Just been totally ripped off by drain clearance company. How did I let it happen??

[WTF1]

I was told over the phone that the company charges £50 a half hour for drain clearance. They arrived and something is shoved under my nose to sign, saying just that. Later I notice it also has a start time that is 8 minutes wrong. My first over sight.

They faff and fart around setting up 'safety equipment' for 20 mins. This involves 4 traffic cones.

They jet the drains for another hour and a half.

They finish and the door bell goes and the man is on the phone and quickly gives me the bill saying its £500 and something sign here, Im on the phone to the office now for you to pay...I head off in a bit of a flap thinking how can it be that much, I haven't got a card ready.... Speak to woman on phone who takes card details. All goes thro. Man leaves.

I look at the bill and they have charged me 2 lots of £50 an hour, one for jetting, one for jetting labour. No one mentioned that!

Plus the time finished was 5 minutes wrong so together with the arrival error they got another half hour (£100!!) out of me.

I can't believe I let them get away with that. All very slickly done. I feel such a plank. I don't suppose I have any redress do I?

Your fault for not asserting yourself.

This happened to me with a company called a man’s name that starts with B. I had agreed the price but they work was half done. Had to empty the downpipes myself! They gave me a small reduction in the end and I made sure I gave a review on every relevant site.
Don’t see why people write nasty comments. Just ignore.

Your fault for not asserting yourself.

Ah Soola. You're an utter delight.

Go back to the company, tell them that there's a discrepancy between the arrival/departure times on the bill. Then ask them to clarify the difference between the jetting and the jetting labour. At that point you can finish the phone call, check what you were charged, and work out the discrepancy.If you feel calm and in control, call back to raise the issue. You could email instead if that feels easier, say what the original quote was, also that a chunk of time seemed to spent setting out cones - 20 mins seems like a pisstake!
Do it at your own pace, but do it today or it will hang over you. If they stonewall you, maybe get a friend to ring up to get a quote for the same procedure, and ask exactly what is covered by the charges.

Do you have a copy of what you signed? If it states the charge is £50 per half hour then that's what you should pay, not per half hour per person.

It may be possible to do a charge back, depending on what the contract says.

I'd ring them and get a quote, and ask how the charges would be broken down, then ask if there are any other charges due on top. THEN see how it compares with what you paid and get them to explain the discrepancies.

Did you pay by credit card? You could call them and ask what the process is for being ripped off like this?

Soola, yes, I know! I said as much myself

maslinpan, I signed everything...it's a really crowded, busy form and I just didn't notice some of the details I should have. I kind of got swept along by the banter, the urgency, the phone call waiting for me....sigh. Not expecting any answers here, just venting and trying to soothe my bruised pride.Ho hum.

The scam has been going on for years, it was on Watchdog in 2010.

www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/watchdog/2010/05/rogue_plumbers.html