Boiler repair quote seems a bit steep

[Agile]

MJN, you seem to have taken over the thread from Boxerman. DP seemed to have thought that you WERE the OP !

Whilst you may agree that its reasonable to pay for a fault diagnosis, Boxerman, the OP, seems to expect me to come and diagnose the fault for free and if that included fixing it then he still thinks that he should not pay me because all I had come for was to give a "free quote".

I act honestly and as far as possible competently.

But I take no responsibility for those who are dishonest ( very few ) and those who are not so competent ( quite a few! ).

If any customer wants me to be treated like or blamed for others inadequacies they thats their problem and I will not work for them.

Tony Glazier

 

[ChrisR]

Too many entrenched positions here, if you ask me.
For £100 or £150, fair enough, people pay.
But I wouldn't take one person's word on a £600 expense, I would want other quotes. I wouldn't buy anything for that price without research!

I'd be asking the guy exactly what the symptoms are, what he thinks is wrong, and write it down and check he agrees you have it right.

Then pay him the call-out, then call someone else with the story and see what they say. Your man has to go and get parts anyway, so it's no skin off his nose to delay until you call.

I've OFFERED that and a few people have accepted, when they were hesitant.

 

[MJN]

MJN, you seem to have taken over the thread from Boxerman. DP seemed to have thought that you WERE the OP !

Ah... there's probably something to be learnt from that... (i.e. I should speak less!)

Whilst you may agree that its reasonable to pay for a fault diagnosis, Boxerman, the OP, seems to expect me to come and diagnose the fault for free and if that included fixing it then he still thinks that he should not pay me because all I had come for was to give a "free quote".

Understand. I think with the length of this thread is what getting difficult to track who's opinion/stance was what.

Mathew

 

[Boxerman]

But the whole problem in this case is that the OP has acted like a cowboy customer and called out three people to each diagnose the problem free of charge when only one will ever get the job. Thats why I always charge for diagnosing faults!

MJN, you seem to have taken over the thread from Boxerman. DP seemed to have thought that you WERE the OP !

Whilst you may agree that its reasonable to pay for a fault diagnosis, Boxerman, the OP, seems to expect me to come and diagnose the fault for free and if that included fixing it then he still thinks that he should not pay me because all I had come for was to give a "free quote".

I act honestly and as far as possible competently.

But I take no responsibility for those who are dishonest ( very few ) and those who are not so competent ( quite a few! ).

If any customer wants me to be treated like or blamed for others inadequacies they thats their problem and I will not work for them.

Actually, I said I've only had one quote and was conscious that getting 2 more plumbers out would be wasting peoples valuable time hence asking the original question if the quote was reasonable or not!!

 

[dreadnoughtheating]

Tony?, how on earth do you carry out repairs to appliances with out a Van to carry what you may need?

I am not trying to compare my small city (Norwich) with London , but its hard enough to carry two toolbags, FGA, paperwork and myself up three flights of stairs having parked my 'very full' van close by, never mind using public transport (or, do you have a team of Sherpa's to assist you, or, use the customers toolbox ) And as for having to then source spare parts..... - no parts suppliers here do hourly delivery runs - that I am aware of anyway

DH

P.S this is not intended to be in any way facetious - I am truly curious

 

[bengasman]

Before you shoot me down in flames, I know my name isn't Tony. Just thought I'd put my tuppence in with regards to the van issue.

I don't have a van, not even an estate, just a largish hatchback. The only times when I need the largish size, is when I bring pipes with me. If I only did repairs, a Focus would be ample.
FGA I use less than once a month, only comes with me when I know it is likely to be use.
1 Standard size toolbox carries more than I need for 90% of repairs.
1 Multitester.
1 Sweat kit.
Handful of spares like a pump, couple of AAV's universal thermocouple etc.

If I only did repairs, a bike with side and top coffer would be enough for virtually any job.

I use the same principle that dumbcentre adopted a couple of years ago; don't keep/bring it, unless you use it daily.

 

[dreadnoughtheating]

Ben, good for you, I guess that its not quite what the punters expect to see if you have never been to theirs before.

Perhaps its like that Bananarama song "its not what you've got, its the way that you do it" that matters.....

I need to go on more manufacturers fault finding courses.....

DH

 

[bengasman]

Tell you what mate, the moment they hear that I don't charge if I can't find the fault, they don't give a monkey's if I turn up in a blue van or in a pink mini. The only thing that counts is that they don't have to worry about whether or not the heating will be back on.

 

[DP]

Must say Tony's replies might not be helpful but they are very entertaining. I look forward to reading what he has to say.

 

[Agile]

First, I go to 90% of repairs with a small hatchback ( 55 mpg ) and I have an estate when I need to take materials for an installation.

Its rare in London to find parking within 50m of the customer.

For the remaining visits I assess the symptoms and carry the expected parts on the tube/bus. That takes away the stress and problems of parking and congestion charging. Some of those visits are for CP12s as I can go anywhere for them.

I use the skills developed from forums to diagnose faults from customers descriptions. For most cases its not difficult to have what is needed most of the time.

Tony

 

[powell30]

I think you will find that replacing the expansion vessel will almost always entail removing the boiler off the wall.......and hence 600 inc vat is not dear.

 

[PEDANTICVINDICTIVEMAN]

Basically it wont matter what you charge some people, it will always be too much, there are people out there who would be quite happy to let you work for nothing, I wont give them the drippings of my nose, never mind any of my time.

 

[MJN]

I think you will find that replacing the expansion vessel will almost always entail removing the boiler off the wall.......and hence 600 inc vat is not dear.

That being the case it would make more sense to fit an external vessel instead.

Mathew

 

[nogoodatfaultfinding]

Lets say the diverter valve can be repaired, I charge £106 for that. It sounds like an instant which will need a storage EXV costing about £85.

But the boiler has to come off the wall in most cases so thats about another £100 if the OP were strong enough to help me with the lift.

So that would make my price about £300 in our local area. Add a rail fare and hotel and that might be another £160 but I should be paid for the travelling time so it would be pushing £600 if I was to come from London to do the job. To cut much off that price I would have to consider it as part of a weekend away which I sometimes will do.

But the whole problem in this case is that the OP has acted like a cowboy customer and called out three people to each diagnose the problem free of charge when only one will ever get the job. Thats why I always charge for diagnosing faults!

Tony Glazier

Lets add it up from the facts then shall we and for best practise for customer.

We know from the facts that the boiler would not need to come off the wall as it is sited in a uninhabited loft space so a second (if even needed) EV could be added.
Divertors for this boiler even if its the instant can be sourced for less than your repair.
we know that a full drain off is not required as boiler is top of the pressure system.

From this we know that there may be 2 parts needed and at most 2 hours labour!!!
Im sure you would be asking the same questions on cost for this job!!!

 

[PEDANTICVINDICTIVEMAN]

This "supposedly" diy forum is fast becoming a joke, it's not a price comparison I'm a clever sod can do it cheaper than everyone else even though I havent seen the job dot con forum