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Central Heating
Is this normal?
I have a rental property. The letting agent was notified by tenants that the boiler was not igniting. Letting agent called one of their boiler repair people. (I only found out after repair had been done.)
The bill includes a fact finding fee when the defect was diagnosed; he then charged for a second visit for the repair and part price.
Their ad on another website like this one says 'no call out fee'. Would the first part of the bill constitute a call out fee? Or do all boiler repair companies charge a fee to diagnose the problem (even if they say they don't charge a call out fee)?
4 Answers from MyBuilder Heating Engineers
Best Answer
Hi,
Yes its normal, diagnosing the fault is where the skill is, not fitting the part. They will just be charging for time, a "call out" is a charge for turning up on top of an hourly charge.
e.g no call out with 2 hours spent = £45 x 2 = £90.00
call out with 2 hours spent = £90 + £45 x 2 = £180.00
If companies weren't charging for fault diagnosis then we'd all be working for free, telling people whats wrong for them to fix it themselves.
Hope that helps.
Answered 6th Feb 2020
yes fault diagnosis takes time and would be charged for,no call out fee means no extra charge for coming out.
Answered 4th Feb 2020
YES SOME COMPANIES CHARGE TO COME TO YOUR PROPERTY
I FEEL IT IS FAIR TO DIAGNOSE THE FAULT AND CHARGE FOR THIS
IT IS IN CONTRAST THE SAME AS A GARAGE CHARGING FOR DIAGNOSTICS AND A COMPUTOR ENGINEER DIAGNOSING PROBLEMS WITH SOFTWARE
Answered 7th Feb 2020
A "call out fee" is chargeable for the visit accepted by the customer( just for turning up).
"The first hour"(Diagnostic fee) of an engineer is a diagnostic requiring skills and a possible fix within that "working "hour, - NOT A CALL OUT FEE.
After the initial hour then if it cannot be fixed there is an hourly charge plus the parts if that's what the customer wants!
"Some" customers will only want the diagnostic and fix within that hour, After that "some" may want to get a second opinion if not fixed, and not wanting to pay out an hourly rate plus parts then, fix it themselves or hire another engineer to try fix and/or to find a different result!
Customers have to try to understand fixing one problem may only lead to other mechanical problems and so the judgement of whether to have a new appliance is on the cards. And it is not fool proof. What may seem a simple fix can lead down an expensive road, so take time to think clear and not rush yourself(customer) or engineer.
Answered 25th Feb 2020
