Help! Is Electrician taking the utter P?

SollaSollew · 18/10/2023 17:48

Ex dh and DS are electricians and the day rate doesn't look unreasonable at least for the south east. Not sure how they've quoted though from what you've said so for example for installation of the double socket is it:
a) The cost of the socket - you can buy these yourselves unless they're very fancy they wouldn't be £40
b) The approximate proportion of the day rate that it would cost for one person to work on a socket
c) On top of the day rate.

Installing a new consumer unit I would expect to be £600 so taking that as a single data point it doesn't sound like a rip off.

If I was you and I was concerned I'd ask the builder and the electrician to sit down with you first thing tomorrow and explain what they're doing, how long it will take and exactly what they will be charging and don't be afraid to keep asking questions until you're comfortable with the answers.

Original poster

SammySays · 18/10/2023 21:05

SollaSollew · 18/10/2023 17:48

Ex dh and DS are electricians and the day rate doesn't look unreasonable at least for the south east. Not sure how they've quoted though from what you've said so for example for installation of the double socket is it:
a) The cost of the socket - you can buy these yourselves unless they're very fancy they wouldn't be £40
b) The approximate proportion of the day rate that it would cost for one person to work on a socket
c) On top of the day rate.

Installing a new consumer unit I would expect to be £600 so taking that as a single data point it doesn't sound like a rip off.

If I was you and I was concerned I'd ask the builder and the electrician to sit down with you first thing tomorrow and explain what they're doing, how long it will take and exactly what they will be charging and don't be afraid to keep asking questions until you're comfortable with the answers.

Thanks @SollaSollew. I am catching up with them tomorrow morning to do just that, we have been lucky enough to never really need any electrical work done so it’s all a bit blind for us. I like to have all the facts up front and expected it would take less time than they are saying but that’s probably just my lack of knowledge in the area. Reassuring to hear that the costs quoted are considered reasonable to you. Looking forward to hearing what they say tomorrow morning!

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johnd2 · 18/10/2023 22:43

I think you need a more detailed quote, I don't understand why you're being quoted a daily rate plus a price for specific things. Is that daily rate just a backup for anything else? Generally you want as much as possible quoted as jobs rather than days, as per job gives you much more certainty.

elm26 · 18/10/2023 23:01

johnd2 · 18/10/2023 22:43

I think you need a more detailed quote, I don't understand why you're being quoted a daily rate plus a price for specific things. Is that daily rate just a backup for anything else? Generally you want as much as possible quoted as jobs rather than days, as per job gives you much more certainty.

My DH is an electrician with his own business. A day rate is a day rate and the materials are priced at cost price from the wholesalers. He wouldn't make any money if he didn't charge a day rate, he has to pay for the materials. The day rate sounds normal for south east.

elm26 · 18/10/2023 23:02

Also, some jobs can be expected to take a day then something happens and it needs to be over two days and so on. It's normal to charge a day rate.

Insidenumber09 · 18/10/2023 23:12

My Husband is a qualified electrician through his work (office based but has to know the regs and be practically competent) and does all our work at home (total re-wire basically one room at a time) and the amount of work involved is totally often overlooked. Also the electrician will be working to regs so has to do things a certain way and it’s often not the easiest or quickest way but they will be doing it the safest way. I’d say you’ve been quoted a decent rate for the work involved.

johnd2 · 19/10/2023 10:00

elm26 · 18/10/2023 23:01

My DH is an electrician with his own business. A day rate is a day rate and the materials are priced at cost price from the wholesalers. He wouldn't make any money if he didn't charge a day rate, he has to pay for the materials. The day rate sounds normal for south east.

Show quote history

All fair enough but if that's true he's got a huge markup on materials so like I say more info needed in the quote
£40 for each installation of double socket
£25 for installation of pendant light
£600 for new consumer unit
socket is 10 pounds for materials unless something specific (assume MK white double)
pendant is a fiver for materials (plus a couple for a bulb)
CU could vary, anything 100-300 would be reasonable

GasPanic · 19/10/2023 10:45

Prices can be a lot more than people think, because they often explain just the main details of the job, and not all the problems and issues. You will always get people turning up claiming they had their whole house rewired for £20.

Where you failed was not getting a quote up front, which you should have insisted on. Sometimes they might say the job is uncertain at which point you can ask for the rate for time extension. But to have a job done without at least a basic idea of what the end cost is going to be at the outset is asking for trouble IMO. Some people are reasonable and will only charge you for the work they do. Others will see it as a licence to print money.

