Phone : (01563) 573 176 E-Mail : mail@baldelectrician.com
Brief Terms and conditions of business, if in doubt phone
for details.
Payment Terms:
PAYMENT IS DUE ON COMPLETION OF WORK.
Payment can be made via cash, credit or debit card.
CHEQUES are no
longer accepted [with
the exception of business cheques]
Estimates
We may give free estimates
for non fault finding work- phone for details
There is NO CHARGE for a
VERBAL ESTIMATE.
Due to the ever increasing cost of fuel,
and other business costs we now give many estimates
over the telephone. There may be a charge for onsite estimates, but we will deduct
the cost of any estimate from the resulting job, this is a result of increased
business overheads.
When performing a visual inspection we do not provide detailed
information with regard to the job. The reason for this – we have been on site
for upwards of an hour detailing all items wrong and giving a list- only never
to hear from the client again. When we give detailed advice there will usually
be charge.
If a detailed quote or visual report is required in
writing on headed notepaper (for insurance purposes etc) there is a charge
levied for administration purposes, if there
is any work resulting from the quote a discount will be applied.
Arranged Works:
When work is arranged on a
specific date and time a deposit is usually taken. A deposit, by its nature is
a form of security, and is not refundable. A part refund, minus costs may be
issued, more detail below
Cancellations:
Where no deposit is
taken the job and estimated costs are not binding. The job can be cancelled by
either the customer or a.b.c. Electrical without
penalty or charge.
We usually prioritise clients
who pay a deposit, or those we have regular business with.
Once work is arranged, and a
deposit taken, a contract is formed and we guarantee a slot in the works
schedule.
We usually have to refuse
other work as a result of arranging a slot in the diary, if work is cancelled
we may levy a charge- we do not do this on a regular basis (2 times in 5
years). If work is cancelled late we may still charge for the time – if it is
not subsequently used elsewhere.
Should work be arranged we
will generally order materials for the work. Some
materials may be non returnable (special order, or cut cable for example) and
these will be charged
All estimates / invoices given are for prices after prompt payment and OAP discount (if
applicable)have been applied.
Hourly Rate
The standard hourly rate is chargeable at £80.00 per
hour- BEFORE PROMPT PAYMENT DISCOUNT.
This is the rate applied to the invoice that you pay. A discount will be applied of at least
45% on the labour rate (discount applies to works inside normal business hours,
and if payment received on completion). This is due to a few non-paying / late
paying customers.
A small job will still be around the same low price as it
was 3 years ago; the only difference is the invoice will show a ‘prompt payment
discount’.
There is usually an apprentice / trainee on site and the
rate includes their labour.
As a.b.c. Electrical are
committed to training future electricians there is not an option of
having ‘no apprentice and a reduction in the hourly rate’.
On a personal note- the few (about 1 late paying client a
year) has caused this change of invoicing structure, the end result is that
clients are paying around the same on completion of the works.
Telephone Calls
As abc
Electrical take credit and debit card transactions over the telephone we may
record telephone calls for fraud prevention purposes. Calls may also be
recorded for staff training and fact verification purposes.
How and when we charge:
Where we carry out work at a clients request we levy the
standard labour charges.
A couple of stories (and learning experiences)
·
Nice electrician from a.b.c.
Electrical (no bias here!) called out to a faulty shower. Client asks us to
check shower. Shower cover off, switch cover removed. Fault diagnosed as faulty
shower switch. Customer informed and told cost of job, stating we had a new
switch in the van and could fit it there and then. Customer replies “My cousin is working away on the rigs as an electrician-
I’ll get him to fix it when he gets back. I only wanted you out to find out
what was wrong.”
·
Called from a client with socket circuit
problem. My sockets do not work in my kitchen and part of my living room, can
you come out? Arranged work for next morning and client finished off with “I’m
only looking for a quote”. The question to him was “To
be clear- you wish us to come round, spend time finding the faults, tell you
what and where the problem is and give you the opportunity not to pay?
“Yes”
was the answer. Needless to say the works were un-arranged.
To sum up, if we
do work (including investigatory work), or give professional advice on site
there WILL usually be a charge for labour.
If the client is
informed there will NOT be a charge there will be no charge.
There is not a
hidden agenda.
Most people don’t go to work and offer their
boss a couple of hours work for free; we all have bills to pay.
Almost all customers are super, but you get the rogue and
slightly misinformed element, which amounts to <2% of all customers.
Retention of Title (a legal thing)
When goods or services are supplied by ourselves
ownership of the goods remains with us until all monies are paid in full.