Should / Would you charge for a repair not completed?

[chris watkins]

This seems to becoming more & more of an issue recently, with customers often paying £££££££'s for a repair that has not been repaired !!
I would not make a charge for work carried out by me that did not rectify the problem that I was called there to correct, why would you ?

We are all learning & I accept that it is not possible to get it right every time but why should the customer have to pay because I don't know ??

I can just about understand with something like a PCB which is both none returnable & difficult to be 100% sure that it is the problem but then would you not just charge the cost of the board not the labour if it did not do the trick.

What do you do or charge for ??

 

[chris watkins]

As if to highlight my case, this one has come back again today - a company has taken money & still not fixed the problem. How do they do it ????
http://www.ukplumbersforums.co.uk/plumbing-forum/41396-banging-pipes-help.html#post460233

 

[Gray0689]

Couse there is a lot of cowboys about

 

[chris watkins]

Couse there is a lot of cowboys about

OK but why do so many customers pay up ? "I asked you to come here to fix my boiler & you have fitted a fan, a pump, a PCB & it is still not working & you want to leave now cos you have run out of ideas, Oh by the way here is the £560 in settlement of your bill" Thank you very much for not fixing it !!!!!!!
I just wish I had the front (no I don't, I want to sleep at night)

 

[Gray0689]

Because they don't care

 

[WaterTight]

depends if you work on a no fix no fee basis. if you have an agreement in advance that your attempts are chargable i don't see a problem. i do it now and then when alarm bells ring that it could be a mish.

 

[Rickster123]

I have only ever charged for a completed repair. It's the chance I think you have to take. I always look at it that if I were the customer I wouldn't be happy to pay money for a repair that hasn't solved the problem.
Too many people throw parts at a boiler as a random guess.

 

[jase158]

It's hard.

If I am there for 3 hours and cant fix i usually charge 1 hour and say I will help source a solution and get back to them.
If I go and replace part, seems like it is working then when you leave it stops, then I dont charge for call back.
If I dont do anything then I dont charge anything.

 

[jase158]

But you should charge for diagnosis as this is why they have called you, but only take payment when fixed.

 

[chris watkins]

What other type of business would work like this i.e. pay but I have not fixed the problem ?
& yes I understand WaterTight on those odd occasions when you know you are walking into a mine field but as a rule I don't.

 

[jase158]

And remember this is a forum, they will say "plumber has left it broke" which actually means "my mate has not been able to fix it" which stops the comments like "get a plumber in to fix it"

 

[Keefy]

I clear drains and was wondering recently, after a really tough job which I was about to give up on just before I unblocked it - if I ever have a call out to ublock a drain but fail with my rods and need to call in a jetter would it be unethical of me to still charge for my attempts?

 

[chris watkins]

If were just the case jase, unfortunately I get reports almost daily of engineers going to site to find piles of parts which have been thrown at boilers or cylinders cos the people they have had in before just do not know what they are about. I though it was just a many London thing but it seems wide spread ????

 

[iain85]

What other type of business would work like this i.e. pay but I have not fixed the problem ? & yes I understand WaterTight on those odd occasions when you know you are walking into a mine field but as a rule I don't.

Divorce Lawyers? : )

 

[TBServices]

I clear drains and was wondering recently, after a really tough job which I was about to give up on just before I unblocked it - if I ever have a call out to ublock a drain but fail with my rods and need to call in a jetter would it be unethical of me to still charge for my attempts?

No, because you COULD have called in the jetter from the word go, but you tried to save them some coin with the rods IMHO.

 

[Keefy]

No, because you COULD have called in the jetter from the word go, but you tried to save them some coin with the rods IMHO.

That's the answer I was hoping for. I mean some blockages will shift with a few stabs while others can take ages, obviously when you succeed you remind them how much you've saved by not getting a jetting firm in.

 

[chris watkins]

I clear drains and was wondering recently, after a really tough job which I was about to give up on just before I unblocked it - if I ever have a call out to ublock a drain but fail with my rods and need to call in a jetter would it be unethical of me to still charge for my attempts?

I would say not (& I use to do drain clearing with rods & jetting) so long as you tell them before hand, many because the jetting machines are a specialist piece of kit for which the charges are much higher.
The trick is (experience again) to try to clear it for the right amount of time before calling in the big boys. Hour or two fine, all day not !! Have you cut a deal with a local jetting firm so you can call them in if you need to so that you can both make some money ? That might be another way Keefy.

 

[chris watkins]

Divorce Lawyers? : )

They offer advice only! & not to fix your wife for the fee. :broken_heart:

 

[Keefy]

Have you cut a deal with a local jetting firm so you can call them in if you need to so that you can both make some money ?

Not yet but it's something I'm looking into, best do it soon because I don't want to look a numpty come the day by looking clueless then quietly saying - "DynoRod?"

 

[chris watkins]

Why you move my thread ? It was getting lots of views shouldn't customers see, I might help them say NO I am not going to pay the cow boys ?

 

[jase158]

What other type of business would work like this i.e. pay but I have not fixed the problem ?

Solicitors charge for each hour they talk to you,
Accountants do your accounts but cant guarantee that you wont be investigated
Tesco, dont guarantee the food your eating is the right food
politicians dont guarantee there policy is in your benefit (yet we pay them millions)
Water companies dont guarantee they will provide you water 24/7 365 days a year
electrical companies (dont guarantee they will supply power 24/7 365 days a year)
broadband providers just replace your modem rather then fix it
Phone suppliers dont guarantee to fix your line should it go wrong (actually got told to switch off and back on by virgin and when it doesnt work they will send an engineer out in 2 weeks)
psychologists, marriage counselors and massagers, none of them can guarantee to fix problem.
consultants, only consult, dont fix anything.
My brother is a computer engineer and charges for telling somebody the problem over the phone

As plumbers we are expected to fix things immediately and know everything about ever appliance,

We should all own up if we havent got a clue but we should also be paid for our knowledge as well as our skills

 

[Mike Jackson]

I went to look at two jobs on Saturday, couldn't fix them so didn't charge. They were both boilers beyond economical repair. I'm pricing to swap them but I may not get the jobs but how can I charge to walk in and say it's had it?

 

[R1CKY]

No, I don't charge if I can't fix it. Its risky with boilers, especially those that seem to be showing PCB faults. Its not so bad if breakdowns are your only line of work as you're likely to find a use for a part you've incorrectly diagnosed, but if you're like me and only doing one or two breakdowns a month, your stuck with a part you're likely to never, ever use again!

I'm pretty good on boiler breakdowns, but you always get a job where you're not 100% sure what the problem is, it is at that point I give them the customer a choice to let me go ahead and fit the part or get the manufacturer in to repair it!

 

[michael c]

Im just starting to learn fault finding and repair so i charge a customer 1 hour labour plus parts if i fix as i do take longer to diagnose and fix the problem so not fair for me to charge the same hourly as someone more experienced. If im not 100% i will ask advice and inform the customer that i have done this so they know there is more than 1 opinion on the job.
I'm lucky to have diamond gas helping me at the min though, saved my bum yesterday after i fixed a pilot light and the gas valve failed when i tried to turn back on

 

[hammers4spanner]

Garages charge if they cant fix round my way , well garages that i know !!

Imho there is no money in repairs you turn up spend say hour diagnosing then order part (which will turn out that they ordered wrong one) . Then pick part up next day on occasions return to job and cust never wants to pay much anyways which in turn sucks the life out of installs i am doing .

stuff repairs unless i am doing them for H/A's then i can potter along and still get paid