Asked by tradesman to pay £30 for a quote?

I'm finding it is becoming more common, when you can get someone out for a quote at all. Several trades people have started asking for photos via watsapp and will come out and give a free quote if it looks appealing, otherwise will turn it down. It's not a customer's market at all these days. Always ask if there's a charge. Worth offering to send photos for a rough estimate first if there is.

Based on my experience in the summer, I'd be surprised if you get what I would call a quote at this stage. You should get estimates, but even then, they will be provisional on layout and choice of tiles and fittings, and not binding.

Why would a company draw up an itemised quote with drawings and meticulous costings, only for you to say that on reflection you want the shower on the other side of the room, have changed your mind about the tiles and decided on a different type of loo? He'd just have to do it all again. When you have agreed to go ahead is the time for that, obviously after agreeing a ballpark figure.

Maybe it depends on area, but I think you might find that things have changed, and customers struggle to get good tradesmen, rather than the other way round. It took us ages, as we wanted a reputable company. I think we started looking around in January, and it was August when the work was done. We also got three people out to give us ideas and estimate costs, and none of them quoted in the first instance - they all gave us rough drawings with suggested layouts and a rough idea of the cost of each. If you flat out refuse to co-operate with the way they do things, it might not be easy to get someone willing to accommodate you.

hugshelp

I'm finding it is becoming more common, when you can get someone out for a quote at all. Several trades people have started asking for photos via watsapp and will come out and give a free quote if it looks appealing, otherwise will turn it down. It's not a customer's market at all these days. Always ask if there's a charge. Worth offering to send photos for a rough estimate first if there is.

Crikey! First I've heard of that one - ie sending photos by WhatsApp. So what do those tradespeople do when someone can't do that - ie because they're not that techno-literate?!!

If many people are anything like those who say they want to buy something via Facebook marketplace or free sites, then don’t turn up, I guess it can be as bad for tradesmen.
So many are now busy fitting out new houses nearby so it is hard to get tradesmen at all.
I have just had a tree surgeon call. He looked at the problem and will send me a quote, free. I won’t bother asking anyone else to quote as this chap did some work for me earlier in the year and even did some extra without additional charge.

Sorry, we must have cross-posted, hugshelp. I haven't come across that (yet) either. I wouldn't be happy with that.

What I have seen is tradespeople posting photos of their work on social media without the permission of the householder, which I think is bad practice. I've had it done to me, and asked for the pictures to be taken down, as I hadn't given consent. Now I say at the start that I want no photos to be taken other than for operational reasons, and then they should be deleted when the job is finished.

Absolutely not. You will probably never see him again. Ask neighbours/friends to recommend someone trustworthy. X

He's trying it on - what a spiv.

I would think it was fine if I'd been told this before the visit and would want to know if it was going to be taken off any eventual bill. Otherwise I would not use him.

knspol

I would think it was fine if I'd been told this before the visit and would want to know if it was going to be taken off any eventual bill. Otherwise I would not use him.

Oh yes - I would expect anything chargeable to be flagged up in advance.

Also, my replies have been based around larger jobs such as refitting a bathroom. If he's just there to fix a dripping tap, it's a different matter.

Times have changed. There are not enough tradesmen partly because of the Tory Brexit (European tradesmen left the UK), too many youngsters go to university rather than becoming an apprentice and the immigration rules work against incoming tradesmen.

No way - go on checkatrade and report it!
Go on checkatrade and find another tradesman!

Times are changing. Depending on area it can be extremely hard to get a quote let alone three. Then there is actually getting the work started.

No, you absolutely don't have to pay for a quote. Assessing a job is part & parcel of their business expenses, so they just have to suck it up if the customer ends up not using them. I had a plumber on the phone a few months ago, who wanted me to say I'd definitely give him the job "otherwise it's not worth my while sending my boy to look at it." Yeah, right. The idiot has probably gone out of business by now.

Most definitely not!

If he told you what he charged for coming and giving a quote, then you need to pay him, but have no obbligation to use him.

If he did not tell you that he charges for making a quotation, then you need to fun it past a solicitor with regards to paying him or not,

In your place I would ring two other firms and ask for quotations, making sure this time to inquire whether they charge for making a quotation and if so, how much.

I would never only ask one tradesman for a quotation.

Checkatrade is as unreliable as trustpilot. Both easily manipulated by the companies on them.

I certainly wouldn't pay for a quotation. Round here, if you get as far as a quotation which you accept, there is no certainty that they will deign to actually turn up to do the job.

I have come across this before. Ask if it will be deducted from the final bill if you employ him for the job.

My son is a stonemason. Sometimes he needs to drive back and forth to clients who live a fair distance away. It takes him hours to submit a proper quote. Would you do that for nothing?

If he told you in advance, then it's akin to a call out fee. If he didn't, then he can't charge you as nothing was agreed. If you agreed, then you have to pay.
Not everyone offers free estimates or quotes so check in advance.

mabon1

My son is a stonemason. Sometimes he needs to drive back and forth to clients who live a fair distance away. It takes him hours to submit a proper quote. Would you do that for nothing?

It amazes me how many people expect others to work for nothing. It's rather different, but I know a lot of people who won't pay for downloads of any sort (ebooks, music, knitting patterns, apps etc), despite the fact that the people producing them are trying to make a living.

They only see the cost to them, which is a similar attitude to those who expect people like your son to pay for petrol and write off his time in the hope of being the cheapest person contacted to do a job. Obviously it it important to know how much something will cost before committing to getting it done, and also to meeting people who might be working in your home before employing them, so I think free estimates should be expected, but detailed quotes are different.

Summerlove

He spent his time coming to your house and will spend more time working on the quote. I think this will become more of a common practice.

Did you like him? That would go a long way for me if I’d hire him

It is becoming the norm to pay for quotes, people ask for quotes, my electrician friend says it can take him hours and hours to do a quote for people just to use them as comparison but never intended to have the work done. They could be working instead off writing quotes. Also prices are changing very rapidly at the moment, so a quote is only valid for a short period, then a new one needs to be done, all very time consuming.

As an employer, we would offer expenses to an interviewee if they had traveled some distance, often that would be the train fare or contribution to fuel.

Charging for a quote is simply incorrect. This cost should be included in the overall costs of running that company. When I was employed we would sometimes take a week to study intensive documents in order to prepare a quote. We'd typically win 20% of offers. The costs we incurred would be part of the overall costs of running the business and not added to the individual offer.

I would also encourage trades and customers to adopt at least a basic set of terms and conditions. Everyone knows what the price is, what it's for and the limits of that work should something be discovered that couldn't be foreseen, for example. It should also detail payment terms and what might trigger that payment. This doesn't have to be a novel and doesn't have to be complicated but would also improve the reputation of many trades as well as sort the trusted professionals from the chancers.