Call out charges

[shillelagh]

If you've read my blog you'd know that a couple of weeks ago my phone went dead and i had to agree to pay £116 if there was nothing wrong with my line for a call out charge. Well spuggie has had an experience yesterday and i asked if i could put it on here and he said yeah - he's still pretty mad about it. So here goes.

Spuggie Friday night washed up and poured the water down the sink like you do .......except it wouldnt drain away. He tried putting down the stuff like mr muscle thats supposed to clear drain blockages and it didnt work. As he lives in a council flat/house thing up there - he rang the council on Saturday morning to report it - as the pipe that was blocked was the main pipe out of the house and asked when a plumber could come round. The person on the phone said its a £50 call out fee .... when he said its a council flat/house she said to him because he's working he will get charged a call out fee of £50. He said its your property and where i think its blocked is where the central heating blokes put the connecting pipe in in May because the pipework was too short ... she said its a £50 call out fee. In otherwords he got nowhere. So after he finished work he went round to b & q and told them what was wrong and they sold him a snake like thing and some otherstuff like an aerosol kind of thing for £20 - and he came home and unblocked it himself. By the way if someone rings up and they are out of work and on benefits - they get theirs repaired for free!!!!

Now as far as i know if you have a council house/flat the council should come out and repair stuff like this without paying a call out fee .... He's going and complaining about it this week.

[Neil]

Originally Posted by shillelagh

By the way if someone rings up and they are out of work and on benefits - they get theirs repaired for free!!!!

Like I just said in another thread those that work and pay their way have to pay for everything. Those that don't get everything free ( well almost everything)

[jaysay]

Originally Posted by shillelagh

If you've read my blog you'd know that a couple of weeks ago my phone went dead and i had to agree to pay £116 if there was nothing wrong with my line for a call out charge. Well spuggie has had an experience yesterday and i asked if i could put it on here and he said yeah - he's still pretty mad about it. So here goes.

Spuggie Friday night washed up and poured the water down the sink like you do .......except it wouldnt drain away. He tried putting down the stuff like mr muscle thats supposed to clear drain blockages and it didnt work. As he lives in a council flat/house thing up there - he rang the council on Saturday morning to report it - as the pipe that was blocked was the main pipe out of the house and asked when a plumber could come round. The person on the phone said its a £50 call out fee .... when he said its a council flat/house she said to him because he's working he will get charged a call out fee of £50. He said its your property and where i think its blocked is where the central heating blokes put the connecting pipe in in May because the pipework was too short ... she said its a £50 call out fee. In otherwords he got nowhere. So after he finished work he went round to b & q and told them what was wrong and they sold him a snake like thing and some otherstuff like an aerosol kind of thing for £20 - and he came home and unblocked it himself. By the way if someone rings up and they are out of work and on benefits - they get theirs repaired for free!!!!

Now as far as i know if you have a council house/flat the council should come out and repair stuff like this without paying a call out fee .... He's going and complaining about it this week.

I think spuggie is quite right jen, never heard of a council asking a call out charge in cases like that, as he sayes it their property, fix it.

[MargaretR]

I live in a Hynburn Homes (ex council) flat.
A couple of years ago my cooker wall socket went kaput, along with the cooker.
I don't know whether the cooker(only 2 yrs old) or the wall socket was faulty, but the electrician, employed by the landlord, blamed the cooker, and said I should pay a call out charge for his visit - he didn't replace the socket - just isolated the cooker socket part to make it unusable and safe - (I soon replaced the cooker with a gas only model).

What I am getting at is -- I don't work -- am retired --- but should have been charged -- the leccy said he would report that the cooker was not the cause because it was Christmas week and he was feeling sorry for me having no cooker at Christmas.

[Neil]

Originally Posted by MargaretR

A couple of years ago my cooker wall socket went kaput, along with the cooker.
I don't know whether the cooker(only 2 yrs old) or the wall socket was faulty, but the electrician, employed by the landlord, blamed the cooker, and said I should pay a call out charge for his visit

I can't think of any reason why a faulty cooker would damage the connection point if it was sound. Even a direct short on the cooker should not damage the connection point, the fuse/breaker would go out first.

If there was a bad connection in the connection point it would not damage the cooker.

If the cooker was faulty and damaged the connection point then it to must have been in poor condition.

The leccy did not know what he was talking about.

