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Original poster

Handy man - is this over charging?

31 replies

Mittens67 · 31/12/2024 22:08

My elderly neighbour had a new handy man round to install a 5ft curtain pole in his living room for him. Pole came with all the fixings. Handy man drilled new holes into the wall, pole put up. Took about 30 minutes. Was completed to a good standard.
He was charged £115. This seems a lot to me and I am worried that my neighbour was over charged. He says he doesn’t know what is reasonable and is thinking of having this man back to do other jobs.
Was this price reasonable?
(Not in London btw as presume prices are higher there)

OP posts:
Enko · 31/12/2024 22:09

Many charge for 1 hour even if it takes less. In my work I often call out workers I can't get many for below £120 for 1 hour. I am in SE

FrannyScraps · 31/12/2024 22:11

My local handyman charges £40/hour, minimum 1 hour. South East.

everythingcrossed · 31/12/2024 22:13

I think it's an unreasonable amount- but also quite standard, unfortunately.

Hestermofet · 31/12/2024 22:17

I paid £40 for two curtain pole fitting so this does seem expensive

Ihatelittlefriendsusan · 31/12/2024 22:22

Who supplied the curtain pole? And if the handyman, how big was the window?

If the handyman supplied it for say a 6ft window, £50 for the pole £65 to fit and cover costs for fetching the pole. Most do a minimum 1 hour call out... seems reasonable.

If your neighbour supplied it then he has been fleeced and should probably not use the same person again.

Tumbler2121 · 31/12/2024 22:24

I guess the best way forward would be for your friend to get two or three little jobs pending before calling handyman in, probably costs the same as getting them in for three different small jobs.

JC03745 · 31/12/2024 22:25

I too don't know who supplied the pole? Seems far too much if the neighbour bought the pole though!

TheSillyGoose · 31/12/2024 22:26

This sounds about right for a tradesman to drive out, fit the rail with costly tools, cover his insurance, time needed to do the job, holiday pay, sick pay and materials needed.

Unfortunately things have gone up and tradespeople need to cover it.

BoTimic · 31/12/2024 22:28

That's expensive unless the handyman supplied the pole.

Tourmalines · 31/12/2024 22:29

Expensive and I’m assuming tradie did NOT supply pole .

polpolpolpol · 31/12/2024 22:30

He will have charged for an hour, not 30 mins. If he supplied the pole as well £115 is probably reasonable. Also when was it?

FabuIous · 31/12/2024 22:31

Sounds fine to me. He probably charged for the job rather than the time.

CombatBarbie · 31/12/2024 22:32

£25 an hour is average here SW Scotland

Lindy2 · 31/12/2024 22:40

I work for a gas engineer. That's his hourly rate and he has masses of gas safe qualifications and undertakes complex work.

I don't think a handy man putting up a curtain pole falls into the same category. He's over charging.

Enko · 31/12/2024 23:01

Lindy2 · 31/12/2024 22:40

I work for a gas engineer. That's his hourly rate and he has masses of gas safe qualifications and undertakes complex work.

I don't think a handy man putting up a curtain pole falls into the same category. He's over charging.

Believe it or not but in the SE where I work it's easier to find a gas engineer than a good handyman.

Anewyearanewday · 31/12/2024 23:09

I waited until I needed quite a few 'bits' done around the house before calling a handyman.

For every hole drilled into the wall, he charged 15 pounds. I had maybe four pictures that needed to be hung. He put nails into the wall and told me to balance the pictures on the nails rather than hang them using cord.

I asked him to put a new side on the bath which he managed to do (and seal) without taking off the cellophane that the side of the bath was covered in. For that he charged 50 pounds.

He was here for thirty minutes.

115 was far too much to hang a curtain rail. Definitely don't hire him again but at least take some solace that the work was carried out efficiently.

Jabbabong · 31/12/2024 23:16

Who paid for the curtain pole? The customer or the handyman?

RainbowSquare · 31/12/2024 23:18

Seems a lot for a handyman but if the price was agreed up front, he turned up on time and did a good job then no complaints really.

Wot23 · 01/01/2025 00:21

£115 - that is a bit of a how long is a bit of string question...
was that the only work he did that day?
£115 is not excessive as a day's wages, bit under £30,000 annual salary.
Many people really don't appreciate what being self employed actually means when thinking about time spent on the job and "rate per time spent"

That 30 minutes on site ...

  • excludes the travel time to and from the site
  • excludes travel to a supplier to get materials
  • excludes any holiday he takes,
  • excludes any days off sick,
  • it must cover wear and tear on his tools (drill bits don't last forever!)
  • it must cover the time and cost he incurs in doing "free" quotes for other work
  • it must cover a bit put aside for his pension

Yes it is undoubtedly on the "high" side for 30 minutes, but not of itself a reason to dump that person without finding out what they would charge for a "full" day's work.
Round my way, £200 per day + materials is a near standard minimum rate for 8 hours (£25 per hour). I see gardeners charging a lot more than that (£40 - £50 /hr)

Original poster
Mittens67 · 01/01/2025 01:45

To clarify, my neighbour provided the pole not the handyman.
I would have thought around half the price charged would have been reasonable tbh.
The pp who said it is easier to get a gas engineer than a decent handyman is completely right. I only know of three covering our area. One is known to be awful and the other does good work but is very slow to respond to messages so presumably is busy enough and not bothered about getting any more business.
The handy man my neighbour used does good work and is reliable but is clearly very expensive. I suppose if you really need something done you have to pay what is asked but I struggle to see how drilling a few holes and screwing in a pole can be worth over a hundred pounds.
I can see a dentist for a check up or take my cat for her booster at the vet for less than that and the dentist and vet are both people with professional qualifications which took years to achieve, have to pay for their premises and equipment, support staff plus liability insurance.
How can somebody doing a job that the vast majority of people could do for themselves cost more?
Thanks for all your responses.

