Mum scammed by heating engineer or not?
- Thread starter Monsoon
- Start date
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Estimates are what they say. ESTIMATES!!
Quotes are a different story.
An estimate can be done via phone if need be, to give a customer a " ball park" figure.
A price given to a customer can only be accurate once you have seen the job. If you feel there may be further issues during the job then it is up to you to see that AND quote for it in the job. There is no harm in over pricing a job and charging them less when it goes better than your worst case scenario.
Estimate is estimate
Quote is quote.
Employ the one that estimates the job and have fun paying the EXTRAS!!!
AND AS ALL THE ABOVE PLUS MYSELF WHAT BOILER ARE WE TALKING ABOUT ?? THAT INFORMATION COULD SAVE YOU ALOT OF HASSLE!!
Quotes are a different story.
An estimate can be done via phone if need be, to give a customer a " ball park" figure.
A price given to a customer can only be accurate once you have seen the job. If you feel there may be further issues during the job then it is up to you to see that AND quote for it in the job. There is no harm in over pricing a job and charging them less when it goes better than your worst case scenario.
Estimate is estimate
Quote is quote.
Employ the one that estimates the job and have fun paying the EXTRAS!!!
AND AS ALL THE ABOVE PLUS MYSELF WHAT BOILER ARE WE TALKING ABOUT ?? THAT INFORMATION COULD SAVE YOU ALOT OF HASSLE!!
The boiler is a Hastead Ace.
5 years old, no problems.
Again, the reason why he could not include the Flue gas test charge, in his initial quote was, (allegedly) according to him, some Hastead Ace's dont have a "Flue sampling point". So that why it *doesnt* automatically form part of his quote.
Perhaps conveniently it also makes an £85 service appear much more competitive at £60 for anyone phoning round for a comparison.
The Halstead literature indicates that a Flue Test is *not* mandatory.
So while the consensus on here seems to be, that any decent heating engineer would include it as standard, he should have at least given my mum the option, before spending *her* pension on *his* extras.
Here is a link to the Halstead Ace manual that comes with the boiler.
http://www.hgdheating.co.uk/downloads/SEBoiler/AceAceHigh Manual.pdf
5 years old, no problems.
Again, the reason why he could not include the Flue gas test charge, in his initial quote was, (allegedly) according to him, some Hastead Ace's dont have a "Flue sampling point". So that why it *doesnt* automatically form part of his quote.
Perhaps conveniently it also makes an £85 service appear much more competitive at £60 for anyone phoning round for a comparison.
The Halstead literature indicates that a Flue Test is *not* mandatory.
So while the consensus on here seems to be, that any decent heating engineer would include it as standard, he should have at least given my mum the option, before spending *her* pension on *his* extras.
Here is a link to the Halstead Ace manual that comes with the boiler.
http://www.hgdheating.co.uk/downloads/SEBoiler/AceAceHigh Manual.pdf
I
idealnumber1
if the boiler has been serviced properly then you get what you pay for,personally i think £85.00 is a bit steep but it probably depends what area of the country you live
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An often repeated cliché, I cannot see this collection of words has any meaning. Can you explain?
We do seem to be having to do hard work to drag out the make of boiler and the part of the country. Both key points in an accurate reply.
Clearly to me this fellow was being intentionally economical with the truth! A good reason to not call him again and perhaps to post his name and locat up on here for others to see.
We are always transparent and quote likely charges before we come.
Unfortunately a person who calls three boiler firms wil go to the one who says " Probably about £60, Madam" and then end up paying him £300!
We charge a fixed price diagnostic fee ( parts obviously extra ) and thats enough to put some people off!
Tony
Clearly to me this fellow was being intentionally economical with the truth! A good reason to not call him again and perhaps to post his name and locat up on here for others to see.
We are always transparent and quote likely charges before we come.
Unfortunately a person who calls three boiler firms wil go to the one who says " Probably about £60, Madam" and then end up paying him £300!
We charge a fixed price diagnostic fee ( parts obviously extra ) and thats enough to put some people off!
Tony
Agreed. I do the same and always take a deposit for ordering a part.
I think the price of £85 +vat for a skilled gas engineer was not extraordinary so why harp on about it? Remember test equipment is not free and has to be maintained so the cost has to be passed onto the customer. I defy anyone to do servicing for £55 and make it worthwhile, ie a profitable company.
I'm sorry but the whole thing sounds a bit sour grapes to me and everyone who has slagged off the original gas engineer probably could charge that if they feel their services are that excellent.
Halstead Ace - 1st person requested the info at +11pm after I had hit the sack and I replied this morning at 7am when I got up.
Bedford - the location was post on the very 1st post
Transparency is key.
If it was the case that *all* Halstead Ace boilers come with a 'flue sampling point' then that would make it more than economical with the truth and a blatent lie.
Perhaps someone on here knows, I can certainly speak to Halstead on Monday and confirm.
Not true!
The reply *wasn't* 'probably', the reply to the question how much to service the Halstead Ace boiler 'That is £60 plus Vat, sir'.
