Service fee charged without completing work

Hi
I want to hear your opinion in this matter.

I called a service company for a quote to fix my dishwasher. They inspected the machine and quoted, without mentioning that there can be further cost. I accepted the quote and let them do the job. However, when their technician came to fix, they made another quote saying more things needed and doubled the price, or else they would not fix and charge me a service fee. I did not accept the second quote because the price was unreasonable. Do I still need to pay the service fee? Is this the norm?

Cheers

 

Not sure if you are in NSW but I think the below - or something like the below - would apply to you.... The gist of it is that you get a written quote, there can be variations as long as they are in writing and signed/agreed by both parties.

Getting quotes

As far as you are concerned, a) they didn't deliver on first quote and b) you didn't agree to the variation, so you should have to pay for anything... Just my view

 

Thanks for the response. I'm in Victoria. I'll update the question to add that info.

Turn out I can not edit my original post.

They didn't deliver on the first quote, neither I accepted the second one.
However, there is a grey area in which they have a callout fee and said that the fee will be waived if I accept the quote. And I accepted only the first quote.

 

Usually with most things mechanical , once you pull one part off to replace or repair, there is always a possibility that something else is broken or damaged that is hidden from view.
Its not always obvious from the start, and then you get to a stage where it becomes cheaper to replace the whole machine.
If someone has come out and started to work on it and then found more damage ,and at that stage you have decided to cancel the job , you will generally still get charged a fee.

 

I'd tell them where to stick the service fee. They didn't do what you wanted and you didn't ask for a service, so they have no claim.

 

Thanks all for your opinion (in whichever way ;-) )

I understand that difficulty; but the problem I have is that there was no warning that there could be possible significant extra cost. I can go with a bit of some extra bucks; but not double of the original amount, given that the first quote was already quite expensive, ~500 (almost the price of a cheap dishwasher). Double that amount, I can get a decent dishwasher without a need to fix a decade old machine. But, in anyway, still thanks for your comment.

 

Fair Trading would be able to advise. May be misleading and deceptive.

Aldi near me had brand new dishwashers a week later. $250 with generous inhome warranty

 

Hi Hoan
My reading is that the ‘service fee’ is probably the callout fee.

They came out to look at the appliance twice and you didn’t go ahead with the repair so it’s perfectly fair to charge a call out fee.

How much exactly do they want you to pay for the call out?

They should have been clear about what would happen and the cost before both the first and second visit.

 

Exactly, if they haven't though, I don't see an ethical requirement to pay and highly doubt that there would be a legal one (though I'm not a legal professional).

 

Can we get a little more information on the specifics? $500 is an exorbitant call-out fee? It sounds like that was a quote to fix something, and then when they were on site they advised that the issue was not the expected problem.

 

$500 is the quote to fix the machine, and it goes double in the second one. Their service callout fee is $165.

Agree. That part was not clear to me. Initially the callout fee was told to be waived if I accepted the quote; if I didn't, I would have to pay for it. That triggered my question.
I have clarified with them. The service fee that they want to charge me is the callout fee.

 

We work in automotive industry

People want a quote.

We don't always know what is wrong by looking

So we make an approximation mid case scenario.

Once you take something apart we assess and see more parts are broken.


Its hard.

We don't have telepathic powers.


Lets use the Medical profession(below is my real life example.)



If you sick you go to GP
Pay
Gp says need Xray
You pay
Go back to gp
You pay

He says need MRI
You pay
Bring MRI back to GP
You pay
He says need to see specialist
I have a referral now to see a specialist.
PS my leg has a bone that is chipped.
My appointment is in 2 weeks.


4 appointments 2 imaging I have not started fixing my problem


Yet we expect a technician to come over 15 minutes quote and fix it.
That have the ***** if its not done on the spot and ***** if it costs more?

See the issue?

 

Seems fair.

 

I have a general rule with repairs regarding out of warranty items for household items , that once you get up to 40-50% of the replacement cost ,they just get replaced with a brand new item, if its over 8 years old the decision just becomes a lot easier,that regardless if its our PPOR or IPs .

 

You sound frustrated because of some past experience? To a certain extent, it comes down to how you can run your business. Even if people want a quote, you can still choose not to give it at all, right?
And the service callout fee is to provide a proper inspection for a proper quote, isn't it?

In healthcare, people don't want quote. They just want any health issue fixed. That's how it runs. (Side note: I feel impatient some time too with too many medical appointments for an issue.)

I actually have a different example for you. I asked for a quote to have my heater serviced too. And the person, after looking at the system, gives me 2 options
- if I want to fix it, here is the cost and here are potential issues.
- If I want to replace, there is the cost.
I would appreciate an experienced professional giving quote that way.

However, still thanks for your comment. A different view from a different angle.

 

I'm not frustrated.

I see your point of view just trying to share mine. 20 years in automotive industry.