Plumber quote before or after VAT ?

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bullworth

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I had some foreign visitors at my house just as I got a leaky shower which I did not have the tools to fix. The leak was slowly destroying my sitting room downstairs and my visitors were asleep in bed after a long journey so I wanted the problem fixed immediately as I wanted to be the perfect host and be able to provide a working shower for my guests.

Under pressure I found a company in the golden pages which had a huge 2 page advert and arranged over the phone for a plumber to come within 2 hours.

I was quoted 95 euro an hour over the phone and helped the plumber deal with the problem within an hour by handing him tools and clearing anything out of his way as I told him I was quoted 95 euro an hour so I want to get this fixed ASAP. He nodded while working. The problem was fixed within 40 minutes.

At the end of this he told me the price was in the region of 120 euro ( I forget the amount exactly but it was a good bit higher than 95) and mentioned this was because of VAT.

Does it seem right to folks on here that a private customer at his home is given a quote minus VAT over the phone ? I had explained my problem clearly and had explained I was a private homeowner before I had received the quote. Or is this the normal way things are done ?

Opinions please.
 
A lot of the time , yes it is. They must produce a docket with the price & the vat is added onto the docket afterwards, @ 13.5% if there is time & material or time involved or 21.5% if material only
 
He should include the vat unless quoting to a business or mentioned it's not including vat.
 
They should ask the question of whether it is private or business and quite accordingly
 
As far as I can see it is maybe common practice within 'the trades' not to mention VAT - but not a good idea IMO.

In our business I have always made a point of mentioning that prices exclude VAT - and in our case carriage - and usually in writing where possible.
 
Probably all you needed done was some sealant around the shower base where tiles meet it ,20 minute job you could easily have done yourself,at the worst a loose pipe fitting that just needed tightening
 
We always quote domestic clients including VAT and commercial clients excluding VAT. The VAT rate should be 13.5 % as outlined above - the only other reason I can see for the difference would be if they supplied parts?
 
I had supplied all the parts. I installed a showeer myself. I had retiled the bathroom and had the shower perfectly in place with perfect holes cut in large tiles for both the water pipe feeding the shower and also for the electrical cable. I had also wired it perfectly and had this checked by an electrician friend. It looks like a work of Leonardo Da Vinci or Botticelli if I say so myself and is a project which in the end gives me some satisfaction.

The problem was where the flexible pipe feeding water from the tank above meets the shower connection. It really seemed the most awkward thing possible. It just wouldnt fit together for me and was leaking a little bit even when I had compressed the 2 joints as much as I could. In the end it was a matter of the plumber pulling out some wrenches. I had thought I was missing a piece as this design seems to be really designed to confuse. There are no threads on it etc. It just squeezes together apparently and this was an impossible thing for me to do but the plumber was experienced at it.

I had explained over the phone that I was a householder with guests and this problem needed to go away yet had been quoted 95 euro over the phone. I paid the higher figure ( when the vat had been sprung on me) just to make the plumber go away and allow my guests to sleep in peace after a long journey without overhearing any arguments.

I think its wrong to quote a private householder a figure and then bump it up afterwards while blaming VAT whether this is normal practice or not.
 
Re: 刑事案例19

I used to work for a guy a long time ago and he insisted that we give what we were getting as to what the goverment were getting for the work.

So when asked we'd give ex-vat prices so when people came in to collect their good they were always shocked by the increase in price.

Really would hate answering the phone and answering the question "how much does it cost?"

To me it should be the entire price because that is what it costs.
 
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The law clears it up nicely, but it should only need a bit of common sense and ethical prowess for plumbers to quote correctly.

If the plumber had never in his working career come across the problem of members of the public concerned about the vat price confusion, it is because he correctly includes the vat and probably had decent parents who brought him up to work out right from wrong.

Plumbers that hide the vat on an oral vat net quote and then pretend the customer is fussy by questioning why the extra vat was only mentioned after the job was done is the sort of rip off cowboy plumber probably brought up by slap dash parents who spoilt the little brat.

Apart from the parental up-bringing theories, it only makes sense to mention before hand the price of the job and any rate of tax being applied to avoid any confusion or embarrassment by either party after the job, its only logical and polite.
 
Thanks for the feedback . I am going to get on the phone to both the plumbing company and to the national consumer agency; will explain the situation to both and will let you know how I get on.
 
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