Can someone help me work out this enormous bill?

[Gettingbysomehow]

Hi everyone, I rung up a local gas person and asked him to come out to fit my new thermostat. I bought the thermostat online so he had to provide no parts.
He was in for 10 minutes rewiring it to the gas boiler, a very simple job, he even used the old dirty wire. I at least thought he's use a new one but I didn't notice straight away.
For this very small amount of work I was charged £180.
Gemini (AI) thinks they have grossly overcharged me. Where do I go from here?

Where you go from here is you pay the tradesman for the work he has done, which involves a high degree of skill and safety training.

Your definition of "enormous" is a lot different to mine!

We had to pay a plumber £129 last week before he even came out. It's shit. Good profession to be in.

They've got to travel to you then travel home, regularly re-test, Insurance, van, equipment, accountant to pay. I think £150 is minimum call out these days.

Why? No-one should be paying anything before someone actually comes out. Most people give free quotes. Except maybe someone who is coming to do something in an emergency that needs doing now. Like fixing boiler/heating, or plumbing. But even then they wouldn't charge until they've done it.

£180 for what the OP had done is fine. There would not only be the parts, but also his skills and qualifications, and also the time doing it, and the time spent travelling to and from the OP's house.

I was speaking to people about this yesterday - and this morning, and have asked 3 people what they would expect to pay for this job - including VAT and labour and parts, and testing and re-testing the system, AND the travel time etc... The 3 answers were £170, £220, and £250.

Then I actually googled how much it should cost, and got this...

The average thermostat installation cost is £275, including labour and materials. While it sounds affordable, the overall thermostat replacement cost can balloon to over £300 due to many factors. This guide will help you set your budget..... 14 Mar 2023.

So actually, @Gettingbysomehow you got a good price actually!

That's not an enormous bill. Most tradespeople have a call out fee, which may cover first 10-15 minutes too. After that there's an hourly rate.

It sounds like they have a minimum call out of 2 hours. That might be due to where you are located compared to where he is based.

We would have been cheaper at around £96-120 but more for customers who are further way from where we are based. However we are also in a very cheap city. Somewhere further south £180 is reasonable.

We pay an absolute fortune each year in insurance, Gas Safe membership, renewing qualifications etc. Plus running a van.

You should have done it yourself (ChatGPT autogenerated response).

Strikes me as a fair amount for a straightforward job.

All of the following are what you are paying for - Advertising, transport, insurance public / liability / professional / vehicle, training certifications and updates, hourly rate, tools, parts, experience and expertise....

How much was the estimate and how did it compare to other estimates?

He did a rubbish job. He reused the filthy old cable that was already there and was at least 10 years old and left ugly great holes in the wall. No attempt to fill them. I am aware of his training, insurance etc but I'm not happy about mess he left and the cable. He was the only person I could find, everyone else was booked up until March. I can't be cold because I'm very sick at the moment and waiting for surgery. I just feel he took the piss. Why use a 10 year old cable, he only needed a short length of cable.
I'm certainly going to get him back to do the job properly. It looks like some shit DIY effort.
Yes I could have done this wiring actually but can't currently stand.

What do you suspect is wrong with the cable? Is it unsafe? Wired wrong? When I replace sockets or radiators I use the same wires and / or the same plumbing. Why rip it all out unless unsafe? As for the rest of it I guess it will depend on what you agreed to when you made either a verbal or written contract, and in the case of the former, what you can prove was agreed should you be of the mind to pursue this should he say no.

Also please understand that I am not interested in listening to people being deliberately nasty and sarcastic on here and why didn't you do this and that. I have a hell of a lot to deal with right now and every day this month has been a huge physical struggle so if you're just going to be nasty please stay off my thread.
I simply want to know if you think this is an excessive bill or not because I just don't know.
My expertise is in a different area. Thank you.

OP there's no need to get snarky! You asked for opinions on the price and were given them. You found someone able to do your job, obviously didn’t ask the price before and are not happy with the price. You can contact him to come back and make good the damage but you can't negotiate a price after the fact. Here the average call out is £95 before they even do anything so your price sounds right for this area.

Dont get stressed about the wire - our thermostat was replaced a couple of years back and the guy reused the wires which are from when the house was built in 1980. He will have checked the wire is ok to re-use.

If you are unwell giving yourself this extra stress won't help. Focus on the important thing which is your health, upcoming surgery and recovery. Good luck.

That price sounds about right to me OP. I live in the South East and it is more or less what I'd expect to pay for a qualified tradesperson.

People can only reply based on the information you give them.