As my old boss used to say, there is no better way of not getting what you want than not knowing what you want at the outset.

kirinm · 19/10/2023 10:48

DP is an electrician and that's his day rate.

Original poster

SammySays · 19/10/2023 21:21

Can firmly say they are not taking the P and are actually very reasonable. It was my own lack of understanding of the magnitude of the job that was throwing me 😀

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Blondeshavemorefun · 19/10/2023 21:59

SammySays · 18/10/2023 15:55

Renovating our new house and our builders (who are amazing) have arranged the electrics through their preferred contractor. We were quoted:

£300 per day for each qualified electrician
£40 for each installation of double socket
£25 for installation of pendant light
£600 for new consumer unit

electrician came out before we started and said a full rewire wasn’t needed as wires were in good condition just needed to update the fuse board. All good we thought. We are having:

4 spot lights in bathroom
6 spot lights kitchen
moved light switch in kitchen
moved light switch in hallway
1 additional double socket in bedroom 1 and bedroom 3
light pendants centralised in 4 rooms that are currently off centre

electrician is now saying he should replace the wiring if he’s doing work rather than working with old. Can’t give us a price as to what that would be. Why did he not quote us that in the first place?!

he has been here all day with 2 others he brought as part of the team, and all he has done is put wires into 6 openings in the kitchen for 6 spot lights. He says he will be here at least a week.

Is it just me who thinks that’s excessive for the work listed? Scared that he’s going to blow our budget!

So yesterday cost you £900 in wages for the 3 of them

Autumn1990 · 19/10/2023 22:08

The day rate is about right. Materials seam a lot though and frankly one electrician should manage all of that in a week!

KievLoverTwo · 20/10/2023 06:35

Hold on, dude came round to do a small list of reasonably priced jobs and the next thing you know you are paying 5k in labour for a week plus all the materials costs?

is now saying he should replace the wiring if he’s doing work rather than working with old

There is a difference between should and must. He might think he should because he is gonna earn a ton, but were they dangerous or horribly dated?

I guess it’s a bit late now as it’s Friday but it’s sounding like you have gone from a 2k job to a 7k job on the basis of someone’s ‘should’ rather than ‘have to, because danger.’

Is it a full rewrite or just to the lights? Because if full, are they pulling apart walls that you will need to spend getting re plastered and decorated?

It’s funny how this chap suddenly had enough staff on hand to take on this unexpectedly lengthy job with no notice.

I don’t question his costs, which seem fine, I question the necessity of the bigger part of the job he’s doing, and why he turned up with two other blokes for what looks like quite a small job, initially. I would be quite taken aback if three electricians turned up for that small list, especially if I was only expecting one, at a one person a day rate.

Edit: so, first off he says the wires are in good nick and don’t need replacing, then says he should replace the lights ones. Huh?

Devastatedyetagain · 20/10/2023 06:45

If you are not happy, get another quote!

KievLoverTwo · 20/10/2023 06:54

Devastatedyetagain · 20/10/2023 06:45

If you are not happy, get another quote!

He is already there! OP said:

he has been here all day with 2 others he brought as part of the team, and all he has done is put wires into 6 openings in the kitchen for 6 spot lights. He says he will be here at least a week.

Gettingbysomehow · 20/10/2023 07:37

You need to insist on a full quote before they go any further. I won't put up with any nonsense from contractors. I made the last lot come back to my house at 10 pm and asked them why the work was a dogs dinner and made them do it again properly.

MaybeSmaller · 20/10/2023 11:20

Trying to add expensive extras to a job you've already agreed to is a piss-take, yes.

New wiring isn't just a "might as well", it's a huge amount of extra expense and labour and turns what may well be a minor job into a major one. That would be a red flag and I'd be giving short shrift to that.

Can't comment on the other costs but £40 for a socket and £25 for a light seems far too expensive given that's just materials cost and you're already paying for labour. Prices have gone up recently but a standard white plastic MK double socket and a back box should still be around £5 and a white plastic MK pendant light set is around £3.50. Obviously if you specified expensive metal ones, that's a different story.

If you've already agreed to the work at a given price there's not a lot you can do about that, but you certainly don't have to agree to any extras, especially if he can't quote a price for them! Just tell him: no thank you.

Original poster

SammySays · 20/10/2023 16:53

They confirmed total price of £2k yesterday so feeling much better about the situation 😊 it was the day date that threw me plus the price for the list of jobs. When confirming how much I would be invoiced for they just mentioned the jobs and no mention of the day rate. I have it in black and white that they will be charging £2k so it’s a huge relief. I was concerned it had gone up to about £7k which is why I was panicked but been reassured now. Thank you all for your responses 😊

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