Ballcock bill - About right or not?
Discussion
Could I have an opinion from any PH Plumbers out there please?
The hot water stopped running out of the taps at my parents place on Thursday, so they phone the plumber they normally use. He's booked all day Friday, so arranges to visit Saturday 10am.
Had my mother spoken to me before booking him and given me a fuller description of the problem, other than 'the hot water's stopped working' then I'd have gone round to take a look, but I've been quite busy this week so she didn't want to bother me and went ahead and called the plumber anyway.
My parents are around 90 years old, and I happened to be visiting them when he arrived. They have the step ladder ready for him, loft hatch open and light on.Turns out the ballcock is stuck in the up position, preventing the header tank filling properly, because someone in the past has used a nail instead of a split pin to secure the ballcock arm to the valve body, and it's gone rusty. Now if it were me, I'd have replaced the nail with a split pin in situ, 10 minute job, 10p for the pin.
Ah no, apparently the assembly is illegal because the water should come out of the valve from the top as an anti-syphoning feature. So he fits a complete new assembly. 24 minutes from his arrival he's replaced the part and is on his way, along with a cheque for £65. Would this be about right for the simple job involved? Seems a bit steep to me.
Thanks in advance.
The hot water stopped running out of the taps at my parents place on Thursday, so they phone the plumber they normally use. He's booked all day Friday, so arranges to visit Saturday 10am.
Had my mother spoken to me before booking him and given me a fuller description of the problem, other than 'the hot water's stopped working' then I'd have gone round to take a look, but I've been quite busy this week so she didn't want to bother me and went ahead and called the plumber anyway.
My parents are around 90 years old, and I happened to be visiting them when he arrived. They have the step ladder ready for him, loft hatch open and light on.Turns out the ballcock is stuck in the up position, preventing the header tank filling properly, because someone in the past has used a nail instead of a split pin to secure the ballcock arm to the valve body, and it's gone rusty. Now if it were me, I'd have replaced the nail with a split pin in situ, 10 minute job, 10p for the pin.
Ah no, apparently the assembly is illegal because the water should come out of the valve from the top as an anti-syphoning feature. So he fits a complete new assembly. 24 minutes from his arrival he's replaced the part and is on his way, along with a cheque for £65. Would this be about right for the simple job involved? Seems a bit steep to me.
Thanks in advance.
I don't think it is that bad. Its arguable whether he needed to replace the whole assembly, on the other hand its possible that if he hadn't another part of it would have failed in a while, and therefore replacing the whole unit may save money in the long term.
Take £65 deduct VAT and we get to £55, take off £10 and we get to £45. Now it was 25 minutes work, but probably 15 minutes each way travel time, so probably an hour all up. Then there is mileage. To be honest doesn't sound too bad to me. Yes it might have been possible to find someone cheaper, but it would also have been possible to find someone that chanrged a lot more.
Be interesting to see what the new AA Handyman service would charge!
Take £65 deduct VAT and we get to £55, take off £10 and we get to £45. Now it was 25 minutes work, but probably 15 minutes each way travel time, so probably an hour all up. Then there is mileage. To be honest doesn't sound too bad to me. Yes it might have been possible to find someone cheaper, but it would also have been possible to find someone that chanrged a lot more.
Be interesting to see what the new AA Handyman service would charge!
Well, let's say I did it myself. So I go up to the loft, think "need a new screw", come back down, into garage, hunt through bits and pieces,can't find a screw that will fit. Go back into loft, work out what I need, drive to B&Q (15 minutes drive + petrol cost), find a parking space (it's the weekend), hunt around for a screw, queue up (it's the weekend), queue to exit B&Q (it's the weekend, 10 minutes plus petrol cost), drive home (15 minutes + petrol cost), get back in loft, do swap. So maybe 90 minutes worth of effort plus I'm sweaty and dirty. And that's assuming I don't break assembly that the screw has rusted itself to. Add another 90 minutes of arsing about if I do break the assembly.
I'm not poor so I'll pay someone £50-60 to fix the issue.
The annoying thing about wasting such time and effort is that it was working, it isn't now, so you fix it and it is. You've gained nothing. I'd rather pay and pretend it never happened.
I'm not poor so I'll pay someone £50-60 to fix the issue.
The annoying thing about wasting such time and effort is that it was working, it isn't now, so you fix it and it is. You've gained nothing. I'd rather pay and pretend it never happened.
Edited by ShadownINja on Sunday 28th February 18:26
pacman1 said:
Would this be about right for the simple job involved? Seems a bit steep to me.
I'd be happy if one of the (several) old people we're involved with was charged that. Apart from anything else, they've all got far, far more money than they know what to do with - it's almost a joy if we can find something they can spend it on!Don't compare the plumbers hourly rate to your own - other have made good points, plus he's got the overheads of running his business, his van etc etc.
Deva Link said:
pacman1 said:
Would this be about right for the simple job involved? Seems a bit steep to me.
I'd be happy if one of the (several) old people we're involved with was charged that. Apart from anything else, they've all got far, far more money than they know what to do with - it's almost a joy if we can find something they can spend it on!Ferg said:
Part 2 Ballvalve = less than £5
Fitting = 15 mins MAX.
Is the bloke fed up with her custom?
Makes you wonder, doesn't it? He certainly missed an opportunity to impress me. It wasn't my parent's fault they had to wait for him to arrive until Saturday. Fitting = 15 mins MAX.
Is the bloke fed up with her custom?
I just got the feeling he was happy to charge 'em top dollar since he knew that because of their age and previous dealings, they were unlikely to argue the toss or haggle the bill. Even if this is the going rate in the trade, given the simplicity of the fix, let's just say it's unlikey that either of us are likely to use his services in the future.
If another plumber charges the same, or even cost a bit more in future, well, that'll be fine. The important point is he will no longer be able to rely on my parent's custom, nor will he be increasing his customer base with mine.
It's called voting with your feet.
Edited by pacman1 on Sunday 28th February 18:49
seems very reasonable to me ,i work for a major comms company and they charge the service providers £65 just to turn up ,the service providers charge joe public their bit on top which comes to a total of approx £114 .Now this is just for coming out ,if work is required beyond the master socket you are looking at approx £100 /hour plus materials .
puts it into perspective doesn't it .
puts it into perspective doesn't it .
eldar said:
People happily pay £100+ per hour to have their car serviced. £65 to actually fix a problem on a Saturday doesn't seem bad.
Did they get a quote from someone else?
£100/hour car servicing? Great if you can afford it.Did they get a quote from someone else?
Remember, it was only fixed on a Saturday because he couldn't make it on the Friday. Because it was their 'usual' plumber, and at the age they are, no, they didn't get a quote, or shop around like you and I might. He knew this and relied on their repeat custom to charge what he did.
No the reason the job was done on Saturday is your parents viewed it as important enough not to wait for Monday. The price sounds fair enough, for a smallish job then phoning round for other plumbers may not save you anything as the job could be too small for them to be bothered. The whole part may well have needed replacing to meet new or altered rules on plumbing, what you or I can do as a DIY repair may not be legal for a plumber to do, especially as a layman can claim it was like that when I got it.
Gassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff