Builder overcharging?

[Erica123]

As said before, how long the job takes down to the minute, is frankly none of the customers business.

Obviously. Why should the customer bother or even know that he pays an inflated hourly rate?

Hire a polish immigrant and put him on an hourly wage where you manage the job start to finish and buy materials yourself. Remember you'll need to pay him to come out and quote the materials for you. It'll probably cost a lot more than £200 to get the same result but at least you'll not feel ripped off.

If the joiner had bought the picture rails, then the 200 Pound would have been absolutely fine, and I would've put an extra 10 or 20 Pound on top. But that wasn't the case.

 

[Erica123]

Customers always hold the Aces because they hold the purse strings.

Apparently not, as you note in your next sentence:

Needless to say this chap doesn't have a leg to stand on, so i'm not to worried, but i'm afraid Erica, you've got it entirely wrong.

If I agree on a price and the job is done properly, I pay that price, even when I realise that I'm paying a massively inflated rate. That's tough, so to speak, as I'm not in a position to estimate in advance how high the payment should really be. The workman however, has this experience, so it's up to him to decide if he wants to be honest or not.

 

[cajar]

As said before, how long the job takes down to the minute, is frankly none of the customers business.

Obviously. Why should the customer bother or even know that he pays an inflated hourly rate?

What about a tradesman who spends a lot of effort and time perfecting his technique to work faster? or buys special kit to save time? You are creating a disincentive to perfect techniques or invest in tools. For example a plumber using a pipe freezing kit to move a radiator without draining and refilling the whole system? It would be ludicrous that a customer would be more satisfied seeing someone take all day to do a 4 hour job as long as the hours add up to an hourly rate they perceive to be fair. I'd say the rogue is the guy who strings the job out. The answer is surely to get 3 quotes and decide yourself if it's value for money.

 

[Erica123]

Whether it's value for money or not only becomes apparent afterwards. And who would string a job out when the price has been agreed on?

If a workman uses latest technology to do his job faster and more efficiently, then he can (and should) charge less for the labour. On the other hand, I'm happy to pay extra for the machines or the materials needed to do this.

 

[HERTS P&D]

A price is a price!

If I do a job quicker, do I knock money off the price?

Or

If it takes me a lot longer, will the customer pay me more money?

The answer to both questions is NO!

Andy

 

[gregers]

if the tradesman invests in specialist kit to make his job easier,and make the job quicker for themselves why would it become cheaper for the customer?
if i was to hang a door and use the old method of using a jack plane no doubt it would take me A LOT LONGER then using an electric plane,i would still work the job out accordingly for both methods,in the long run within said quote will be a surcharge for the tools used.

 

[cajar]

Whether it's value for money or not only becomes apparent afterwards. And who would string a job out when the price has been agreed on?

If a workman uses latest technology to do his job faster and more efficiently, then he can (and should) charge less for the labour. On the other hand, I'm happy to pay extra for the machines or the materials needed to do this.

I think that would get more objections than anything else - imagine getting a bill itemised with use of sharper saws or time spent practicing fishing a cable out a wall in 2009.

You're better to just get 3 quotes for the end product to satisfy yourself that you're paying the going rate, rather than sit down and try to work out how much you think he's getting per hour and getting annoyed about that. How much time do office staff waste chatting about soaps, making tea, fiddling with jewelry, planning holidays, texting friends etc and they get paid every hour they're there regardless.

 

[Erica123]

A price is a price!

If I do a job quicker, do I knock money off the price?

Or

If it takes me a lot longer, will the customer pay me more money?

The answer to both questions is NO!

Andy

Obviously. The price quoted should be appropriate to the amount of labour required. Not more and not less.

 

[Erica123]

if the tradesman invests in specialist kit to make his job easier,and make the job quicker for themselves why would it become cheaper for the customer?
if i was to hang a door and use the old method of using a jack plane no doubt it would take me A LOT LONGER then using an electric plane,i would still work the job out accordingly for both methods,in the long run within said quote will be a surcharge for the tools used.

Of course, if tradesmen use modern technology to make jobs easier for themselves, then customers should also profit from this. In the same way as we all profit from advances that continue making things better and cheaper (modern PCs, mobile phones, housing, clothing etc. etc.)

 

[gregers]

this is where the customer needs to conduct there research.
hence why within these forums EVERYONE advises the 3 quote rule.
this then allows the potential customer the ability to choose the right quote for the price they are willing to pay.
if i for example was to quote for a door to be hung and i said its going to take 3 days then in reality thats down to you to either accept that quote or be free to seek others to see whether i was reasonable or not.
there are always rogues out there in any occupation.

ive recently had a new exhaust on my car,1st place i phoned were going to charge me around 290 quid.now if i was willing to pay that then so be it.
i wasnt,so got on the phone and got it done for £100 cheaper.
now thats the power i had by using my initiative by gaining other quotes.this in turn then keeps my hard earned in my pocket.
now days it a lot easier to do your research with the web.using forums like this to educate oneself.this in turn hopefully keeps the rogues on there toes and stops customers being ripped off by unscrupulous people trying to charge stupid amounts for simple jobs,its a 2 way street.everyone then should be happy.

 

[Erica123]

As you will be aware, finding a tradesman is not as easy as finding a garage. It's a minefield, and it can take a lot of time, patience and effort to find someone who's reasonably competent, trustworthy AND available. If you do get several quotes and you opt for the cheapest, you still don't know if this was a good decision before the job is completed. Often you have to rely on your "gut feeling", however reliable that is, and hope that you won't get ripped off.

 

[Erica123]

You're better to just get 3 quotes for the end product to satisfy yourself that you're paying the going rate, rather than sit down and try to work out how much you think he's getting per hour and getting annoyed about that. How much time do office staff waste chatting about soaps, making tea, fiddling with jewelry, planning holidays, texting friends etc and they get paid every hour they're there regardless.

Those lower ranking office employees earn a fraction of the hourly rate of a tradesman.

 

[noseall]

as long as he could diddle the 200 GBP out of you.

£200?

Yes, 200 Pound.

Should he have done the job for free then?

 

[noseall]

Those lower ranking office employees earn a fraction of the hourly rate of a tradesman.

How do you know?

If that was the only job he did that week then his hourly rate is diabolical and won't buy the kids a tin of beans.

Quite frankly Ureka you not only don't have a clue what it is like to be a jobbing tradesman but you are also talking out of your jacksy.

 

[wrightwoodwork]

To me the price seems a fair price for a days work be allowed for. He did what was asked within the agreed price didn't start making up extra jobs and charging double. OK he was there a shorter time than you expected still don't change the price. If he had taken twice as long as he allowed for and still only charged £200 you wouldn't be complaining. Like other have said get 3 prices if I was for example pricing to fit doors I would give a price per door now if it took 1 day or 5 days you would still be charged the same. As long as he turned up when he said did the job to a satisfactory standard and left the job neat and tidy I don't think there's much to complain about