Do you feel sorry for ripped-off customer?

[MeldrewsMate]

Today I went to see a new customer, complaining that the boiler would overheat following replacement of two loft tanks (CWS and F&E). She said water had been coming through the upstairs ceiling, so she called an emergency plumbing company in via Trust-a Trader.

The boiler was overheating simply because the tank fitter(s) had not bled air from the system following the F&E tank replacement....so an easy and quick repair for me to do; in ten minutes the hot water and heating system up and running as it should and, luckily, the circulating pump had not seized/burnt-out.

Then she told me how much she'd paid for the replacement tanks.....just short of £4000!!!
That's about £250 worth of materials, a day's work (for two?), and lots and lots of profit. I was gob-smacked.

To cap it all they'd tried to sell her a new boiler too. To be fair the present one is a Potty Netaheat Profile which must be 45 years old....but it still rattles on, so no urgency.
And the price they quoted? £8000.

How do these people sleep at night? Even BG aren't that greedy.

Caveat emptor

 

[Koolpc]

Today I went to see a new customer, complaining that the boiler would overheat following replacement of two loft tanks (CWS and F&E). She said water had been coming through the upstairs ceiling, so she called an emergency plumbing company in via Trust-a Trader.

The boiler was overheating simply because the tank fitter(s) had not bled air from the system following the F&E tank replacement....so an easy and quick repair for me to do; in ten minutes the hot water and heating system up and running as it should and, luckily, the circulating pump had not seized/burnt-out.

Then she told me how much she'd paid for the replacement tanks.....just short of £4000!!!
That's about £250 worth of materials, a day's work (for two?), and lots and lots of profit. I was gob-smacked.

To cap it all they'd tried to sell her a new boiler too. To be fair the present one is a Potty Netaheat Profile which must be 45 years old....but it still rattles on, so no urgency.
And the price they quoted? £8000.

How do these people sleep at night? Even BG aren't that greedy.

Caveat emptor

Anf you charged her £2k for a ten min job!!

 

[securespark]

I had a boiler replaced under a grant scheme.

While there's nothing inherently wrong with their installation of it, it replaced a gravity system where the boiler was under the stairs and the cylinder above it, upstairs.

The new boiler went in the garage, and the way they connected it up means that the hot water follows the old pipe route, so it takes ages before we get hot water.

Despite the fact that the boiler is now only 2m in potential pipe runs from the boiler, the ensuite 9m, and the bathroom 12m, although the bathroom shower is longer as it goes up into the loft then back down.

 

[chirpychippy]

No I don't feel sorry for people that are overcharged, it does really annoy me though.

In todays day and age there are plenty of resources available to fathom what a trade should be charging for a job, and there is the option to get as many quotes as you want to clarify what the average costs could be.

Checkatrade, Trustatrader, my Builder or just type plumber or "whichever trade" into Google, read the reviews get quotes.

I break my quotes down, not to the nth degree but just enough to present transparency and try and build trust by showing what things cost. My labour rate is non negotiable because it's honest and fair.

But overcharging happens, the scumbags get away with it partly because of the naivety or laziness of the customer or the trades person can become aggressive and threatening. They should be hung out to dry.

 

[JP_]

In todays day and age there are plenty of resources available to fathom what a trade should be charging for a job, and there is the option to get as many quotes as you want to clarify what the average costs could be.

Many people can't easily decipher this though. Last I read, about half of over 70s are still not online. Also, the average reading age for elderly people is about aged 9, which makes it hard to research these things. And many become isolated, and very trusting of people from places like "Trust a Trader".

There's no easy answer really. We've built a society that isolates the elderly and impoverishes everbody.

 

[chirpychippy]

Many people can't easily decipher this though. Last I read, about half of over 70s are still not online. Also, the average reading age for elderly people is about aged 9, which makes it hard to research these things. And many become isolated, and very trusting of people from places like "Trust a Trader".

There's no easy answer really. We've built a society that isolates the elderly and impoverishes everbody.

The elderly part i agree with, the elderly are easily coerced "or atleast some of them" clearly are.

I have alot of respect for the elderly, i don't like to hear that they have been ripped off, it pi55es me right off.

About 10 years ago I was contacted about a poorly fitted kitchen for an aging couple. I advised it would need to be removed and refitted and the electrical works looked unsafe, they advised they had reservations about the electrics as their consumer unit kept tripping. Price agreed, took the kitchen out, they had an Aga with a Stainless steel splashback, all brand new, I pulled the backslash off and behind it was a 10mm cable held together with insulation tape, the live was bare.

Power off, electrician called, i was seething, I asked for the address of the bloke that fitted it, I wanted to become very violent with him.

Alas, they wouldn't give me his address - shame.

Kitchen finished, electrics safe, i charged £500 for four days work, i was gutted for them having to go through that ordeal.

I suppose I did feel sorry for them.

 

[robinbanks]

There's no easy answer really.

A government/regulatory type department/body said old person can check with?

