- Reaction score
- 10,210
Background .. my sis has just rented her old house out and she has a contract with whitegates to ensure all is ok and working before new tenants come in..well it was found the bath taps had seized up and as part of her contract with whitegates they get out a plumber in such cases for free.. but it is only in the sense of repairing leaks or reporting the issue that needs addressing... well i live over the road and the plumbing/drain company in a recognisable illuminous orange van turned up ...this was all free with her contract, he quickly identified the issue the taps had corroded with one been siezed and the other low flow rate to bbot..so far so good...
Then he calls me over as i was calling the shots for my sister and said thats as far as his callout can go and the actual parts and repairs if needed would be subject to charge to my sister so i said ok we need two new bath taps then is that all...yes and that will sort the issue out, i have no issue with is diagnosis as what he found was correct and indeed replacement taps needed so i said if you do the repair can you give me a quote for the work and ill contact y sister to confirm...
...'about £200 mate!'
I said you what £200 quid when you already on site and callout payed for with the contract we had, i said its 2 bath taps to replace so where's the charge ... he said nothing he can do he's told what to charge for his time and materials...
so i said with all due respect its a big NO! ill go to local plumbing yard pick a set up and fit them myself ....oh! ok then please sign here for the callout and he went pretty sharpish..
£15 quid for 2 taps and 30mins to fit i prchased them from a shop 500yrds up the road now at that tim and materials i would be ripping my sis off if i charged £50 quid never mind £200.
I wont mention the company by name but they arrived in a big illuminous orange van and do drainage, plumbing etc callouts and emergency responses...oh! and they were on watchdog the other year regarding their money grabbing tactics and time wasting on site to make extra money..... same old same old not supprised some elderly get ripped off at them rates which i estimate at between £180 and £300 quid an hour judging from my time to do the job with parts included.
Then he calls me over as i was calling the shots for my sister and said thats as far as his callout can go and the actual parts and repairs if needed would be subject to charge to my sister so i said ok we need two new bath taps then is that all...yes and that will sort the issue out, i have no issue with is diagnosis as what he found was correct and indeed replacement taps needed so i said if you do the repair can you give me a quote for the work and ill contact y sister to confirm...
...'about £200 mate!'
I said you what £200 quid when you already on site and callout payed for with the contract we had, i said its 2 bath taps to replace so where's the charge ... he said nothing he can do he's told what to charge for his time and materials...
so i said with all due respect its a big NO! ill go to local plumbing yard pick a set up and fit them myself ....oh! ok then please sign here for the callout and he went pretty sharpish..
£15 quid for 2 taps and 30mins to fit i prchased them from a shop 500yrds up the road now at that tim and materials i would be ripping my sis off if i charged £50 quid never mind £200.
I wont mention the company by name but they arrived in a big illuminous orange van and do drainage, plumbing etc callouts and emergency responses...oh! and they were on watchdog the other year regarding their money grabbing tactics and time wasting on site to make extra money..... same old same old not supprised some elderly get ripped off at them rates which i estimate at between £180 and £300 quid an hour judging from my time to do the job with parts included.
