocked that off the bill when I went ahead.