Story Published:
Nov 21, 2007 at 7:18 PM PDT
Story Updated:
Nov 21, 2007 at 7:22 PM PDT
Would you know who to call if you had a plumbing or electrical emergency in the middle of your holiday preparations?
Here's important information to help you save money on unexpected repairs.
The problems can crop up anytime but when they happen, you want them fixed right away.
In Lowell Gardner's case, it was the two wall heaters in his daughter's condo in Mukilteo.
"There was black dust throughout the condo," he said.
On close inspection, Gardner found a buildup of soot inside the unit. He decided to call an electrician.
Not knowing who to call, he grabbed the phone book and called the first company that looked good.
Here are the quotes he says he got:
$189 to have someone come out immediately
$109 dollars for a two-hour window
$49 dollars for an open window between 8am and 5pm
$400 dollars for a troubleshooting fee
Not wanting to wait all day, Gardner decided to pay $109 dollars for the two-hour window.
Gardner said when the electrician arrived, "he came in. He turned the heaters on, realizing that they worked fine he said, there was no problem; he couldn't see any problem."
The heaters just needed cleaning to get rid of the dust. Gardner did that himself with a can of compressed air. His total came out to be $118, including tax.
But out of curiosity, Gardner asked the electrician what it would cost to replace the two heaters in his daughter's condo.
The quote came to $2,082 plus tax for the units and installation.
Gardner decided to pass and went to Home Depot, where he found the same heater for $109 plus tax. That's less than $240 dollars retail for the two units.
"I was absolutely stunned. I didn't think that any company would charge that much," he said.
Consumer have similar complaints about outrageous plumbing bills.
Joan in South King County sent me a fuming e-mail about the her plumbing bill for a backed-up bath tub in the basement.
The plumber she called charged her $50 for a response fee. That's not bad.
Then she was charged $85 for the plumber to remove and replace the toilet.
And $545 for the plumber to run a snake through the sewer line. She says it took less than an hour.
The bill? $747.28, including tax. 20 days later, the bathtub backed up again but Joan says the company told her there was no warranty on the work, so if they came back out she would have to pay additional charges.
Our informal survey found plumbing and electrical charges vary greatly.
For example, one company we called had a trip charge of $39. A second company charges $49 and a third charges $97.50, which includes the first 15 minutes of labor. Some companies use flat-rate pricing, regardless of how long the job takes. Some companies have no appearance fee and charge by the hour and by the parts needed.
There's a similar range of fees and rate policies with electricians.
One company we contacted charges $92.50 for the first 30 minutes and $42.50 for each additional 30-minute block. Another charges $110 for the first hour and $70 per hour after that.
As for that $2,082 quote Gardner got to replace two wall heaters in his daughter's condo, the telephone estimate we got from a different company came to under $600 with the disclaimer that they'd need to actually see the units to give a hard quote.
Keep in mind there are many reputable and fair plumbing and heating contractors in the Puget Sound region. And there are no laws that regulate what these contractors can charge. But the Better Business Bureau and the State Attorney General's office get quite a few consumer complaints about high rates and quality of service.
To avoid surprises, get recommendations from friends and neighbors who've had repeated success with the same company.
Establish a relationship with that company before you need them. If it's an electrical company for instance, have them service your furnace, which is something many consumers tend to ignore.
By establishing a relationship with a reputable contractor before you need one, you'll know who to call in an emergency.
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