Parking fees of fitter

Discussion in 'Kitchen Fitters' Talk' started by Edward De Sa, Jun 2, 2016.

  1. Edward De Sa

    Edward De Sa New Member

    My 83 year old sick elderly father had a bathroom installed by Homebase. They asked my father to pay their installer cash-in-hand for plastering work and the rest of the fees by a 1 year loan agreement through their own credit account.

    The road my father lives on in London charges for parking during the daytime so the installer had to pay for parking each day he worked (8 days I believe) and forced my dad to buy these tickets. Is it standard practice for subcontractors or people employed by a retailer to get the customer to pay parking fees? Wouldn't the quotation be inclusive of all such "incidental" expenses incurred to carry out the work they agreed to do?

    I could understand if my father had employed the installer directly for the whole period but he was only plastering one day. The rest of the days he was doing work per the schedule provided by Homebase and ignored my Dad saying he was employed by Homebase not my Dad, so I don't see why he got my dad to pick up the parking charges instead of it coming out of the total quoted by Homebase!

    Is it fair and proper or are they taking advantage of an OAP because he's an easy target?

    Thanks for your kind advice.
     
  2. chippie244

    chippie244 Super Member

    Best not to open 2 posts on the same theme, it gets confusing.
     
    Edward De Sa and KIAB like this.
  3. Astramax

    Astramax Super Member

    Yes, either directly or indirectly the customer pays. Quite often I am given day parking vouchers from the customer if not the cost goes on the bill already agreed at estimate stage otherwise I could be £ounds out. Not being rude but your fathers age and health makes no difference as it also would be the same for anybody. The people taking advantage are your local council who have imposed these difficult parking conditions as it makes them large sums of money.

    Some of the words you have used ie 'forced' 'taking advantage' and 'easy target' are a little on the heavy side, put yourself in the tradesmans position.:(
     
    GoodwithWood likes this.
  4. Mr. Handyandy

    Mr. Handyandy Screwfix Select

    It's absolutely diabolical.

    Get the money back, as you say, should have been in the quote.

    Take it all the way, same as your 'tiled-in-switch' problem.

    Don't take this **** from them.

    Mr. HandyAndy - Really
     
  5. Astramax

    Astramax Super Member

    The standard of work is a separate issue and should be followed up with Homebase!
     
  6. metrokitchens

    metrokitchens Screwfix Select

    Next time I have any work done in my home I will charge £500 a day to park on the drive :D
     
    Edward De Sa likes this.
  7. johndps

    johndps New Member

    Firstly...the situation on both sides. Homebase measured the bathroom, provided a quote which detailed all work that would be done, both parties agreed to that quote based on the itemised bill and everybody happy so far. Fitter then goes out and does a survey to ensure what that the work agreed at quote stage is feasible, safe and priced correctly. At that stage, is it not fair to the tradespeople for your father to inform them that they will have to pay for parking? If that had been done, the fitter could then have gone back to Homebase and gotten them to add on for the parking fees. That would then have been part of the overall charge for install and available for inclusion in the 12 month agreement. It could be argued that the tradesmen should have noted on their survey visit that they would be incurring charges for parking and that THEY should have raised that point. But really...your dad stays on the street and knows what's what there, not the tradesfolks.
    So what was agreed and signed for in the quote was what was supplied and fitted. If the parking was not included on the quote, your dad got what he paid for. Unfair to have the fitter pay for something "out of pocket".
    Secondly...I have been around various fitters and tradespeople. They are generally a good bunch and normally honest to a fault. I cannot vouch for your fitters, but generally speaking, fitters will go out of their way to help, even if it means taking a monetary hit on occasion to achieve good results. Your father's age actually creates a scenario where most fitters will do extra for him...everybody likes to help the vulnerable.
    A wee point...Homebase do not charge for "incidental costs"...have a look at your invoice, all work is costed per item.
    Receipts and quotes and invoices are provided by all retailers not just for proof of purchase but so that you can see what you are buying, how much it costs and all info relating to that purchase. Installers and retailers alike expect you to check all this paperwork and make sure that what you want is what is listed, AND NO MORE. If you go over the design and quote, you are checking that all is well and no extras included, Most modern businesses operate in this fashion.
    Bathrooms are complicated. You are supposed to check the docs. Most folks don't and can be caught out. Most designers and tradespeople know the wee bits that go into a bathroom, but Joe Public doesn't. So checking the invoice for the most part would be confusing.
    But parking charge missing off the quote...you'd see that one straight away.
     

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