When you need a tradesperson to pop round and do an urgent job, it can be difficult to find someone to do it quickly at the right price. So, many people take what they can get.
That’s not great, is it? In an ideal world we would be able to call on a trusted trader who would do a bang-up job and charge a fair price. In the real world, we often have to rely on someone we’ve found online and the price they charge is not always clear.
Let’s face it, many tradespeople don’t help themselves by being unclear about charges – the most common complaints are expensive unjustified call-out fees and elastic timing.
I’ve had many plumbers, electricians and roofers visit my home to do small jobs and, on many occasions, I’ve been left with the feeling I’ve been stung by overcharging.
That’s what happened to reader SM of Bromley in Kent. When there was a blockage in her kitchen sink, she found a company called London Drains Direct, which quoted just £20 for half an hour for hand tools and £78 per half hour if its engineer needed to use a machine.
She thought that seemed reasonable, so booked an engineer to come around.
SM takes up the story: “The engineer came out, talked about what he would do, then went to his vehicle to get his machine and tools and started working. My husband noted the work did not actually begin until 15:30 and went to check on the engineer at 16:00, who at this point had said he had finished.
“The engineer then put all his tools away in his vehicle and then filled out the invoice, which reported that the engineer arrived on site at 15:18 and finished at 16:10. My husband questioned the timings on the invoice as it did not match how long the work actually took.”
And here’s the crux of the issue: SM reckons she should only pay for the time worked, so £78 for half an hour, but was charged an extra £78, for the time the engineer was on site.
When she complained to the firm, she was told that it was “quite standard to charge from arrival time on site”.
That didn’t please her. She told Moneywise: “We are happy to pay for the work that was done but we felt that we have been misled and taken advantage of by this company.
OUTCOME: London Drains Direct agrees to be clearer about its charging
Section
Free Tag
Related stories
Source Moneywise http://ift.tt/2ibPztb
ليست هناك تعليقات:
إرسال تعليق