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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To charge for my time and fuel

43 replies

compulsiveliar2019 · 13/08/2020 17:12

Hi all. Just looking for opinions on my business pricing. I am a self employed solo carer. I have been working 7 days a week since the start of lockdown to provide consistency and safety for my clients.
I charge £15 per hour for my time. Recently I took one of my clients to a hospital appointment it took just short of 3hours in total to pick her up and take her, remain with her whilst at the hospital, being her home and prepare her lunch.
I charged her for 2.5hours plus 45p per mile for the fuel and car usage.
It has come to around £50
She is furious that I'm charging her this much. Accusing me of ripping her off and how dare I charge that much.
She has left me really upset.
Aibu?

OP posts:
TheRosariojewels · 13/08/2020 17:15

That is fair. My grandmother is a total nightmare in general, but has several times got a bee in her bonnet about carers overcharging her when they haven’t.

I would just go over the breakdown in costs again.

WoWsers16 · 13/08/2020 17:16

I agree with the paying per hours -
Personally 45p per mile I think Is a bit much and that's quite a good profit- don't believe in that being what the petrol and carbon usage' for that time period warranted.
Did she know the price before hand? Did she know you were going to charge her for fuel? X

Knittedfairies · 13/08/2020 17:19

I think that's completely fair. Out of interest, how much did she think she should be paying?

TheRosariojewels · 13/08/2020 17:20

I thought 45p per mile was pretty standard. How much would she have paid for a taxi there and back? Round here for that sort of mileage you would probably pay near enough that for cab fair alone.

compulsiveliar2019 · 13/08/2020 17:20

Can I ask why you think 45p is too much? I only use this vehicle for work and the cost to run it dramatically exceeds the amount of money I bring in from charging for fuel.

Yes she knew the costs before hand. But still likes to use it as a stick to beat me with on an almost daily basis

OP posts:
Knittedfairies · 13/08/2020 17:22

From a quick google, 45ppm seems to be the going rate.

pandamoniummm · 13/08/2020 17:24

Also agree 45p per mile is fair. It's not just to cover the petrol but also wear and tear on the car. This is a standard rate where people use their own vehicle for work, me included

AiryFairyArtyFarty · 13/08/2020 17:24

YABR
She needs to think about how much a taxi would have been. I think she is mistaking you for a friend

Muppetry76 · 13/08/2020 17:24

Completely fair, yanbu.

Fosler · 13/08/2020 17:26

I'm a carer and I would be paid for my time and 45p for each mile I travelled.

I think that's fair and fairly common.

Well done for being independent but can I ask what happens if you are too ill to work?

CuriousaboutSamphire · 13/08/2020 17:26

Personally 45p per mile I think Is a bit much and that's quite a good profit that's the national rate at which car use can be charged for at work. All employers pay it when an employee use their own car for work.

Just as I claim that back, off my tax bill every year. It is what HMRC give you as a car allowance!

There can be no quibbling with that figure. It is what it is!

WoWsers16 · 13/08/2020 17:28

If it's the going rate then that's fair and especially if she knew that was the price -
I thought she didn't know and you just put that on her bill so I did think if that was the case it was quite high :) but I will take that back. :)

DPotter · 13/08/2020 17:31

I think your client got a bargain.
45p is fine - it's the mount allowed by HMRO and you can't get more official than that. Did you have to pay for car parking as well?
I think you need to gentle close down discussion on this with your client. Difficult I appreciate as if she lives alone, this will be something she ruminates on. Just tell her next time, she should book a taxi. Out of interest - how much would a taxi have cost from her home to and from the hospital.

If she won't be closed down, - do you have enough clients to sack her?

DPotter · 13/08/2020 17:32

Oo another point - are you insured to carry clients / patients ? This could be away for saying you won't take her in the future

compulsiveliar2019 · 13/08/2020 17:32

Fosler I do have some local contacts who are also self employed and we will cover clients between us if someone is off sick. It just requires some flexibility from clients when this happens.

OP posts:
compulsiveliar2019 · 13/08/2020 17:34

Yes I'm fully insured.

This isn't the first time she has raised it - in fact she does so on an almost daily basis. I am seriously considering giving her notice as she is really beginning to annoy/upset me.

OP posts:
SynchroSwimmer · 13/08/2020 17:37

Please try not to be upset OP, and don’t doubt yourself.
I feel for you, working 7 days a week to give priority to your clients, and I imagine at times you have worn yourself into the ground doing it.
And then someone upsets you like this.

Others will be along with good advice, but if it helps you, in my experience it’s often wealthy people, or those that have had no commercial experience in their lifetimes who are quickest to criticise - when they have no comprehension of business, overheads, tax, insurance, NI, running a vehicle, and all of that before you have fed and accommodated yourself and then turned up for the job.

Are there any other self employed people in a similar field that you could network with - always useful to compare and exchange views, rates and thoughts - and will give you assurance that you are on the right track (when someone like this tries to unbalance you). Could your hourly rate be a bit higher?

One client “told me” that I would need to re-think and reduce my (already modest) rates! - I had rehearsed for such conversations and replied unemotionally that providing the service to the lady at any lower rate would simply be unviable after tax, insurance, NI and overheads. I was valued more as a result after that. (looking after animals rather than people though)

SeaState3 · 13/08/2020 17:38

Your pricing sounds fair to me - 45 p per mile is what HMRC says mileage (covers fuel, use of car, insurance, service costs, depreciation etc.) and you charged your normal hourly rate.

As long as she knew what your hourly rate /mileage rate is, I can’t see what the problem is. I see you haven’t included hospital parking which can sometimes be pricey!

RedIsWhereItsAt · 13/08/2020 17:39

A) a care agency probably wouldn't provide that level of care

B) there's no way they would charge 2.5 hours for 3 hours work.

Can you afford to give her notice? If you can, that's what I would advise.

gamerchick · 13/08/2020 17:42

Christ just get rid. She can find someone cheaper if that's what she wants with someone caring for her.

TidyDancer · 13/08/2020 17:45

You haven't done anything wrong OP.

What kind of things does she say to you when she raises it? Maybe a poster could help you figure out how to bat back at her.

MulticolourMophead · 13/08/2020 17:51

If this client is getting difficult, then I'm sure you can find others to fill the space.

Next time, breakdown the costs in advance, to give less room for them to try and haggle the cost down. EG, mileage is 45ppm, hourly rate is £X, and expenses, eg, parking, on top.

And don't charge less time, as you seem to have done this time. If you've done the work, clients should be paying you for it.

Camphillgirl · 13/08/2020 17:58

Trouble is old people can only relate to prices n their youth “I bought a little 3 bedroomed house in 1929 for £250. Now worth £450k. I earned two pounds a week when I started work”........

They think everything is too dear. Don’t let it worry you.

Chloemol · 13/08/2020 18:07

@WoWsers16

The 45p is the national rate and it’s not just for petrol but also wear and tear on the car,

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