I found a gas engineer some time ago, he does the gas certificate for a good price (60£ for properties with boiler plus gas cooker) and last week he repaired the central heating system and changed the pump. There was an issue with it after he repaired it (though it now turns out that it was not related to the repair he made but simply to the settings on the control panel) so I texted him this morning pointing out the issue and simply asking: ‘do you know what is happening and how to solve the problem?’ He never replied but just turned up at the property, changed the settings on the control panel and everything is working (apparently) now.
I have an issue with him cturning up at the property without agreeing before to do so; he is sending the bill but I could have solved the problem myself as it just involved changing back a setting that had been changed some time ago by mistake (it was one of the things I had thought of trying).
I don’t know whether I should complain (I don’t like the fact that he just turned up without asking; also I just paid him for a big job so it’s a bit petty to charge me for the visit), or if I should just pay and then find a new engineer for the future, or perhaps I am over reacting and what he did was fair?
Its not petty. Its his wages. I hate it when people think tradesmen should work for free.
It sounds to me like he has offered a great service & sorted your issue. Yes, there may have been a misunderstanding if that is not what you wanted, but personally, I’d be happy to pay the bill & know I could use this trades person again in the future.
Perhaps I did not phrase my OP very clearly. I have no issue with paying a tradesman when I ask him to come and he comes around - I have always done that and have always been very happy to do so; my issue is with the fact that I sent a message this morning, he never replied and just turned up without asking.
Possibly he thought you wanted him to do the job, as he been there before. Good engineer,? You want to use him again? Pay him.
ok thanks fair enough.
I think that you contacting him with an issue soon after he had done work on the property kind of implies that the engineer was at fault. He obviously wanted to put things right so came round immediately. He does your gas certs for a reasonable price and does bigger jobs also. I would pay him just to keep a good working relationship with a good engineer.
yes fair enough I think moneywise is not a problem at all; he did the job last week at a good price plus I can’t find another engineer easily for the gas certificates at the price he charges. I was just a bit irritated by the way things happened, but like you say perhaps his coming round was a sign of his wanting to put things right quickly so he did the right thing.
So yeah I’ll just pay and carry on working with him.
Ive had slmething similar with a plumber. In this case its someone who I can count on and who gives me a good deal, so I paid to keep good relations.
You state mud way down your post that “I have an issue with him just turning up at the property without agreeing before to do so. He is sending the bill but I could have solved the problem myself” …so the obvious question is why didnt you? Instead you contacted a professional who had been recently and was attentive and conscientious enough to return to check that the problem wasn’t his error (which if it was he MAY not have invoiced for) if he had phoned and said i will be there at (insert a suitable time) and then altered the settings and invoiced you would that have been acceptable?
Make sure any future messages/conversations are crystal clear as to your requirements .
Good point; indeed it was just a communication problem and this has taught me to be more precise and careful in the future.
I had it done to me before, by a gas engineer, when the room stat just needed a change of battery and he happened to have a wireless one and I forgot to ring him, to let him know I had changed the batteries, on the Saturday, plus the tenant had also bought batteries and the gas guy turned up, on the tenant’s doorstep, on the Monday, without a van, as I think he has lost his licence, allegedly, for allegedly drinking too much and the tenant gave him access.
We parted company after that.
In London, gas engineers are ten a gold penny.
I don’t know where you live, but I found one of the best tradesmen, ever, on the NICEIC [Electricians’] website, a day ago, for East London, who quoted me £40, on the telephone, to do an oven installation - like for like and to arrive today, Saturday. My 78 year old one, found on the website about two years ago, for a very small job, quoted, last week £90 + materials, to do this oven install, saying it would be 1/2 day’s work. This new young, man, who does a lot of schools, did it in about 10 minutes, after reading the instructions and spent longer, turning on the oven, to burn off the old Howdens’ oven manufacturer’s oils.