Am I being ripped off ?

[MamaJules34]

We had a joiner round to give us a quote.

£900 for the following:

To fit two shelves in three cupboards (2 airing cupboards and one cupboard downstairs).

2 poles (clothes poles) in two cupboards.

£900?! Aibu?! That seems extortionate?

I wanted something similar except in 1 alcove and doors added.

Quotes between 2 and 4k.

My ex did the shelves and rail in the end with wood we had at home - cost zero. Haven't done the doors yet admittedly.

I've been looking for a decent handyman for years as have loads of little jobs that I don't have the skill to do. They are like hen's teeth round here!

To those saying, if he didn’t want the work why didn’t he say no thanks...

Have you ever tried that?!

I used to price jobs, I learned very quickly, people get really offended if you say no. And you will waste a lot of time fielding their strop. If you say ‘yep, £1000‘ they go quiet, and you don’t hear from them again.

And if they do say yes... well you get £1000 for a £500 job. Except I never did, as I’d have an attack of conscience and only charged the usual rate.

Having said that, you also do get a feel for how much hassle a particular customer will be, and quote accordingly to allow a generous buggeration factor.

It’s £250 minimum a day for a joiner but that doesn’t sound like a full days work?
Materials are cheap as well.
It’s too much.

I imagine he doesn't want the job so overpriced on purpose.

I gave a guy doing a fitted wardrobe and he's only charging me £300 to fit it and that also includes some materials.
In fact he also made suggestions to help me keep costs down on the wardrobe itself x
Just say sorry that's more expensive then we were expecting and it's not in the budget.
It's not a 24 hour job, MDF doesn't cost that much he's just been cheeky! X

Some people see the house and then up the price because they think you have money, so why not charge you more. Where I work this often happens so we get multiple quotes

Wtf!

I really think trades men take a look at your house and attempt to weigh up what you can afford.Two years ago I lived in a house in a rough area and was quoted very reasonable prices,for electrics,joinery and plastering.I've now moved to a massive house in an affluent area,but have hardly any disposal income ( really big mortgage). We've just been quoted £3000 for 3 lights strips in the garage! Then we wanted 2 tress felling,another £2k ( 3k if we wanted the stumps removing). There should be standard prices for all work,regardless of where you live.

There should be standard prices for all work,regardless of where you live.

Businesses can charge whatever they want. It's entirely up to you whether you choose to pay.

Lets say its 4 hours work without a break, hes charging approx £225 an hour?

How much for materials?

Wait until you can get more quotes.

If it is hand made by a bespoke cabinet maker with a certain wood then probably not as you are paying for their time too.

I worked for one and was at times astounded by the prices but he really wasn't making any money on each job.

It's a common technique for jobs that they don't think are really worth their while. You might be better with a handyman.

@EveryDayIsADuvetDay read the thread! He asked me for cash, dont be so judgey.

It makes no odds to me whether it's cash or a transfer!

He doesn't particularly want the job, so he's quoted far higher than necessary.

I have a handyman friend who does that sometimes if it is a job that he really doesn't want to do. Sometimes it backfires on him and they say yes!

He doesn’t want the job, unless you’re daft enough to pay what he’s quoted. I know several tradies who use that ‘technique’

I do that too. I'm not a carpenter but I make something skillfully for a living and sometimes when I see that the job is too small to be worth my time/skill I give a £££ quote and if they go for it then I am getting the money that I would expect to get for a "proper" job, if they don't then no harm done. I'm not going to chase them for a £100 job.

The YouTube vid looks great. Thank you!

Cash in hand does not always = tax dodger. I find the insinuation quite insulting actually.

Why wouldn't he want the job tho? He lives nearby, it's cash in hand (he asked for) and he did it for my parents?

No one even In the house?! He says he's keen for work.

I don't understand.

Anyway, he text me back and said find someone else who can do it cheaper.

Quite blunt!

I'm not that practical, but it's actually a really easy job when you think about it. It's only fitting the support - the shelf will just go on top of it. If you paint the shelf and the support nobody would be any the wiser - and besides, it's inside a cupboard! Who's going to go looking in there?

You can definitely install those things yourself.

He is trying to fleece you, I would have just thanked him for the quote and left it at that, unless he chased me for the work, then I would have explained it wasn't a 24hr job and the materials shouldn't cost anywhere near that.

You will feel accomplished when you complete the job yourself 🙂 you should give it a try! It doesn't have to look beautiful as it's inside a cupboard anyway.

Yes - we had a handy man to do those jobs and he put up curtain rails for £200 for a whole days work.

OP,

He is ripping you off to such an extent I can only imagine how irritating it is.

900 for a job that should cost a fraction of that.

For a competent person, I would think that is 1 days work on the absolute outside, including collecting the materials.

400 sounds a reasonable amount.

Personally, I wouldn't hire anyone I know to do a job in my home.

From those that I know that have done it, they felt compromised when it came to not being completely happy with the work done.

I am fussy, I always make that abundantly clear to anyone who does a job for me...BEFORE they start....so there isn't any confusion, on THEIR part.

It has served me very well.

It's your home OP.
Its your money.

Keep friendships out of it.

You will save yourself a lot of grief.

I certainly wouldn't trust this guy, who is so clearly prepared to rip you off doing a very basic handyman job.

Wow yeah he was quite blunt, he sounds easily offended! How much did your parents pay him? What do they think of the quite he gave you?

You don't HAVE to use him. Tell him it's too expensive and you're getting some other quotes. It doesn't sound like it's a very urgent job, so you have time on your side.