Plumbers

[Matheous]

Why is it SO difficult to get a quote from these people?
Out of about FIVE plumbers we have had ONE quote which was a bit of a laugh as he seemed to be forcing us to take out a second mortgage...... The lowest part of the quote was for taking away rubbish consisting of a bath and shower enclosure. That was �70 (probably plus VAT!!!)

[Taran]

I just hate plumbers, my boiler broke down nearly two weeks ago.I phoned three and didnt get any reply from them.I then phoned a fourth and he came out the same afternoon ,looked at the boiler and said the fan had gone,as it was late Friday afternoon he couldnt order the part until either Saturday or Monday .He hadnt contacted me by Wednesday so i phoned and asked him if he had got the part , only to be told he would order it for today and he would come out and fix the boiler, im still waiting :-).If and when he decides he can bother to come and repair my boiler, i shall tell him to .......go for coffee

[terence7556]

matheous im not justifying anything because i dont know the other parts of the quote but just think about �70 and what would you do for it.
would you purchase a vehicle large enough to take a bath inside, run , maintain and insure it. spend your time driving to the tip, when you could be doing productive better paid work and where you will be charged for the disposal of the items as its obvious you are a buisness operator and then drive to your next job to continue to try and earn a living.
is �70 that excessive?
you could dispose of the items yourself for the cost of a skip and have a clear out at the same time but it will cost you over �100 maybe a pavement licence as well plus your own time to fill the skip
does it sound that bad?

[CheekyChops]

They will probably have an hourly charge for labour, which could be �70 so if they estimate that it will take them an hour to remove the rubbish to the nearest tip, yes it is fair.

What is the rest of the quote and what for?

[Matheous]

"Fit bath
Refit WHB
Refit toilet?? (not sure why-perhaps removal of floor tiles & fit plywood to floor) -I had said that a joiner would carry-out any woodwork & boxing-in !
Run pipes & supply/fit shower pump
Fit customers Shower Cabinet
Tile bathroom walls �600 +cost to us of tiles.....
Total �1960 + VAT

And YES I can remove the rubbish myself -possibly 2 trips to the tip (5 min. trip)
-The only thing this guy wasn't charging for was his Dick Turpin Mask!!!

[terence7556]

did you have a time scale for the work, ie how many days and was he the only one to supply you with a quote?
i have quotes from 4builders to build an extension this summer and they vary from 40k to 60k, a big difference i think you,ll agree but it was hard work to get the quotes as they were all recommended and had a work programme 6 months in advance. some were not available this year

[sp1214]

The problem with getting any tradesmen to call is that there are too many time wasters. Some of the public think its OK to ask for advice with no intention of using him. Others are just searching for quotes and many of the trips are wasted.

You notice that most garages rather than investigate a problem tell you to book your car in and may charge for the inspection and quote.