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The day I took on the tradesmen's guild

Posted by Phil Voice on March 18, 2014 at 8:09am in Business
When Simon Read, The Independent's personal finance editor, hired a roofer to repair storm damage, he was shocked to see that half the bill consisted of travel time. So he wrote about it – and all hell was let loose

"I still wasn't convinced. A locksmith then wrote in about a gardener friend who had to give up. "He would do perhaps four jobs in a day, but as the travel, loading/unloading (mowers, etc) and preparation time meant he only got paid for four hours, he could not reasonably charge enough."

http://www.independent.co.uk/property/house-and-home/property/the-day-i-took-on-the-tradesmens-guild-9198118.html

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  • PRO
    Phil Voice March 18, 2014 at 8:14am
    I decided to get a definitive view from a trade body: the National Federation of Roofing Contractors. "As a Trade Association, we cannot comment on pricing," it told me, blaming the "UK Competition Act, to which we abide".

    However, it added: "Our members do agree to provide their clients with a clearly written quote or estimate for the work to be undertaken, giving a fair price for the planned work that shows clearly whether VAT is applicable, and setting out the conditions of the contract."

  • Ian Olpin March 18, 2014 at 4:19pm

    It's not clear from the article whether the complainant was given a written quote or estimate beforehand, and if so, how much it varied from the invoice.

    That said, the roofer knew in advance the address of the customer's house and presumably how far away it was, so should have included an element to cover the travel cost in a quote up front.

  • chris nangle March 18, 2014 at 4:27pm

    the moral is either a set call out charge or an all inclusive bill ,I never break down the costs for this reason.
    good Find phil

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