bill

[madge1]

morning lads - potentially a contentious one here. We've been having trouble with the boiler (see earlier posts) and we got a boiler man out a couple of weeks ago.

He was there 10 minutes, didn't have the right part, used some tape as a temporary fix (which didn't work) and missed the same problem on another similar part.

He's now sent a bill for £52. Is this fair? Should we quibble? I've no problem paying him something but he didn't really do anything and missed half the problem. What should i do?

ta

 

[EliteHeat]

What was the actual problem?

 

[madge1]

oh all to do with my 5mm hose tee taking the pressure from the fan to the aps. I told him what i thought the problem was (after help on here, it was narrowed down to a hole in the hose tee), he concurred and as i say, wound some tape on the tee. Something I could've done if I'd not been at work. But he didn't look at the other tee (there's two) which had the identical problem, and which I had to fix when i got home.

As i say I've no problem paying it because he did come out etc etc, just quibbling over the size of the bill. He says he was there 45 min. My wife says 10 min. And he didn't even fix it, and missed half of it.

 

[twm.bwen]

I'm really risking a roasting here, but from the problems I've read about on the forum can I suggest Plumbers as the Estate Agents and Traffic Wardens of the noughties?

 

[Agile]

We charge £84 for a diagnostic visit and that includes fixing it and any subsequent visits. Many other firms charge by the hour with a minimum of one hour!

I dont know how long he spent travelling but in London the greater time is spent getting there and finding somewhere to park.

From my experience customers always underestimate the cost of parking meters and the complexity of the repair. "I am sure its only something minor" is what I am told all the time. They dont know whats wrong but whats in their mind is that they want the bill to be small!

However long he was there, I think that £52 is far too low and I am very surprised that you even bother posting about it. It makes you look very mean!

Tony

 

[FredFlintstone]

Tony,

I don't think the OP comes across as mean, I think they are querying whether or not the fault should have been identified and fixed properly.

I think the main issue is the size of the bill given the problem wasn't actually fixed.

Personally, I think £52 is quite reasonable given that many would charge a callout of more than that so even though the problem wasn't actually fully fixed because there were in fact two problems, £52 seems reasonable.

It would have been good of the plumber to stick around for a bit more than 10 minutes though to ensure the fault had indeed been fixed.

Fred.

 

[Agile]

"""He says he was there 45 min."""

Normally its customers who dont want to pay who say someone was "only there for 10 min".

Its difficult to immagine how anyone can arrive, assess the boiler's operation, remove the cover, find the fault, go out for tape, do a bodge fix, refit the cover, test the boiler, write notes or an invoice and all within 10 minutes?

I am also disappointed that the wife did not make him any cup of tea or coffee during his visit which in my view must have been for much longer than 10 minutes. I note who does not offer tea so that our response can be slower next time.

The OP says he did not have the part with him! Its a little unrealistic to expect him to carry all passive parts for every boiler he would ever encounter. I have been fixing boilers for over three years and I have never needed to replace anything like that.

I would have used a silicone sealant like FX2 to effect a bodge repair on an APS tube. I would also check the second one.

He should have charged about £80, found the second fault and returned with the replacement correct parts. Had he been given the opportunity then I expect he would have done so.

By the way he also thinks that 58 pence is too much for the part !!! See other post about his boiler.

Tony

 

[madge1]

I do think Agile reply is a little harsh actually. He was there 10 minutes. I've no problem paying (as I've said). He didn't need to do a diagnostic because I'd told him what (i thought) the problem was. The cover was off because I'd been looking at it that morning.
My wife would've offered refreshment - we always do. And to be fair I did't expect him to carry the part with him. But he didn't fix the problem, missed another problem and hasn't been in touch since (apart from the bill).

As i've said many times, i don't mind paying. I just object to paying so much for somebody not doing their job properly. If I didn't do my job, I wouldn't be paid.

However, I'm obviously in the minority so I will concede and leave it at that.

 

[madge1]

and travel is 5 minutes from their base. No parking meters. No parking restrictions at all.

 

[Agile]

I am trying to be completely impartial!

As I was not there I can only consider the evidence presented! One party says 10 minutes and the other party says 45 minutes.

The truth might be between those two times.

What I can say as an Expert Witness is that any boiler repair visit I make takes a minimum of 30 minutes and is mostly about an hour or more.

I have to first check the flue outside then check the mains supply polarity, both for my safety! As a CORGI, as a minimum, I have to check the burner pressure on any visit when the boiler has been opened.

Of course I visually check everything in the boiler, I check the min/max gas valve settings and the thermostat or sensors. Last I check the operation of the appliance which can take 20 minutes to heat up the rads.

As we do not charge for subsequent visits its essential that I identify all the faults on the one visit. Once we have quoted a price for the repair we dont charge any more if a second fault comes to light later unless we have warned of the possibility.

Tony

 

[nickso]

i would ignore tony's rantings which even for him are extreme today.

I note who does not offer tea so that our response can be slower next time

£52 for a part bodge repair is unacceptable however long it took in meter time . send him as letter telling him that you will gladly pay his £52 when he comes back and repairs the boiler with the correct parts.

as usual tony has assumed that the engineer did all of these things:

Its difficult to immagine how anyone can arrive, assess the boiler's operation, remove the cover, find the fault, go out for tape, do a bodge fix, refit the cover, test the boiler, write notes or an invoice and all within 10 minutes?

I am trying to be completely impartial!

you may be trying tony but i see little success so far.

 

[HarrogateGas]

"""He says he was there 45 min."""


I note who does not offer tea so that our response can be slower next time.

Tony

I think this just about sums you up Agile.....nothing like looking after your customers is there?

I dont drink tea or coffee and dont even have any teabags in my house, if I called you and was unable to make you a drink does this mean im automatically on your last call list/B list, even though i paid my bill immediatly to you before you left my property.

Personally I dont drink on the job other than a quick swig of water occasionally. Customers are paying for my time to work in their proprty, not for me to be supping their tea and coffee.
Ive never heard such nonsense

 

[HarrogateGas]

"""He says he was there 45 min."""



He should have charged about £80, found the second fault and returned with the replacement correct parts. Had he been given the opportunity then I expect he would have done so.


Tony

Charge me £80 for that and id have knocked ya block off!! Who are you to tell people what they SHOULD have charged? Is it so you can justify your excessive prices in your head?

 

[namsag]

Agile never stops amazing me. How can anyone with there head so far up his own ar#e drink a cup of tea surely it must burn his cheeks.

 

[Agile]

We charge a fixed price for boiler repairs so we can take as long as it takes to do the job properly. One hour or three hours is the same price.

Why should a customer pay for a repair by the hour and end up paying more for an incompetent person who takes two hours to find a fault?

If I have the choice of going next to a friendly customer who welcomes me and offers a cup of tea then thats my next visit!

To put it into perspective almost everyone does offer me a drink. I dont take alcoholic ones either.

Tony