Am I in the right here? Sorry this is a long post.
Over the years have had regular problems with my Heatrae Sadia Megaflo unit dripping through the tundish and out through the overflow and over the years I have had the same heating firm do several jobs to the tank. This has included replacing the pressure relief catridge and valve which have failed twice previously, but they have also replaced the elements and hoovered out the scale at the bottom of the tank. The tank itself seems to be okay.
The firm has just replaced the pressure relief valve for the 3rd time and my gripe relates to their quote. They quoted £120 which I agreed to, £75 labour + £45 part. Half way through the job they said the tank needed to be drained and that would be an extra £55. I said do what needs to be done and I will argue the toss with the boss later as I don't see why the job quote should change half way through the process.
The boss + at least 2 of his employees have done work to the tank & pipework before so know the job well, and on this occasssion although it wasn't the boss who did the work, the boss had been out to see what was needing to be done and the part ordered was down to his diagnosis. The boss was away when one of his employees quoted, but the employee had spoken to him about the job.
I have changed the company and employee names for privacy.
"Hello Ian,
Thank you to your engineer for replacing the pressure relief part.
I have transferred £120 as was quoted to me by Tom but am bemused by the sudden extra £55. This part has previously been replaced 2 times by various members of staff at XYZ Heating, including Tom, so I'm confident everyone concerned knew the work and time involved, and should have quoted accordingly. I understand that Tom spoke to you about the job in the week you were away, so I don't see how there could have been any confusion over job requirements.
I would however completely understand the higher bill if the amount of work involved changed without any possible way of expecting it. As a self employed craftsman who has to stand by their quotes, even when a job takes longer than expected, it seems like XYZ Heating misquoted and rather than taking it on the chin wants me to pay for the error.
I do not like having money gripes and am certainly not trying to wriggle out of paying a bill I know I should be paying (I have had that done to me before and know it's horrible so would never do it to someone else). If you can explain to me why this extra work could not have been foreseen and included in the original quote, I will gladly pay what you feel is owed.
I highly rate XYZ Heating, but cannot afford to foot the bill for someone else's mistake.
Regards"
I expect I'll hear from XYZ Heating on Tuesday after the bank holiday and would appreciate the second opinion of those who know more about plumbing than me. To my mind if you've done the job twice before in one property, you should know what the job entails. Thanks for any advice.
Over the years have had regular problems with my Heatrae Sadia Megaflo unit dripping through the tundish and out through the overflow and over the years I have had the same heating firm do several jobs to the tank. This has included replacing the pressure relief catridge and valve which have failed twice previously, but they have also replaced the elements and hoovered out the scale at the bottom of the tank. The tank itself seems to be okay.
The firm has just replaced the pressure relief valve for the 3rd time and my gripe relates to their quote. They quoted £120 which I agreed to, £75 labour + £45 part. Half way through the job they said the tank needed to be drained and that would be an extra £55. I said do what needs to be done and I will argue the toss with the boss later as I don't see why the job quote should change half way through the process.
The boss + at least 2 of his employees have done work to the tank & pipework before so know the job well, and on this occasssion although it wasn't the boss who did the work, the boss had been out to see what was needing to be done and the part ordered was down to his diagnosis. The boss was away when one of his employees quoted, but the employee had spoken to him about the job.
I have changed the company and employee names for privacy.
"Hello Ian,
Thank you to your engineer for replacing the pressure relief part.
I have transferred £120 as was quoted to me by Tom but am bemused by the sudden extra £55. This part has previously been replaced 2 times by various members of staff at XYZ Heating, including Tom, so I'm confident everyone concerned knew the work and time involved, and should have quoted accordingly. I understand that Tom spoke to you about the job in the week you were away, so I don't see how there could have been any confusion over job requirements.
I would however completely understand the higher bill if the amount of work involved changed without any possible way of expecting it. As a self employed craftsman who has to stand by their quotes, even when a job takes longer than expected, it seems like XYZ Heating misquoted and rather than taking it on the chin wants me to pay for the error.
I do not like having money gripes and am certainly not trying to wriggle out of paying a bill I know I should be paying (I have had that done to me before and know it's horrible so would never do it to someone else). If you can explain to me why this extra work could not have been foreseen and included in the original quote, I will gladly pay what you feel is owed.
I highly rate XYZ Heating, but cannot afford to foot the bill for someone else's mistake.
Regards"
I expect I'll hear from XYZ Heating on Tuesday after the bank holiday and would appreciate the second opinion of those who know more about plumbing than me. To my mind if you've done the job twice before in one property, you should know what the job entails. Thanks for any advice.