[jambutty]

Call out charges are exorbitant but we have no real choice but to live with them. On the other hand a blocked sink/bath doesn’t always need a plumber. The first port of call should be the “U” bend under the sink. But before unscrewing it PUT THE PLUG IN THE SINK FIRST and maybe as a precaution have a bucket under the “U” bend too. Most blockages will occur in the “U” bend and once you have it out you can wheedle out the gunge in it. If the blockage is after the “U” bend then you use a plumber’s plunger. To be fair though I haven’t seen one around for years. At one time nearly every home had one. You can get the same effect with an ordinary mop or even the palm/heel of your hand. It’s not as efficient as a plunger but it’s worth a go.

If your toilet is blocked see if you can see the blockage and if you can pull it out. What’s that? You don’t fancy sticking your hand down the toilet. Put your hand and arm inside a bin bag. If there is nothing that you can see causing the blockage then use a mop to push through whatever is causing the blockage.

If you live in rented property the tenancy agreement should spell out what is the tenant’s responsibility and what is the landlord’s.

As far as Twin Valley Homes is concerned, it is responsible for all fixtures and fittings that came with the flat as well as the bricks and mortar of the flat including windows and doors.

I am responsible for the replacement of light bulbs, tap washers, TV aerial, sink blockages (unless the blockage is outside the home) and keeping the interior clean and suitably decorated. However if by my negligence or a deliberate act those fixtures and fittings get damaged, I am responsible for their repair or replacement but TVH must carry out the work or name an approved tradesman.

If some idiot chucks a brick through my window, TVH will replace it with no cost to me. If I break the window from inside even by accident, I pay.

[Sparkologist]

Originally Posted by Neil

I can't think of any reason why a faulty cooker would damage the connection point if it was sound. Even a direct short on the cooker should not damage the connection point, the fuse/breaker would go out first.

If there was a bad connection in the connection point it would not damage the cooker.

If the cooker was faulty and damaged the connection point then it to must have been in poor condition.

The leccy did not know what he was talking about.

I totally agree.

[Neil]

Originally Posted by Sparkologist

I totally agree.

Don't agree with me you will get a bad name for yourself

[Stanleymad]

Tho to irriterate the point JB put up, that even the outside drain can be subject to call out charge of around £55, UNLESS its caused by nothing u have done ie leaves, moss or that nature, if it was bunged up by hair cloggin drain or something else which could of been your fault then the charge stands.

[MargaretR]

I don't mess with electricity - one aspect of DIY I have never meddled with, other than changing a plug.

I was a bit peeved that a 2 yr old cooker was declared useless and won't have 'dual fuel' again, but my cookies aren't as good without that oven fan

[Stanleymad]

Originally Posted by MargaretR

I don't mess with electricity - one aspect of DIY I have never meddled with, other than changing a plug.

I was a bit peeved that a 2 yr old cooker was declared useless and won't have 'dual fuel' again, but my cookies aren't as good without that oven fan

I would actually ring HH up & complain about the leccyman, i had a simular problem with the leccy tripping out since they re-wired last yr to be told on several occaisons when the leccyman came that it was a kitchen or old appliance that was the fault, do the switch off blah blahs which done to no avail & they didnt look into it further having written it off as an appliance issue. Many other workman said it was more than likely a very sensitive RCD - once i complained & got another opinion after further investigation turned out there was a prob with the eleccy altho small wasn't to do with my appliances as they previously fobbed me off with, so a week later a new RCD fitted no probs since................touch wood

[MargaretR]

It happened too long ago to complain now.
My flat is supposed to be getting rewired in this financial year so that info will be kept in mind thanks

[Stanleymad]

Originally Posted by MargaretR

It happened too long ago to complain now.
My flat is supposed to be getting rewired in this financial year so that info will be kept in mind thanks

Ahh ok, well least if u are not happy complain hehe, im just wondering if it explains my really extortionate leccy bills that went up drastically on usage that was un explainable will no doubt see if it makes a difference

[Bonnyboy]

I wouldn’t have been happy to pay any call out fee, not for rented accommodation. I thought Councils were responsible for such things in their properties. Unsure of what private landlords do when things like this crop up.

Can’t for the life of me think why anything to do with central heating would have to be connected to a waste pipe under the sink

[shillelagh]

The blockage wasnt in the u bend ........ it was after that - it was in the pipe that leads outside.