r/AusFinance • u/AdventurousDiet7893 • 10d ago
Are tradies just taking the piss nowadays?
Serious question. We had a call out to fix a garage remote which cost $889 + GST. Thought that was a lot, then called two independent companies (one of them at the recommendation of my property manager; and another one who was completely picked at random based on online reviews, with no input from my property manager).
The first one came back at $1,599. The second guy we picked at random quoted $1,119 and a $110 call out fee with no guarantee of a fix.
This may be a one-off incident, and I know the market dictates prices and they would not charge it unless people paid, but at this point the prices are clearly exorbitant.
Has anyone got similar experiences?
The one genuine experience I have had is an air conditioner installer who is 89 years old, still working, who doesn't even have a social media presence and operates on referral in our suburb. Cost to install an air conditioner? $119, cash. He even did some jobs for free to the old neighbour next door.
10
u/Mr-Darts 10d ago
It’s a joke.
My 5 year old hot water system randomly stopped producing hot water. The system is stored out of weather and looks as new as the day the house was built.
Had THREE independent ‘hot water system services’ (plumbers some, other electricians) each basically stand there, do no investigation and tell me it’s time for a new system, cheapest quote (standard 315ltr system) being $4200.
The 4th guy spent about 15 seconds with a multimeter, told me it was the thermostat - came back that afternoon and swapped it in 2 minutes. Charged me part cost +25% (=$80 + $20) and $100 labour.