do you ask for maintenance quotes?

[goonandtell]

we just got pinged about $400 for a light switch and a down light. I used not to ask for quotes as i assumed my agent had a good set of trades people and prices would be fair and reasonable but this is the second time we have had just a stupidly expensive repair for a basic issue.

So do you ask for quotes even on little jobs?

 

[wylie]

We don't ask for quotes from the tradies we use regularly, but it still pays to be aware that things can change. Our plumber was getting more and more expensive and we noticed he would be on our job arranging his other workers on different jobs and troubleshooting and ordering/guiding/talking them through jobs etc. I'm fairly sure we were paying for him to be doing this, and we were at the stage of thinking of finding another plumber to trial. We didn't have to worry because the last job we asked him to do, he just never bothered to arrange a time. We found a new plumber and he is a one man show, so we get all his attention all the time, and he is a great plumber too.

Once that trust is broken, it is broken.

 

[nhg]

I always price check.

Sometimes you stumble across a better tradie. Usually not. Agents tend to have relationships with tradies who may charge less for the steady income.

Now that i've starting running renovations myself, you begin to understand why installing a downlight and switch may cost $400 even if I can do it for myself at $30.

- cost of light, switch and roll of cable (even though you want a short length)
- my time sourcing materials at say bunnings
- time spent installing and undertaking the work
- overheads like insurance/advertising/quoting

Though $400 does seem steep.

 

[chibs]

The contract with my PM has a clause which says if the cost of repair is above a certain threshold (e.g. $200), then they are obliged to ask for owner's permissions.

My other PM will give quote and ask permission every time there is a repair to be done.

I guess it depends on the PM

 

[Sez]

What I suggest to my landlords is set a repair limit. If there are a few items that need to be done by a handyman say to them - if the repairs will be under $220 inc. GST go ahead, if over I'd like a quote.
This stops you from being stung by a large invoice without any notice.
The trades that I use have never abused this system and actually will quite often do the work a little cheaper than normal so that they don't need to quote and can come in under the repair limit. It keeps all parties happy .

 

[cmason]

For maintenance I certainly prefer to get at least 2 sometimes 3 opinions/quotes.

Just last week was very busy with a school event away from home and got a call from a tenant that hot water wasn't working, a plumber had come around said system was old required replacing, as it was electric and required an outside concrete base was going to cost $2,500.

As I was very busy with the school event was debating whether to get a second opinion especially since the tenant had no hot water.

I felt the quote sounded high so decided to get a second opinion, due to limited tenant availability and a tradie not turning up it took 2 and a half days to get the second opinion by which time I was feeling a bit bad due to tenant not having hot water.

The second opinion determined the main hot water tap which was located in a cupboard in the bathroom had been turned off most likely by one of the kids, the 2nd plumber charged what seemed an excessive call out fee of $165 but I was happy to pay it considering had just saved me $2,500.

Contacted the original plumber to find out why he didn't find the cause of which as I expected I never got a response

 

[wylie]

That is shocking. You should put up a review on the local review sites to warn others. He is either incompetent or a rip-off merchant.

I did this recently with a repair company, and suddenly they answered my email and letter (which had been ignored until the review went up). I got some reimbursement but I'm still out of pocket.

 

[cmason]

That is shocking. You should put up a review on the local review sites to warn others. He is either incompetent or a rip-off merchant.

I did this recently with a repair company, and suddenly they answered my email and letter (which had been ignored until the review went up). I got some reimbursement but I'm still out of pocket.

had a quick look for review sites for plumbers or tradies in general but couldn't find any, if anyone knows of one especially specifically for Melbourne I'd be interested.

 

[Sez]

This one isn't Melbourne specific but I know people who use it;
http://www.womo.com.au/
Or, you may be able to do a google review on the company which people will come across when they are looking for a plumber.

 

[cmason]

Thanks, found one which already had 10 reviews(9 of which were negative) of the company.

This plumber was actually sourced by the tenant before they informed me of the issue, I usually do try to do a bit of research before selecting a tradie.

Review site is: http://www.productreview.com.au/

 

[jenni_nextplace]

Agents ditch their tradies as soon as they pull a stunt. So most of them are pretty conscious of not stuffing up. We used to always also give the tradies the LL contact details so they could call them directly from onsite to verify with them if a job was more than what was expected and the costs greater than a few hundred dollars. They are generally pretty good with this.

It can help them out as well as they can call from onsite and get a decision right there and then. Also saves having a 3 way conversation, which can be painful.