Quoted for job but invoiced per workman

[User1742777]

Hello, I was quoted £30 an hour from a stonemason. to remove a section of render from the rear of my house so I could see the condition of the bricks underneath (damp issues). They were maybe just over an hour so have invoiced for 1.5 hours (fine ok) but two of them arrived and I have been invoiced for two people, plus VAT the total comes to £108. My written message prior to this appointment was “The cost would be £30 p/h”. I just feel aggrieved do I really owe £108?

@Dailymash what a nasty comment! Shocking! I am just asking to be informed up front the cost to expect. I wasn't expecting to be charged per workman - I was not even expecting a second workman to attend the job or be needed for it. I am commenting on the lack of transparency and maybe telling me £60 per hour would have been more appropriate and then at least I could have made an informed decision whether or not to proceed with the work!

So 2 people for 90 mins plus vat. Seems about right.

Some jobs are more efficient with 2, I can think of plenty of instances where it's takes 1 person 4 hours but 2 people take only 90 mins because it speeds it up with 2. Also a job can be too heavy for one

@Poppyseed14 apologies I misread this as that I'm querying the time they spent on my house - I know for sure how long they were there. My mistake.

OP you could have done that work yourself in not much longer!

I could not unfortunately do it myself

This. That’s all I would pay.

No worries. But honestly I don't think they are ripping you off. Their way of quoting is stupid though. Either they should say the job will cost £xx plus VAT or £xx per hour plus VAT and we expect it to take no longer than xx hours unless there are any unforeseen circumstances once they start. Did you not ask how long it would take? Imagine they dragged it out all day, you would still be liable for their hourly charge. I'd pay it and then next time ask more questions before you accept any quote so you don't get any surprises.

Thank you - it's certainly a lesson learned I just took the quote as completely literal.

@User1742777 I think it’s nasty to complain about the cost of two manual workers and make suggestions like “All they did was XYZ” - if you’re such an expert you should have done it yourself.

No, sorry @User1742777 that was presumptuous of me, but I meant that a novice would be able to do it so charging for 3 hours work is mad.

This!

I’m a bit confused what the job was. Did they patch a piece of stone into a gap on an exterior wall ?

That isn't the point. She was quoted an hourly rate for the job. Not an hourly rate per person. If they're not going to quote for the job they may as well just pluck a figure out of the air. It's not really about how much it is, it's about it being nothing like what she was quoted.
I would be very annoyed with this too OP

Surely that's right tho as if a man had come alone it would have taken twice as long and would have cost the same if not more. Maybe they could have made that clearer on the paperwork though.

Despite people tying themselves in knots to portray OP as some kind of Victorian mill owner, if a job’s quoted at 30£/h and takes 1.5 h the cost should be £45. So I’d query it with him, especially if he’s going to be doing more work for you. Only you can judge if it’s a simple miscommunication or he was being deliberately misleading.

And no way in the world it’s taking a “qualified stonemason” an hour for each of those holes.

They didn't tell you how long it would take and you didn't ask. They coujd have sent one person and it may have taken 3 hours. They sent 2 people and it took 1.5. Regardless of what you think their argument will likely be that it would've cost the same however many people they sent.

No they cut those holes

I know what you're saying that maybe it would have taken three hours to cut the three holes. I guess I just don't think that's the case as each hole only one man was cutting and the over was overseeing and the first hole alone took 5mins. 20mins was taken up by discussion.

I would also query this. If they didnt specify it was a 2 person job and also was the second person being charged at the same rate as the first person? Round here the lead person is one price and the assistant is usually half that or less due to them being an assistant and not fully trained/qualified. The job also looks very simple.

I don’t think you were given a good guide of what the job would cost but I think for the visit and work £100 odd is not surprising. If they do too other similar jobs in the day they would earn £300-£350 odd for the day including wages/fuel/vehicles/tools ins etc. That’s not excessive for two people.

If you feel there was anything underhand and you don’t trust them then don’t have them do the follow up work.

Are you having the render took off and a re-render? I wouldn’t have realised this would require a “stone mason”. Ask around neighbours/friends for a recommendation. If you know a trusted tradesman ask them to recommend other trades.

Two!

The three holes won’t have taken an hour however OP says she’s spent time talking to the person in question. His or her time spent on the job was over an hour. They have given a quote, come along to the job (fuel in vehicle) done the job, spoke to the customer, packed up and left. You are charged for the amount of time the whole lot took, not just the start time from starting the first hole to finishing the second.

Sorry if I come across as rude but there’s often threads on here about tradesmen and what they charge. They charge more than minim wage as they are skilled workers. Skills take time to acquire, years learning on the job and there’s the unseen stuff - writing up quotes, going out to get supplies etc, that people overlook.

OP could mention to the stonemason that the quote was confusing which might make him reassess how he words his quotes to avoid any future issues. But suggesting that she/he should pay less to someone for work they have done is ridiculous.

Why did it need a stonemason to remove some render ?
Thought that would be a general builders line

It's because my plan was to re-render in lime and this person specialises in lime

Thank you. I think I will pay as invoiced but send him a message to say I wasn't expecting it based on his earlier communication.