Heck I'm sure that going along to Citizens' Advice with a "I'm old and uncertain, I've been quoted 4000 to replace a water tank? Does it sound reasonable?" would produce a result. Even if the CAB person is a completely clueless type whose only appreciable skill is the speed with which their thumbs can tap a screen, they can ask ChatGPT;

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

There's no easy answer really. We've built a society that isolates the elderly and impoverishes everbody.

The way the cost of everything rises, it can even be difficult for the best of us to understand the value of money, and the cost of things. Many of these type of jobs are done so rarely, that the customer simply will not have a clue as to likely cost. Old, and infirm, they may simply want the job done, and out of the way.

 

[JP_]

A government/regulatory type department/body said old person can check with?

Heck I'm sure that going along to Citizens' Advice with a "I'm old and uncertain, I've been quoted 4000 to replace a water tank? Does it sound reasonable?" would produce a result. Even if the CAB person is a completely clueless type whose only appreciable skill is the speed with which their thumbs can tap a screen, they can ask ChatGPT;

View attachment 392516

Yeah, but somebody needs to be savvy enough to suspect it's not a good deal to start with. Elderly people are often tricked, told tales etc. Heck, I'm young, and heard tradesmen say some crazy things, obviously to test if I'm easy target or not. 3 spring to mind:

1. we introduced block paving to the Uk - trying to sell me the idea of ripping out my perfectly good tarmac drive
2. this part alone costs us over £100 - a bit of plastic waste, I said "more like twenty tops" and they laughed it off
3. (this was directed to my wife) -how long have you lived here? oh, well, 10 years ago we did this job on your house... (why ask if it was for us then!).

I'm sure some of you know the tactic that others use to see how gullible a customer is.

 

[johnny2007]

A bodgers dressed as a roofer conned my neighbour of £4k to replace felt on her flat roof.
His quote said he was stripping the roof to the joists and rebuild it.
In reality he laid new shed felt on existing one!
He then asked for another £2k to replace the perfectly fine lead (4 metre linear); that's when my neighbour called me.
I went over and this vagrant wearing an ankle bracelet said that 4 metre of lead cost £1500 and takes 2 days to install.
I went up the ladder, saw what he was doing with the felt and kicked him out of there.
My neighbour later told me he'd already paid him.
Good thing was that we knew his name, so we reported him to the police and found out he was on probation for...fraud.
Seriously, I would've loved to meet him again to have a quiet word with him.

 

[MeldrewsMate]

A government/regulatory type department/body said old person can check with?

Heck I'm sure that going along to Citizens' Advice with a "I'm old and uncertain, I've been quoted 4000 to replace a water tank? Does it sound reasonable?" would produce a result. Even if the CAB person is a completely clueless type whose only appreciable skill is the speed with which their thumbs can tap a screen, they can ask ChatGPT;

Unfortunately the real world isn't that straightforward. If you'd tried to see Citizen's Advice you would have had to phone a number, leave a message, and possibly get an appointment for a return call several days hence.
Put that into the context of 'water is pi55ing through my ceiling, and you can see how these 'Trust a Checker-Trade' types get their foot in the door.

 

[FiremanT]

No I don't feel sorry for people that are overcharged, it does really annoy me though.

In todays day and age there are plenty of resources available to fathom what a trade should be charging for a job, and there is the option to get as many quotes as you want to clarify what the average costs could be.

Checkatrade, Trustatrader, my Builder or just type plumber or "whichever trade" into Google, read the reviews get quotes.

I break my quotes down, not to the nth degree but just enough to present transparency and try and build trust by showing what things cost. My labour rate is non negotiable because it's honest and fair.

But overcharging happens, the scumbags get away with it partly because of the naivety or laziness of the customer or the trades person can become aggressive and threatening. They should be hung out to dry.

And yet when the punter has the audacity to query an invoice or quote, everyone bangs on about "not paying for time, but experience" (why should a pinter pay you for work done and paid for 20 yeeras ago?) , and makes a list of overheads! (most of which are applicable to most business, and the VAT/Tax is always overstated or misrepresented).

 

[Mustey]

Yes.
I feel genuinely and deeply sad about every injustice I come across. It's a character defect.

I guess, if the customer is really rich and they get the job done extremely well, I would feel fine with them getting charged a lot of money.

Don't get me wrong - I really appreciate the time and effort that top-tradesmen provide. I've had the pleasure of dealing with a few and I squeezed my other expenses to be able to afford them (and looking back many years it was absolutely the right call!) but there's a limit to how much can be charged without it being a clear case of milking someone who is unable to take care of their finances.

 

[robinbanks]

Unfortunately the real world isn't that straightforward.

Appreciate that, but something can always be done.
Old person can subscribe to Which? and phone them for advice. Perhaps CAB needs to be better funded, maybe paid for by old people who would rather subscribe a little and save a large amount disappearing from their bank unnecessarily

 

[PEDANTICVINDICTIVEMAN]

Maybe start looking at solicitors lawyers estate agent fees whilst looking at the building trade