Very clear and simple, no caveats.
I didn't call 3 boiler firms, just the 2 that the manufacturer gave me numbers for.
Both were about the same price, the other fella was booked up for over a week so went with the guy that offered to do the service that week.
As a punter that's what I would expect from a supplier.
If a problem with the boiler is encountered once the 'hood' is up, then I would expect a brief explanation of the problem and a cost for rectifying it and an assessment of it's urgency from a performance/safety point of view.
If new parts are fitted I like the old parts left on-site (really not a problem for a legitimate engineer)
N
namsag
Htgeng, How could anyone not make a profit on 55 quid service let alone one that takes 15 minutes.
To OP simple you have been lied to .
People try and talk a service up to justify stupid price for what is a basic bread and butter job.
To OP simple you have been lied to .
People try and talk a service up to justify stupid price for what is a basic bread and butter job.
I charge a minimum of £55 + VAT a service, if I have a good day I can fit 6 - 8 of these in, especially if the are all close to each other.
I think £330 - £440 a day is a good income, even though other costs have to come out of this amount.
Unfortunately this is not an everyday occurence though
As stated in a previous reply, as this boiler is an atmospheric burner, it does not need a FGA test to set it up, although mostly I carry out one to check nothing has fallen off eg insulation etc and causing flame impingement after I have re-assembled the boiler.
I hope you didnt pay him the extra if he found a problem & had to spend more time OK but the gas analyser is standard kit & if he gave you a price prior to the job then thats all I would pay him .
Did he give you a sheet with the gas pressures on for the burners & input pressures if not then all he did was a gas analysis & not a full gas check then tell him sod off & if he is not happy then trading standards could mediate he will back off .
If he said the job was £150 & you accepted then you have to pay him but he gave you a price you did your bit & payed him.
Did he give you a sheet with the gas pressures on for the burners & input pressures if not then all he did was a gas analysis & not a full gas check then tell him sod off & if he is not happy then trading standards could mediate he will back off .
If he said the job was £150 & you accepted then you have to pay him but he gave you a price you did your bit & payed him.
You raise an interesting point WetandHot,
The only paperwork he left (if you can call it that) was a slip of paper printed out from the FGA.
Additionally, he didn't do anything in the electricity/gas meter cupboard.
On the Halstead service instructions it talks about isolation of the gas and electricity(boiler on own circuit, only point of isolation at CU, not great but thats how it is).
before contacting Trading Standards ...
1) Is it possible to do a legitimate service without isolation?
2) Are there any Halstead Ace boilers manufactured which don't allow him to connect his FGA? His reason for not disclosing the additional cost until after the 'service'
During the phone call after the service, he told me that I had misunderstood him when he said he would carry out a CO Test as part of his standard service.
What he now says is that his standard test is a check of the PCB and on-board diagnostics.
3) Is this a test that he can carry out and does this boiler have an on-board diagnostics that he can even check?
I had a look at the Halstead service procedure and it makes *no* mention of this test.
Thanks again guys for you feedback.
I'm conscious that these thing can turn into a bit of a crusade with very little that I have to gain personally.
That said, if guys like this are allowed to get away with exploiting people like my mum because she is perceived as an easy target then I feel I have a moral obligation to flag this up.
People like this, give the whole industry a bad name and are taking work away from the good guys who just want a fair price for a fair job.
(Gets off soap box
)Blimey......2 whole pages on this!!
OP simple, if you dispute the additional charge cancel or don't send the chq!......it's 25 quid. He certainly won't sue you for it but it sounds to me like you would like to sue him for it! Agree with other posters, he should have made it crystal clear what the total bill would be (subject to additional parts if any). Get over it, post his details here or not, contact trading standards or not (they won't be interested unless the complaints list is a mile long....trust me)...but for goodness sake leave it alone now.
OP simple, if you dispute the additional charge cancel or don't send the chq!......it's 25 quid. He certainly won't sue you for it but it sounds to me like you would like to sue him for it! Agree with other posters, he should have made it crystal clear what the total bill would be (subject to additional parts if any). Get over it, post his details here or not, contact trading standards or not (they won't be interested unless the complaints list is a mile long....trust me)...but for goodness sake leave it alone now.
Its not necessary to do an FGA on your boiler but it does no harm and some engineers prefer to do it anyway.
If the boiler is on the ground floor and the flue outlet is accessible then the FGA can just be pushed up the flue from the outside.
If its a floor or two up then unless there is a balcony thats not going to be possible if there are no test points at the boiler.
Just today, I had a lady from Golder's Green whose husband found our diagnostic fee too high for fixing their non working boiler.
Tony
If the boiler is on the ground floor and the flue outlet is accessible then the FGA can just be pushed up the flue from the outside.
If its a floor or two up then unless there is a balcony thats not going to be possible if there are no test points at the boiler.
Just today, I had a lady from Golder's Green whose husband found our diagnostic fee too high for fixing their non working boiler.
Tony
come on who is it i only live 8 miles away i probably know them
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