East London Plumbers (TradeTek/Rightio) - Have I been scammed?

[angryguy]

I asked for a plumber to look at a faulty bathroom mixer tap and replace a toilet seat. The price was £109+VAT ph (London) which although high was the cheapest a quick search yielded. The guy puts the toilet seat on but says the tap can't be fixed and I need to get a new one and call them out again. I ask how long it should take and he says 30 minutes. I say £109 seems a bit steep for 30 minutes work and he offers me a reduced rate of £74+VAT ph. A bit annoying that I paid £109+VAT to put a toilet seat on but figure it's my own fault for not big prepared and having a new tap ready.

I get a new tap and call them out again. He calls me at 11.30 and I go and let him in to my gated car park so he enters my flat about 11.35. At about 12.40 he goes back to his vehicle to get the invoice. He coms back fiddles around a bit with the tap and gives it to me to sign at 12.50. At this stage he had not put the cost on so I asked him to do that first. I get charged £148+VAT as he went into the second hour. I had a look in on him every now and then but can't tell if he was time wasting at all (although he didn't appear to be moving particularly quickly). It just strikes me that there is a huge incentive for the plumber to finish near the start of an hour.

Have I been scammed? Is there anything I can do about it?

 

[Alex Knight]

Might want to check the times you've posted and correct them first?

 

[SimonG]

You knew the cost up front, what do you want? Forget it an move on.

Find a guy you can trust through recommendations from friends, neighbours or colleagues. Then next time you wont have to play pot luck on the internet.

 

[JCplumb]

At those prices it would be worth a daily commute to London from where I live, I'd make the petrol money back for changing a tap washer...

 

[angryguy]

You knew the cost up front, what do you want? Forget it an move on.

Find a guy you can trust through recommendations from friends, neighbours or colleagues. Then next time you wont have to play pot luck on the internet.

Based on the first guy's estimate that changing the tap would be a 30 minute job I was anticipating it to be done within the hour. It is my suspicion that the work was deliberately dragged out in order to bill for a second hour that concerns me rather than the hourly cost.

 

[A1P]

Seemingly you have grounds for being angry.Having been offered a reduced rate of £74 they 'take it back 'by making sure they reach the second hour.Probably not the sort of people you would employ again ,but they probably don't care ,their business model doesn't seem to be based on customer satisfaction.You could try their customer service but you would be relying on their good will which I suspect may be non-existent.As advised try to find a local tradesman you can trust.

 

[Masood]

Next time you need something done, give me a shout. I am in East London and don't charge anywhere near that price!

 

[Gray0689]

And recommend a good reliable plumber like masood you all be better off then

 

[Barry98]

A good plumber is for life not just for christmas

 

[CustomerService]

Good Afternoon,
I am the Quality Manager for the above company and I am sorry that you have concerns with our services. Can you provide me with your job number to enable me to investigate further and contact you in regards to the above.
Many Thanks
Tradetek