Ralph Murinik, Sea Point
I called their reception, they were unbelievably nice and advised that they would send someone out.
A chap by the name of André arrived late in the afternoon.
He came alone and said that the stopcock needed replacement but the one on the other tap (cold tap) was fine.
André then advised me that one cannot buy the stopcocks individually – they needed to be bought in sets of two – even though the cold water one was in good working condition. When I asked for the prices of everything in total, I told André I am a pensioner and requested a discount.
André said the price would be R1 600 to replace both, even though the other one was fine – and advised me that if I did not replace the good tap, I may end up with a flood. André would not negotiate on the price and also requested a R50 for his Christmas present, as the price was the best he could do. He said he would come back the next day to sort everything out.
André took two parts of the tap with him and advised that he would be back the following day.
The following morning I felt like I was being taken for a ride, and called to cancel the job.
I spoke to someone called Larry who was angry when I cancelled and demanded a call-out fee of R480, which, he said, André would collect the following morning.
When André arrived, he gave me back my parts and took a cash cheque.
I then called Blue Water Plumbers and they advised me that the spindle needed to be replaced which would cost R130. They said there was nothing wrong with the stopcock.
They charged R680, including labour.
I believe I was crooked by AAA Plumbers.
André De Vos, AAA Plumbers, responds:
When I arrived at
Mr Murinik’s place in the afternoon, I discovered his hot water stopcock headpart in the shower was faulty.
I advised him to replace both headparts. The decision to go ahead was taken by him, not us.
After I quoted him R1 600, he only wanted to pay R900, insisting on a better price, which I then reduced to R1500, which he accepted.
He then wanted me to remove his existing shower rose and fit a new one which he had bought. I then charged him an extra R100 for this additional requirement , which he then asked me to reduce to R50.
I gave him the benefit of the doubt and said he’s getting a Christmas box from us. Now he has swung the whole story around, saying that I asked for a Christmas box.
Our quotation was a total of R1 550 for two stopcock headparts, labour, two trips from Wetton to Sea Point – one and a half hours travelling time and material.
We bought his material, but he then cancelled the job the next morning.
I insisted that he should pay for one call-out. He then exploded and became very rude.
I finally accepted a cheque of R480 and returned his own original headpart.
I maintain that I had given him good service, inclusive of discounts.
