Is this a possible Ripoff?

[LondonKaren]

Hello

I hope someone can please help me, I have a problem with my Ferroli boiler and I called a company out to look at it. I had no hot water or central heating for 1 week and for the past few years it has played up but always sorted itself out. I paid the £70 call out charge and was told it would cost £250 to put in new sensors. I paid for this.

The guy was with me for 10 mins on the call out and said it needs new sensors. He has fitted it yesterday and the problem is still there. The boiler turns on and off at its will. I was called today and told that it most probably needs a PCB ignition board (?) I am unable to pay for more repairs and I feel I was ripped off because if he had told me exactly what was wrong I could have looked at a payment plan and purchased a new boiler. He said that until you fix the sensors you will not be able to know the fault. Is this true??

I am new to this and suddenly I am reading as much as I can on forum.

 

[Agile]

The sensors cost less than £20 each. They take about 15 min to fit.

In my view you were overcharged!

BUT the £70 callout charge is somewhat less than we charge. I expect you are one of the many we get calling to ask how much we charge to fix a boiler. You were probably seduced by a low callout charge and then seriously overcharged for fitting parts which did not even cure the problem.

The resistance can be measured although as they fail regularly on many Ferollis many would change them on spec and when charged at the real costs thats not such a bad thing to do.

Tony

 

[LondonKaren]

Thanks for your post Tony,
I was not seduced by the low call out charge because I have no idea how much a call out would cost.
Thanks for letting me know that I was over charged. they said that the sensors cost £60 each and they fitted 2. I was then charged £95 for labour and then VAT on top.

What has made me very upset is the fact that I was charged for something and then called once fitted and told "actually, you need to pay a lot more because this is the real fault" Surely that is not fair??? What do you think???

 

[Agile]

British Gas do a fixed price boiler repair for about £180.

With expensive parts we cannot even match their price.

To put it in perspective we wouod have charged about £120 to change the sensors. Even if one has failed its better to change both on this model. But we would ony have changed them IF they were the fault !

You can call Ferolli and ask for the list price and also Parts Center. Its common to make a margin of say 30% on supplying parts but 200% -400% seems totally unreasonable.

Having a call out charge of £70 and then charging £95 to fit two small parts is also a no-no in my view.

In theory you could complain to them but as a small firm they are unlikely to be interested. Since our industry is unregulated there is no other effective complaints procedure.

The amount concerned is too small to be worthwhile making much fuss about althoiugh writing to let them know how you feel would make you feel good.

In theory you could take them to the county court on the basis that they were called to repair your boiler and they have (over) charged you and not repaired your boiler in accordance with your contract with them. You have a fair chance of some success but getting the money out of them even with a judgement might not be so easy.

The threat of court action might get them to refund some or all of the money. It would make you feel good to win the case though. I am so annoyed when firms do that then I might almost offer to represent you.

You could also report them to Rogue traders who might set them up on one of their programs about cowboys.

Tony

 

[237]

I would not take this lying down. In fact i would go to your local Trading Standards dept or the CAB and try to find out if the Trading Standards have any other customers who felt they were ripped off by these contractors.
Surely if they have stated to you what the problem was and have charged you for the work but still you have the same problem i am sure you have a good case to answer for.As despite them replacing parts they failed to adequately test the system before charging you. In that respect you should not have had the same problem it should have been sorted out. Their work should be guaranteed and have some warranty attached. This is a good reason why i never use small contractors. Just as a matter of course depending how you paid you may have a simple way of getting your money back. I know most people do not pay by debit card or Credit card but if you did pay by credit card contact your card company. If you paid by cash or cheque i take it you have a full receipt and statement of the work they carried out. Use this as the foundation to your complaint. Reprt the company to the Trading Standards. It might also be worthwhile contacting them and asking for a full refund. Fail that or if they refuse take it to the Trading Standards.Some contractors usually pay up straight away if they are threatened with the Trading Standards as there could be other dodgy dealings which they would prefer to keep quiet about.
I know it might seem a bit expensive to go to British Gas but at least you have some readdress and at least know that you are not going to get ripped off. Its obvious that their call out fee was low but hit you instead with an overpriced job. I hope you get your problem sorted out, but also take sometime to get their work checked out and see if you can claim any of the payment you paid back.

