It's a bloody nightmare being a single mum and your house needs work

[Suddenfeelingofsadness]

The amount of tradespeople who just rip you off and the fighting you have to do!
I just had to call a plumber out twice, trusted firm, good reviews. They couldn't locate the problem, charged me for their time. They were here for 45 minutes each time, max. Bloody invoiced me for 7.5 hours!
I will fight it and I won't pay but it angers me so much. The texts have been semi aggressive 'well you should have known this' or 'that' I mean I'm sorry but I'm not an expert in plumbing, nor do I claim to be. That's their job. I know how to turn my water off, I know how to fix the pump thing. I don't claim to know anymore.
Just sick of people taking advantage!

As a single woman (I doubt if being a mum makes any difference) I'm lucky to have been recommended all the tradespeople I use by a friend who's used them for years. I don't think you can beat word of mouth.

I’m sorry, that sounds really rubbish. The extra stress is not something you need, I’m sure.

contact trading standards.

As a woman on her own - I have been ripped off a number of times over the years. I now only use Trades people who are registered on the local Counties Trading Standards site. They have been approved by the Council and have to follow agreed processes - ie proper quotes, cooling off periods. There are too many cow boys out there - particularly if it involves roofs!. I also have built up my own DIY skills over the years as found it very difficult to find people to do very small jobs,

What's this got to do with being a single mum exactly?

Can't see what this has to do with being a single mum, how would they even know?

Sorry I should have said 'single woman' but I think the children add an extra level of prejudice. I'm not just a woman, I'm a single mum, probably don't even work, probably don't know what a cistern is etc etc

I hate saying this, but it might sadly be a solution to the problem. Do you have any male friends/relatives that you could invite over (payment in coffee and biscuits) who can offer the assertive male presence?

I've seen it personally. My partner and I DO get legitimately different quotes, and many are more willing to 'haggle' with a man.

Dont beleive its to do with being a single mum, also you should get recommendations from peope, never phone up people randomly.

Can you offer a WFH friend, male, to be there?
Or learn enough about the topic to know what's wrong (You Tube is very helpful) and tell them (handyman) what actually needs doing.

@Ariela I'm really busy and I don't have time to learn everything. I have had a chartered surveyor who came around and said it could be three or four things, then the plumber who I spoke to about these issues said I didn't know what I was talking about!

I’m not sure it’s a single mum or woman thing now; I think it’s just chancers at times. Our boiler sprung a leak over the weekend and we had an emergency call out from the only place available. It was £140 which we expected due to it being a weekend. Then yesterday they sent us a quote to repair. £850 to replace the parts they said needed replacing and labour.

We’ve just had someone else out, who we know. He’s the dad of our nephew so does knock a bit off (like £50 or something but not a massive difference) and he said he’d be charging £210 for the exact same job.

The emergency company also quoted us £4700 for a new boiler. Nephew’s dad said approximately £2500. (Cost plus labour for ‘top of the range’ one).

It was my husband who dealt with it all.