How can people quote so low?

[Gavin John Hyde]

Went to price up a job this morning to install 6 downlights in a dining room.

Nothing too complex, with nice access to the extension roof space via a small access hatch to make the install relatively straightforward. would be able to work directly above the joists and come down through the ceiling.

i quoted what i thought was a good price, given that there is little in way of drilling or effort to run new cables., the guy then tells me my quote of £200 for labour and parts is a little high.

The lights the customer wants are fire rated and come in at £80 or thereabouts for the 6 plus junction boxes, cables etc and making good the hole from the existing light pendant. I quoted for 2 hours labour at £40 for 1st hour 30 for 2nd. factor in parking in the area(residents parking scheme you have to pay for permit from council), diesel and tax, NI, insurances etc.. it doesn't leave much.

He has had a quote off a eastern european spark (apparently fully qualified), who has said he will do it for £140 all in.!! i cant see how the guy is going to make a living... i told the guy that if he wants to pay that then i can't do the job.

Anybody else find they are up against some really crazy quotes that you just can not compete with... it is a complete race to the bottom. There is a bloke round here offering CU changes for £150..!! i am assuming there is no testing no certs.. no comebacks... its become a crazy world.

 

[buzzlightyear]

what I cannot stand is carpet bagger!

 

[Anthony S]

Why are you all surprised ,? this has been going on for donkeys years, and always will.!

Simple thing to do is move into commercial/industrial and your always earn a living.

 

[GMES]

Heard the worst one ever today, chatting to a domestic and commercial landlord I know really well and we got chatting about the cost of being a landlord these days, he's got loads of properties and told me that he paid 80.00 for a board swap last week, that's right boys and girls 80.00 fitted Inc 17th edition dual rcd metal board. Even if its a cash job there is still nothing to earn at that.
I'm glad I only do industrial and large commercial, the Domestic side is Buggered.

 

[freddo]

Heard the worst one ever today

I'd love to see some pics of that installation...

 

[telectrix]

CU knocked off from the day job. £80 beer money.

 

[The Ghost]

80.00 fitted Inc 17th edition dual rcd metal board

Whaaaat! No way! That is not possible. Do you mean with a cert as well?....Got any jobs m8

 

[Leesparkykent]

There's money in domestic if you work for the right builders/clients..I ain't interested in clients that want the cheapest quote and can normally weed them out quickly. I don't put a lad out for less than £250 a day and my diary is crammed. The commercial market can be competative as well......most big commercial jobs have 1 or 2 proper sparks and half a dozen or so mates.

 

[westward10]

Most things are possible.

 

[Octopus]

More fool the landlord for using the cheapest supplier - no paperwork probably.... lets hope nothing goes wrong....

 

[Gavin John Hyde]

The worst cowboys are the ones i call ebay sparks. they buy the cheap imported counterfeit CU's off ebay for £45 (same model in usual suppliers is £70+). fit a couple of these with dodgy mcbs, rcds etc.. and away they go. no testing, no certs. add a bit on for profit and they can make a couple hundred per week tax free.
I had to replace one of these once, and it wasn't in a house, was fitted by a supposed niceic approved contractor (niceic website never heard of him mind) in a small cafe, the switches were so brittle and the plastic was dodgy as hell. You took your life in your hands when turning off the incoming main switch.

There is more laws concerning waste collection in england now than there is concerning electricians!
If you as a householder pay somebody who is not licensed to take away your rubbish, and they have no environment agency licence then you can get a £5k fine! the onus is on you to go online and check they have the relevant licence to carry waste.
Yet, you can pay any tom dick or harry to carry out electrical works it seems with out having to verify they have insurance, part p or any other safety check. surely the customer should have a duty to verify the electrician is approved at very least by a scheme, has insurance, testing qualifications etc... failure should carry a fine.

If your mate takes your rubbish and dumps it, worst is it ruins a field and council pay to clean it up, pay a dodgy electrician and your house could burn down and kil your family! says it all really.

 

[Delboybully]

I did a job recently changing some faceplates. Owner was concerned about insulation above his new spotlights. Over some the insulation wasn't put back at all - a whole section was moved and not put back. Other spotlights had been covered. Also no jbs used so inner cores exposed and no cert. Took the guy 3 days to put 14 spots in 3 rooms, one external light and one external socket. The so called sparks promised a cert but nothing turned up.

Customer supplied the spots and external light and socket. So called sparks supplied everything else and labour for 350

I ended up sorting the mess out and the customer realised that the cheapest isn't always the cheapest and was out of pocket.

 

[robo83]

I always inform the customer I garanttee my work, insured and survive on a reputation and recommendations.

These are the jobs if you loose them, then it's only your quoting time sacrificed.

I would offer a slight discount but that's it, don't drop low enough to get the job. Been there, won't be doing it again.. :/

 

[buzzlightyear]

when a customers says to me the bloke down the road will do it cheaper .
answer , snap his hand off and walk away .because I'm not in the bidding war.

 

[davesparks]

When I was doing domestic work I found that around half the people who said they'd had a cheaper quote hadn't actually got any other quotes. It was just straight up lies to try and get a discount. When I declined to lower my quote they'd accept it anyway.

 

[Ian1981]

Problem you also get is customer want say a new double socket installed however you notice that there's no bonding to the installation so you need or tell the customer about it.
The customer thinks your making up work for more money so they hire a lad down the road who will do it for £20 no bother.

If you play by the rules then sometimes your handicapped when pricing private jobs.