 

[237]

The amount concerned is too small to be worthwhile making much fuss about althoiugh writing to let them know how you feel would make you feel good.
And i double quote your remark above. It may seem a low very amount to you but to some people that is a lot of money. It is also for the fact that these contractors have knowingly ripped this customer off. That would leave a bitter taste in any persons mouth. I know if i was ripped off for just 5.00 i would go to the ends of the earth to make sure that the person who ripped me off does not walk away with some grin on their faces.
It is damn right disgraceful how people can be so cunning especially upon someone else's grief. I see this all to often people being ripped off. That is why every person who feels they have been ripped off should make a complaint and get that complaint logged with the Trading Standards. If everyone complained and not allow these criminal practices then at least we might get some regulation in place. As a consumer you are well protected by the law. And if the job has not been carried out in a satisfactory manner you are entitled to a full refund or the job put right.

 

[picasso]

I know it might seem a bit expensive to go to British Gas but at least you have some readdress and at least know that you are not going to get ripped off.

you need to get out more if you think the above is true

 

[mointainwalker]

You wouldn't go to the County Court for this amount , but the Small Claims Court, which will still cost you pnds 80 or so up front.

Before you spend any money, I would talk to Trading Standards and get their advice, as well as checking the web for any comments/complaints about this bunch.

If that doesn't get you any further , I suggest a recorded delivery letter to the company setting out your dissatisfaction and asking for a response within 14 days or you will take them to court ( or maybe try to get the local papers interested ).

If you win and they still won't play ball, you have to think about getting a bailiff approved by court to seize some goods.

What you do will depend somewhat how long the company has been established and whether it changes its name every six months.

Also check your house insurance to see if there are any legal helplines you can use. Quite a lot of policies do have them/

 

[Nige F]

I know it might seem a bit expensive to go to British Gas but at least you have some readdress and at least know that you are not going to get ripped off.

you need to get out more if you think the above is true

I`d want a red dress if I got ripped off for £1. let alone £5 I`ve just realise why I`ve not got ripped off . I`ve done my own maintenance on all my houses since 1980 - and serviced all my own cars from 1980 to 2008 when we bought a new one

 

[adlplumbing]

to be honest your best bet is put complaint in on the company if they use tompson local online it would stop other from using them
and how do you regulate servral thousand people who work legaly
plus we can technicaly charge what we like even though i try and keep reasonable as no law on what we can charge as bg we would be lose lot revaune quickly

 

[ollski]

Where does it say what model it is??, fault wise sounds like an optima but unless I've missed it how can advise be given on cost without knowing the model

 

[Boilerman2]

I hope some of my customers are reading this post, they would then see that a £70 callout including 1 hour on site is quite good really!!

 

[nogoodatfaultfinding]

Hello

I hope someone can please help me, I have a problem with my Ferroli boiler and I called a company out to look at it. I had no hot water or central heating for 1 week and for the past few years it has played up but always sorted itself out. I paid the £70 call out charge and was told it would cost £250 to put in new sensors. I paid for this.

The guy was with me for 10 mins on the call out and said it needs new sensors. He has fitted it yesterday and the problem is still there. The boiler turns on and off at its will. I was called today and told that it most probably needs a PCB ignition board (?) I am unable to pay for more repairs and I feel I was ripped off because if he had told me exactly what was wrong I could have looked at a payment plan and purchased a new boiler. He said that until you fix the sensors you will not be able to know the fault. Is this true??

I am new to this and suddenly I am reading as much as I can on forum.

Do the good old faithfull, if this company are rip off merchants which in this case they are, send a recorded letter stating that you will be going to traiding standards, that program on BBC (not watchdog but the man with the motor bike one) and especially mention Gas Safe.
I dont think Gas Safe would be interested to be honest but it might make them (the company used) think alot more than you just saying your unhappy.
I also may be wrong on this but as with any purchase (and you have purchased parts and labour) you have a 14 day cool off period where you can ask for refund if said purchase does not meet requirements, agian i may be wrong.

 

[shapes01]

Sod it, NAME AND SHAME!

 

[Agile]

You wouldn't go to the County Court for this amount , but the Small Claims Court, which will still cost you pnds 80 or so up front.

You have been in France for too long!

There is no Small Claims Court.

Its the "small claims procedure" at the County Court.

It is now normally dealt with through an online streamlined procedure which is only £35 for up to £500.

Tony