Boiler service - invoice has additional hourly rate?

[Daggerpie]

I've recently has my oil boiler serviced, have used the same company who I've used for several years, it's normally under £100 inc nozzle change/VAT etc

Just has the invoice through and this year it's coming out at £141.00 (basically over 40% increase) for a basic service. I dropped them an email and they've got back to me saying they've had a slight price increase (from £68+vat to £75+vat) which I've got no problem with at all. But, in addition, this year they have charged an additional half hour labour charge (£27.50+vat) on top as he was here for 1hr 25mins total and apparantly that extra 25mins is now chargable on top of their set service cost!

I have double checked the paperwork I received before service (the one that gets me to call to make booking) and sure enough they quote all their set service charges as having a slight increase (now £75.00+vat in my case) but in small print further down it does say "Visits lasting longer than 1 hour may incur an additional charge".

Is this the norm, surely a set price service whether it takes 30mins or 3 hrs is a set price? I don't know how long it takes, in fact, I made him a cup of tea and even have a little chat which annoys me even more!

Any thought gents?

[Daggerpie]

PositronicRay said:

Or send them a tea bill.

You jest, but the whole principle of it annoys me that much that did cross my mind!

I wanted to check peoples opinions first to see if this sort of thing is the normal nowadays or are they just taking the p1$$. I imagine a lot of "older" people would just pay the bill regardless, thats the sort of thing my OAP Mother would do saying "Ohh I don't mind, he was such a lovely man"..

[Daggerpie]

Sheepshanks said:

If these are they guys you call when the boiler breaks down then I guess you don't want to fall out with them!

I'd be miffed if he hadn't made it clear that some extra / unexpected work made it go beyond the standard service charge.

There was no extra work work though, it was just a basic service with no unexpected readings or reports. The boiler is an oil fed Worcester Bosch, positioned in the corner of our garage so normal, easy access etc..

Time taken was pretty much the same as previous years, even by the same friendly guy each time. I'm 99.9% certain this is just a new policy to make a few more £££ on top but a very cheeky way of doing it. I don't want to fall out with them over £41.00 but it's just the principle that annoys me the most. Had I known it would have been £141.00 I would have got someone else to do it.

In car terms, it's like taking a Ford Focus to your local garage that you've used for years for their set price £99.00 basic oil/filter change then getting charged £141.00, Garage turns around and says "Ahhh, it's a new policy, it took slightly longer than it does on a Fiesta hence why we charge more...it says in the small print even though we've never done it before".

[Daggerpie]

guindilias said:

Did you hear the hoover running for over an hour? Standard boiler service cost here is £50 plus the cost of the nozzle if he bothers to change it. Domestic oil boilers just do not need serviced yearly. Every 2, even 3 or 5 years is fine.

Thats interesting to know, I just checked the x3 Danfoss nozzles that have been taken out over the last 3 years servicing, I don't know exactly what I looking for but apart from the fuel smell, they actually all look pretty much brand new!

[Daggerpie]

sospan said:

Have the company said why it took an extra 25 mins?
How long were previous services taking?
If longer than previous services then what caused the extra time?
Was the service an extended one due after a set age, as with cars requiring major/minor services?
If you are satisfied with the answers then pay them. If not, say so and see what response you get.

As mentioned above, they've always taken pretty much the same time (approx 1.5hrs max), no extra work this time and never had any extra charges before, always been the same guy also. I've just dug out some old paperwork from them and there has never been any mention of this extra hourly charge before, it's only mentioned in this new paperwork.

Obviously a new thing but is it ethical is my question or just a blatant rip off hoping people don't notice. I totally understand if it's repair work based on an hourly rate, it's not though, it's just a basic service (to what was/is a perfectly healthy boiler) with this new "add on" to their set service costs.

[Daggerpie]

Thanks for the feedback gents, I wasn't expecting it to get into such a heated debate.

Just to confirm to those in the know - it's a Worcester Bosch G-Star Camray 18/25 boiler. Easy access in our garage and on his report all boxes ticked OK and notes say " Replaced nozzle, Flexi hose OK, boiler in good working order". Engineer was here for a grand total of 1 hr 25mins (pretty much the same time as he always has been for last few years).

1 - Price increase from £68.00 +VAT to £75.00+VAT (no problem!)
2 - Nozzle charged at £15.00 +VAT (no problem)
3 - The fact his service time has gone over an hour by 25mins (like it always has) - £27.50+VAT (PROBLEM!)

Like I say, I'm happy with the first 2 but I feel this additional number 3 is taking the p1$$..

