AIBU plumber bill?

[Marmunia1975]

I live in a lower cost area of the Uk, so no London prices etc. We had a plumber carry out work recently and got an £800 plus bill. He initially texted to say he would be in the area (that's after we had him out inspecting the issue in June and he was then due to order fittings) recently so I said, fine, I'm doing the school run and will be back at 9:30am. He arrived, spent ages on the small jobs, then pointed out that something was broken, so this involved a trip to the city during rush hour and back. He said the labour would be roughly £300 (He arrived at 10am and left at 2pm). His labour is £50 an hour plus VAT. At the time I looked shocked and he said he'd been running around since 8am - apparently we pay for him going to purchase the items too. It was my understanding they'd be ordered and sent. I would have been happy to do the running around myself. We got the bill and he seems to have charged us for the other visit in the town, that he appears to have forgotten about in the text - the 8:30am to 9:30am ish job in the area. I also took pictures of the catalogue items at the June visit, and he also seems to have charged more too. AIBU to go back and get a better breakdown?

No YANBU

That's EXPENSIVE.

We have a minimum call out of £70 plus VAT which covers the first hour but we are £35 per hour thereafter.

I'd say it all depends on the cost of the parts?

Do you mean he has billed you for the time when he went to pick up the part in rush hour?

Yes, he has billed us for the rush hour trip - it seems to be 8am to 2pm - however he seems to have forgotten he texted to say he had a job first thing, so I think he's trying to bury that in too via a morning trip to pick up the stuff - if he even did that.

Is it normal to bill for a morning trip plus to find something broken, then rush back to the city for another part???

The parts were itemised - but appear slightly dearer than in the catalogue (he must have forgotten I photographed them in June).

He quoted an elderly neighbour over £2500 for two days work.

Ask for some quotes for the exact same job from other plumbers. His bill needs to be in the ballpark of what other plumbers would charge or you can dispute it under the Consumer Rights Act.

I think the crux of the matter here is whether you got a quote first, or whether you instructed him to proceed with the work without getting any clarification on pricing beforehand?

I would certainly still query how he justifies charging you for the collection of parts, and for inflated pricing of parts. But his hourly rate should really have been confirmed before instructing the work.

Has he inflated the prices by 20% by any chance? Usually wholesale excludes VAT which is added on at the end - you could ask for a copy of the receipt in case something breaks and check it yourself?

Yeah he's trying his luck. Say you think he's sent you the wrong invoice. He was with you 10-2 on whatever date and bought these items pictures attached. Check that you're including VAT. He wont be VAT registered so will have to pay it and cant claim it back.
I think it's normal to charge for the time he spent travelling to get your stuff, it's time he was doing work for you.

Didn't meant to bold that, sorry.

Thanks for the feedback.

@Marmunia1975

The parts were itemised - but appear slightly dearer than in the catalogue (he must have forgotten I photographed them in June).

Catalogue prices often don't include VAT. If you'd bought them yourself you'd have been charged VAT.

I think you're right about having to add VAT.