disputing an invoice/labor charge for service call

[rundrave]

one evening recently I had my pressure relief valve in my electric water heater go bad. As soon as I discovered this I turned off power to the unit and drained some of the water to keep it from leaking any further. Not wanting to pay for emergency after hour service I waited until first thing the following morning (a weekday) to call to get a fixed.

I called a plumbing company near me and they had someone out the same morning. When I called I provided them my water heater model, serial number etc, everything they should have needed to get the appropriate part.

At 10am a plumber called to verify part#'s etc which I provided and said he would be on his way with in the hour. Perfect, just as I expected.

At 10:43 he showed up, and began to replace the part. Literally a 10-15min fix just has I expected. Cut off copper pipe, unscrew valve, put in new valve, hook up copper overflow pipe. He didnt even have to sweat it, he had some crimping device that connected the 2 pieces in a matter of seconds.

Turned on the water and it shot water everywhere out of the new valve. the plumber determines he has wrong part and he leaves. while I am left to clean up my utility room.

At 11:14am he calls me again to confirm part nbrs and I give him the same numbers. At 11:50 he calls me again says he is having trouble finding the right part so he was driving around looking for one.

He shows up over an hour later (I dont have phone records to document) and gets it fixed again just a matter of minutes.

Not a big deal until I get my bill. I was charged $180 for labor and 21.30 for the valve. Am I out of line to not want to pay the full labor ammount?

I can see it from the plumbers side that I did keep him from performing other service calls during that time. However I feel if I gave him the correct part numbers up front it was up to him to bring the appropriate part the first time? Is it really fair to charge me and bill me for his time to drive around and look for parts? Wouldn't it have been more efficient to just call and see if these places have the part first? How do I know he didnt stop for lunch etc while he was gone during that time. He was gone for almost 2 hours.

Am I out of line to try to get something reduced? I would be happy just splitting it down the middle and pay $90 in labor plus parts?

[Sandmannd]

Not out of line at all. I would have no issue paying for the time it took to install it the first time. From then on it's all on him. He messed it up and has to fix it on his own. You aren't the one who brought the wrong part and put it on and had to go looking for the right one. Why did he call you for the numbers again? Didn't he wright them down the first time or at least check them for himself when he was there?

[Jameson]

$180 to have a contractor out to do anything seems to be about the minimum charge these days. How does the person charge? A minimum service call charge that may include an hour of labor would be my guess.

[Getanet]

$180 to have a contractor out to do anything seems to be about the minimum charge these days. How does the person charge? A minimum service call charge that may include an hour of labor would be my guess.

Agreed. The OP seems to imply the hourly rate is $90 and he was charged for 2 hours, but I wonder if the invoice stated how many hours the labor was for?

[mn_bowhunter]

I think you are assuming you are being billed for the wasted time and that is the real issue here. You say he left, then went and searched for parts, then returned around 2 hours after he left. $180 for 2 hours of a plumbers time sounds about right to me. It doesn't hurt to call and ask for an explanation of the bill. Service calls are always going to sting since they have to cover the time spent getting parts and driving in the billed time.

[delcecchi]

I think you are assuming you are being billed for the wasted time and that is the real issue here. You say he left, then went and searched for parts, then returned around 2 hours after he left. $180 for 2 hours of a plumbers time sounds about right to me. It doesn't hurt to call and ask for an explanation of the bill. Service calls are always going to sting since they have to cover the time spent getting parts and driving in the billed time.

Don't many places have a minimum labor charge for a service call?

[Darrell68]

That's funny, I had the same thing happen to me. I told the plumber "Gee, I'm a LAWYER and I don't even charge that much"!! He winks at me and says, "I know, neither did I"...

On a more serious note, on service calls most times there is a minimum charge plus additional hourly rates. Sounds like you did get hosed though. I would definitely call the shop and complain. I bet his story to the shop was way different than what actually took place. Sounds like a real stumblef*ck took your call though.

Later,

Darrell68

[echotrail]

In my past experience with plumbers the service call included 15 minutes of labor time and after that it's priced by the hour broken into 15 minutes increments. Some companies will charge a set price to do a certain job.

I would question the bill. As mentioned before you paid to have it fixed and they only made the second visit due to their error by installing the wrong part the first time and you shouldn't have to pay for their mistakes.

[delcecchi]

The only question is whether the part number provided to the plumber during the initial phone call was in fact the correct one. I am thinking it was, and there was a failure to communicate, but there is a chance not.

Or the guy didn't have the right part and brought one he thought would work...

[rundrave]

Thanks for the comments very interesting responses.

As mentioned before you paid to have it fixed and they only made the second visit due to their error by installing the wrong part the first time and you shouldn't have to pay for their mistakes.

[DaveT]

T&P valves are universal, unless you have some oddball or giant water heater, any 3/4" T&P valve rated for domestic hot water heater (150PSI & 210*) will work, so I'm wondering why he had to get part numbers to begin with. He should have one in his van if he's a service plumber. If the part was bad he can go after the manufacturer for his lost time, you shouldn't have to pay for it.

[rundrave]

T&P valves are universal, unless you have some oddball or giant water heater, any 3/4" T&P valve rated for domestic hot water heater (150PSI & 210*) will work, so I'm wondering why he had to get part numbers to begin with. He should have one in his van if he's a service plumber.

thanks for the info, this is what my invoice says for parts: "3/4 T&P Relief valve $21.30

Also I do have a really big water heater, its a rheem marathon and its 105 gallons.

[rundrave]

just spoke with someone over the phone labor, is $85 an hour plus $10 trip charge, that is where they came up with $180

I also asked if these valves are universal and I was told that they are not, there is a long shank and short shank. No idea what he brought the first time or what was installed.

He is going to talk with the tech and go over the notes they have on their side and call me back in the morning. The person I spoke with said they thought it seemed a bit high to bill me for that much time. Typically they would bill this same job at 1 hour of labor.

I honestly don't know what I would expect for a deduction at this point despite this taking up 3 hours of both his and my time. I will be happy with what ever they choose to deduct if they choose to do so.

If not I have will no issue paying it in full either, should they decide to stick with their original amount.

[Whoaru99]

Sounds to me like your bill should be about $116.30.

A short T&P valve generally won't fit in place of a long one, but a long one typically would work in place of a short one. Long in place of short might be a bit odd looking sticking out of the side an extra couple inches, but that in and of itself wouldn't cause a leak.

FWIW, I just put a T&P valve in my GF's water heater. They had two kinds on the shelf, a generic one with the same ratings that looked EXACTLY like the one that came out and a Watts brand that had the same ratings but looked a little different. The Watts would have fit, just looked a little different. The generic was $12, the Watts was #18. I put in the generic and it worked fine.

[rundrave]

spoke with owner or someone today, they called me back and they were really nice about everything.

Basically told me they there are going to credit me $85, and I think that is more than fair.

Appreciate everyone's feedback.

[Sandmannd]

Sounds like they were fair enough.

[ozzie]

nice to see things worked out properly!! and that is how it is done...inquire, talk reasonable, and come to a mutual conclusion that everyone is happy about.