[Daggerpie]

Hi guys, just an update, I have have finally had an email response regarding my oil fed boiler service bill query (and why they have charged me half hour labour ON TOP of their set service cost). Get a load of this, bearing in mind the last 3 services that he mentions have always been fine, no issues or advisories and nozzles they have changed have practically been spotless. So you could say, it's not been a "dirty" boiler like he quotes.

"Thankyou for your email, sorry its taken a while to come back to you,

We have found out that oil companies are putting additives in their fuel and we are finding more and more boilers are getting dirtier and dirtier between services. Some of these services are taking 1.5 hours to 2 hours. As we are finding this more and more, we have put a note on the service letter that some boilers may incur a labour charge if this is the result. We though this was a fair way as some boilers are fine year on year.

Doing it this way meant only the customers that have the dirtier boilers would have to pay more labour, rather than look at raising the price across the board.

The last 3 years your boiler has took longer than the usual time we set aside for a boiler service which is 1 hour. The last three services have taken 1 hr 30 mins. I see that we have charged you 1/2 hour labour charge which is the part you are querying.

We have held our prices for the last 14 years and only made a small increase this year to the usual standard costs. The invoice we have done we believe to be fair and we have done this for other customers as well. After saying this we would like to rectify this with yourselves to carry on a good working relationship with you."



So guys, what do you reckon?

Edited by Daggerpie on Friday 8th January 14:13

[Daggerpie]

Chipstick said:

You appear to have left off the details of how they are going to rectify it. Are they going to take off the additional half hour this year?

That was it, I'm presuming they have left the ball in my court so possibly yes. I'm more than happy to pay they set service cost (like I have done for several years) but I'm just seeking some feedback from you guys about the explanation of this new "extra"? Also, it seems I have now somehow come into the category of "dirty boiler, hence why it has taken so long" category which is odd as he was here for the same time he always has and it's always been a clean boiler, nozzle he replaced was always clean, always run on premium fuel etc..

I could understand if it was genuinely a problem boiler/ dirty etc and he was here longer than normal, but the fact is....it isn't and he wasn't lol!!

I think I might just offer to pay the bill (minus his cheeky half hour extra) based on the fact I will no longer use them again.

[Daggerpie]

MJNewton said:

Sounds reasonable to me. More than reasonable fact - a very thorough explanation.

(I am assuming they were indeed there for over an hour as stated)

Edited by MJNewton on Friday 8th January 14:28

It's a good explanation but makes no sense in my case as service took no longer than previous years.

Take it in car terms, the guy you have been using for valeting your car for a number of years suddenly charges you 40% more and his explanation is because he has to charge more for extra dirty cars. Fair enough, but the car you gave him to valet was practically spotless to start with, in fact probably didn't even need a valet to start with. Do you see what i mean?

Edited by Daggerpie on Friday 8th January 15:14

[Daggerpie]

TwistingMyMelon said:

Blimey really?

Seems a fair explanation

I guess this can be filed under "trades should still be charging what they did in 1998"

Edited by TwistingMyMelon on Friday 8th January 15:31

And your reply should be filed under "I obviously haven't read the thread but I'll make an unhelpful comment anyway".

Seriously, please tell me how this explanation even applies to my circumstances?

[Daggerpie]

The accent from her in Ronin said:

Oil companies putting additives in the oil that makes the boiler dirtier - that is balls. If the boiler was dirty that is fair enough (but they should have told you), but why is he lying to you about the additive bit? He knows it isn't true, so why is he telling you that?

Thank you, that is exactly what I was thinking but wanted to check. They are obviously feeling the pinch like everyone else and I'm sure a vast amount of people wouldn't even query it.

I was actually in 2 minds about getting it serviced anyway but it was them that pro actively contacted me to remind me it was coming up to it's yearly service...I wonder why???!!

[Daggerpie]

ST12AT said:

The additional charge is absolutely fine in my eyes and his explanation as to why is also absolutely fine.

However, claiming it took 1.5 hours when it only took 1 hour is absolutely not fine.

Oil companies to put additives in but that’s another story, it wouldn’t be at the cost of 30 minutes more servicing time though....

You're getting confused, he was there for nearly 1.5hrs, just like he was the same time last year and the year before. All 3 years services (same friendly engineer) he has always quoted boiler absolutely fine, no probs, changes nozzle, gives me the old one (which looks brand new anyway) and gives me the test sheet to show it. We always have a little natter, cup of tea etc...all good.

It is only now I have been hit with this additional charge (yes, yes, I know its only £40.00) to apparantly cover this extra time for dirty boilers caused by dodgy additives. I totally understand the explanation of the charge but just cannot get my head around why it is applicable to me, it has taken exactly the same time as previous years and not a mention of a dirty or clogged boiler on service sheet or verbally, in fact, always quite the opposite.

I think I'll offer to pay service cost and have done with it. Goodbye and use someone else for next service.