Non Paying customer today

[GasmanxxxR1]

Had a customer ring this morning telling me his boiler isnt working and that his family are cold. I had done some work for him about a year ago.

Told him that its bank holiday so the charge would be more than usual. He said ok

Got there and its a logic heat only with a blocked condense pipe. As i was sorting it he said i could come back and service it and he would reccomend me to his family etc.

At the end he said 'so how much do i owe you'
'£80'
'What, why so much?'
'Its bank holiday mate'
'Why didnt you just come around tommorow and fix it then?'
'You said today'
'Im not paying £80, i said you could have more work off me and my family, doesnt that count?'
'No, when i go to tesco and say i will get my mum to shop there if they give it to me half price, i get told where to go'


What are people these on?

Turns out he had no money in the house and ive got to go back later, plus hes only paying £50

Was £80 too much for a callout on a bank holiday? My usual rate is £60

 

[cr0ft]

Not at all in my opinion. The only thing I would say is some custards genuinly have no clue how much things cost. Did you give him your rates before you started the job? We always do for bank holiday work and frequently get told no thanks, we will book you in for next week instead to be honest.

£80 is very cheap for a bank holiday callout imo.

 

[GasmanxxxR1]

Yeah i told him the rates before i went round

His excuse is that he will give me future work, i politely told him to stuff his boiler service

 

[Ermintrude]

Call out fee in your hand before you even get your tools out or just get in van and drive off . It's not hard ball , it's your ball and if he wants to play he's gonna have to pay end of. Remember he called you !

 

[GasmanxxxR1]

Finding it more and more with customers. Trying to negotiate price after the fact. They sit there in their six bedroom homes with new cars sat on the drive and question my prices.

Why just pay good money for a job well done.

Seriously thinking of just sticking to sub contract work

 

[Chris F]

I would have told him straight. When he said 50 I would have said I'm having your toaster and microwave to make up the difference. I can't stand it, it literally makes my head explode with a anger.

 

[jefaz]

Nothing is too cheap my man. It all depends on how much you value your time. If they rang me and I was gonna spend a day with the nippers then I would have told h where to go! This is your rest time so £80 is more than fair

 

[SimonG]

80 is cheap for a bank holiday and your knowledge. Bill him 80. If he pays 50 then bill him the other 30 with 7 days to pay orsmall claims. Cant let twunts like this get away with it.

Thats the beauty of oil. You can always can back round at some point and trip the fire valve 🙂

 

[IDCHAPPY]

Shyte like that makes my blood boil.. tight twunt grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

 

[Ermintrude]

80 is cheap for a bank holiday and your knowledge. Bill him 80. If he pays 50 then bill him the other 30 with 7 days to pay orsmall claims. Cant let twunts like this get away with it.

Thats the beauty of oil. You can always can back round at some point and trip the fire valve 🙂

Gas u just slip a blanking disc in and stick a transco ID label or u just remove the meter and cap ecv? Or if you want a laugh, turn off ecv screw in the stop screw, snap off head and leave. When he calls say pay up , he won't pay up but he will force ecv and snap it off!

 

[lame plumber]

Charges :: Pimlico Plumbers go down the page for the bank holiday rates 🙂

 

[plumber0808]

I would take the £50 this time as you have now agreed to this I'm guessing? Forget the customer and stress of chasing £30

Next time don't back down so much, everyone will haggle as everyone wants a bargain. I get it all the time, tell them your prices are fair compared to other companies in the area and you have fixed the problem.

I will knock money off sometimes if they ask but it depends on how much I have on the job itself.

I have charged from £65-£85 on sorting out a blocked condense and none of them were on a bank holiday.

 

[rocketmanbkk]

Custards are dogs sometimes. No good. Sorry mate

 

[lame plumber]

in the snow a few years back, on boxing day, I had 4 callouts, 3 frozen condensates and 1 totally kaput old vaillant, £250 each for the condensates and £100 for the vaillant, not one complained and one gave me a buffet supper 🙂

 

[plumber0808]

in the snow a few years back, on boxing day, I had 4 callouts, 3 frozen condensates and 1 totally kaput old vaillant, £250 each for the condensates and £100 for the vaillant, not one complained and one gave me a buffet supper 🙂

Thats great money, no chance you would get them figures by me. They would laugh in my face.

i would probably laugh back with them 🙂

 

[Scott_D]

Say you will do the service when you go back to get the money.
If they say no then it's £80 for the callout

 

[cr0ft]

I would have reblocked the condensate pipe as I left!

 

[mfgs]

Make sure you chase up the extra £30, yes it will cause stress. Personally I cant stand the thought that someone has got one over on me, you made him aware of the price before the work began so he has to pay it. People like this need to learn they cant get away with it.

 

[hammers4spanner]

You get this alot around the plymouth area custs wanting something for nothing .Unfortunately their are so many plumbs down here its a custs market you woulx get someone to come out for 50 quid on bank Holiday

 

[SimonG]

Make sure you chase up the extra £30, yes it will cause stress. Personally I cant stand the thought that someone has got one over on me, you made him aware of the price before the work began so he has to pay it. People like this need to learn they cant get away with it.

Exactly. Last thing you want is it getting round that you are a soft touch. The scumbag is taking the food off your plate.

 

[armyash]

I hate hearing these sorts of stories, the customers may as well be stealing from you.

I know I have had to pay for things in the past where it's ended up costing me more than expected and i have felt a bit ooooh didn't expect that but I still paid, I had the work done that I asked for and it was my fault for not checking the price first which now I never forget to do. I would never dream of not paying unless I was blatantly ripped off which is usually obvious.

Your customer has not been ripped off and they are bang out of order.

 

[AWheating]

Tell him he's off your customer list and you will advise other local trades to avoid him.