OP posts:
nicslackey1 · 01/01/2025 01:53

Seems a lot to me. I had a handyman charge £77 to take all the sealant out of walk in shower, go and buy sealant and did an excellent job. Another guy charged £140 to buy and fit 4 shelves in my pantry,so that was measured up, order,collect,saw and fit with batons. I am in NI and this seemed reasonable. I would try someone else.

Tourmalines · 01/01/2025 02:09

Mittens67 · 01/01/2025 01:45

To clarify, my neighbour provided the pole not the handyman.
I would have thought around half the price charged would have been reasonable tbh.
The pp who said it is easier to get a gas engineer than a decent handyman is completely right. I only know of three covering our area. One is known to be awful and the other does good work but is very slow to respond to messages so presumably is busy enough and not bothered about getting any more business.
The handy man my neighbour used does good work and is reliable but is clearly very expensive. I suppose if you really need something done you have to pay what is asked but I struggle to see how drilling a few holes and screwing in a pole can be worth over a hundred pounds.
I can see a dentist for a check up or take my cat for her booster at the vet for less than that and the dentist and vet are both people with professional qualifications which took years to achieve, have to pay for their premises and equipment, support staff plus liability insurance.
How can somebody doing a job that the vast majority of people could do for themselves cost more?
Thanks for all your responses.

Edited

You are completely right . He knows he has the upper hand because there are not many handymen around so he takes advantage. It’s a pity he didn’t quote up front . Anyway , he just made the price up as he went along and thought to himself how much he could get away with . Rip off merchant.

Wot23 · 01/01/2025 14:30

Mittens67 · 01/01/2025 01:45

To clarify, my neighbour provided the pole not the handyman.
I would have thought around half the price charged would have been reasonable tbh.
The pp who said it is easier to get a gas engineer than a decent handyman is completely right. I only know of three covering our area. One is known to be awful and the other does good work but is very slow to respond to messages so presumably is busy enough and not bothered about getting any more business.
The handy man my neighbour used does good work and is reliable but is clearly very expensive. I suppose if you really need something done you have to pay what is asked but I struggle to see how drilling a few holes and screwing in a pole can be worth over a hundred pounds.
I can see a dentist for a check up or take my cat for her booster at the vet for less than that and the dentist and vet are both people with professional qualifications which took years to achieve, have to pay for their premises and equipment, support staff plus liability insurance.
How can somebody doing a job that the vast majority of people could do for themselves cost more?
Thanks for all your responses.

Edited

"How can somebody doing a job that the vast majority of people could do for themselves cost more?"

There was nothing stopping you from either DIY or in asking for a fixed quote. Lesson learned.
Welcome to stepping into the shoes of the self employed who do not have a contracted regular income and so may need whatever work they get "pay".

RosesAndHellebores · 01/01/2025 14:44

Mittens67 · 01/01/2025 01:45

To clarify, my neighbour provided the pole not the handyman.
I would have thought around half the price charged would have been reasonable tbh.
The pp who said it is easier to get a gas engineer than a decent handyman is completely right. I only know of three covering our area. One is known to be awful and the other does good work but is very slow to respond to messages so presumably is busy enough and not bothered about getting any more business.
The handy man my neighbour used does good work and is reliable but is clearly very expensive. I suppose if you really need something done you have to pay what is asked but I struggle to see how drilling a few holes and screwing in a pole can be worth over a hundred pounds.
I can see a dentist for a check up or take my cat for her booster at the vet for less than that and the dentist and vet are both people with professional qualifications which took years to achieve, have to pay for their premises and equipment, support staff plus liability insurance.
How can somebody doing a job that the vast majority of people could do for themselves cost more?
Thanks for all your responses.

Edited

I am in Surrey and think that's on the pricey side. Our handyman charges an hourly rate £60 and I save up jobs.

However, in relation to a curtain rail, I think that depends on the curtain rail. Some of the corded ones can be tricky.

Please also bear in mind that your handyman also has to account for travel to and from jobs and that could be half an hour either side of each job. I'm not sure you can directly compare to your dentist or vet. Patients go to their vet/dentist under their own steam so the dentist/hygienist will see a patient every 20 minutes. My hygienist is £60 for 20 minutes, the dentist £75. The vet is about £30 for ten minutes I think. So, hygienist £180ph, dentist £225 plus treatment/XRays, vet £180 plus treatment, etc.

It's tricky to find a good, reliable handyman and from what you have said the job was done promptly, tidily and well. It's about supply and demand, therefore your chap can charge.

Mindymomo · 01/01/2025 14:58

Depends, did he come out first to look at job, then give a price, so the 30 minutes doing the job becomes about an hour in total, plus travel. I doubt where we are even the simplest of jobs would be over £100. Maybe that was only job he had that day, therefore he charged a bit more. You could phone your local AgeUK and ask if they have a handyman, my late father in law did this as a volunteer and clients were only charged small amounts.