I hate when contractors charge for a "sevice call" even if it's to return to the same job

[debodun]

For example, if the faucet is dripping and the plumber replaces the washer and it's still dripping. He says he hadn't allowed time to do anything but a washer replacement and he's already late for another job and will have to come back. When he does a few days later then charges you for another service call. Is that customary, or a rip off?

 

[maggiemae]

I live in a small town and we use a local plumber. He had to come out a month ago because we had a leak in the upstairs shower (was leaking in the ceiling downstairs). He did a fix and we noticed it was still leaking. He came back out and replaced the caulk around the shower drain because it was very brittle. He did not charge us for the second visit. I don't know if it is local small contractors versus larger contractors but you should find out their fees up front. In my opinion, he did not fix the problem in the first place. You should not pay for another service call.

 

[Steve LS]

For example, if the faucet is dripping and the plumber replaces the washer and it's still dripping. He says he hadn't allowed time to do anything but a washer replacement and he's already late for another job and will have to come back. When he does a few days later then charges you for another service call. Is that customary, or a rip off?

Another service call?
No, that's a rip off, non't pay him.

I was a licensed electrical contractor in New Jersey until I retired.
A service call is an out of schedule call of an hour or less to FIX a problem.

In your particular case if he spent an hour or just a few minutes trying to fix your problem and couldn't, AND he needed to come back, he should charge you an hourly charge not a service charge rate which is much higher.

And you should only pay for that hour and any additional hours after the problem was fixed.

 

[Ken N Tx]

Last year we needed a new water heater. We bought one at a local home improvement store (HD) and opted to have it installed for another $200..

When the installer arrived,with the new heater, he stated he had to do an inspection first as he had to get everything up to code. After the inspection he said that he needed to replace the water supply shut off,new line to the heater and a pan under the heater in the event of a leak. Another $220 !!

I told him no way and that I could install it myself..No problem, I signed that I refused the installation and he left (with the new heater)..Never got any kind of bill...