I'm a childish individual
- Thread starter Salvador
- Start date
why not? if lawyers can charge that much for writing a friggin' letter, than the electricians can do that too. which is harder, writing a letter or running wires out of a junction box?
You should of got 3 estimates first and tell each electrician your getting 3 estimates.
You dropped the ball my friend, and he picked it up and ran with it.
You dropped the ball my friend, and he picked it up and ran with it.
You didn't ask what the charge would be, don't you think you are responsible for doing that? Have fun in court, you will lose.
That's exactly right. No one's ever found themselves in trouble after trying to draft letters of legal significance. It must not be hard at all to write letters, that's why everyone came to their senses and stopped paying lawyers to do it for them hundreds of years ago.
Well next time you know to get estimates. These types of services always charge a lot of $$$ for labor. You got owned though 
. Live and learn .
. Live and learn .I hate to be the one to break it to you Salvador, but PipBoy is right. You should ask for a signed estimate before any work gets done. When you agree to the estimate he has to get your authorization for any additional charges. Sorry you had to learn about it the hard way.
and btw, electricians are usually expensive not because you're paying him a lot to lay wiring in to your wall but because you're paying him for his education and experience so that he lays the wiring in the wall in such a way that your house won't catch fire when you flip the switch,
He has no obligation to tell you the charge if you don't ASK HIM TO TELL YOU THE CHARGE.
I'm going to guess that you're not a lawyer. A statement like that one is not legally sound in any sense.
He performed a service, you never asked how much the service would be. Take your lumps, pay the bill and just take it as a life lesson. If $373 is all it costs you to be vigilant in the future against expensive charges for home repair (or whatever), then it wasn't wasted.
Uhm.... you are an idiot.
You didn't get an estimate before getting the work done?
What, pray tell, is your argument going to be in court? That you don't owe the electrician because....?
You could end up going to jail for fraud for cancelling the check, you realize? At the very least, you're going to have to pay the fees the electrician's bank is going to charge him because your check bounced.
What the hell are you talking about? He did work for you... maybe thats what electiricians charge, maybe you could have gotten it cheaper elsewhere. Eitherway, why would you only pay him half? You fscked up, not him...
Vic
Elite Member
- Jun 12, 2001
- 50,422
- 14,337
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The really funny thing here is that you still don't even know if you got screwed over. You just think you did. Next time, get quotes and bids. This time, do the honest thing and pay the person who did the work for you.
BTW, you will not win in court. Not a chance. And in many states, stopping payment on a check after services or goods have already been delivered is criminal check fraud. For you own good, I suggest you call the electrician right now and tell him that you need to write him a new check.
service calls here for the shop i work for are about $70/hr for an electrician, thats the straight rate, saturdays are time and a half and sundays are double time...
the wireman makes roughly $30/hr himself
the wireman makes roughly $30/hr himself
Like the others said, you are paying for the electrician's know how and years of skill. If it was easy and totally non-dangerous work, you would have done it yourself.
Reminds me of the story where a guy got a pin put in his bum knee by a doctor, during surgery. He woke up and was surprised at the $10,000 doctors bill. He called the doctor over and demanded an itemization of the bill. "Sure" said the doctor. He hastily wrote an invoice that said "One Stainless Steel Pin ----- $1.00 Knowing how to put it in ----- $9999.00"
Why is it that people will not think twice after getting a $5000 bill from a doctor for 1 1/2 hours of surgery, yet will complain nonstop about getting a bill for $373 for an hour and a half of service from an electrician. Peoples' difference in attitude between the two always amazes me.
It would have been common sense for you to get a written price BEFORE the job started. It would have also been wise for you to get bids and prices from several electricians before having the job done.
Let me ask you this.....say you were looking for a car. Would you go into a car dealership and and buy the first car you saw at whatever price they wanted to charge you? Of course not. How is this analogy any different from your electrician situation? The car dealership will charge you whatever the maximum price you will agree to pay, and so the same with the electrician. This is the basic principle of capitalism.
You also do not mention the charge for materials, as this can be a substantial cost depending on the specific job. Believe it or not, it is standard practice for the electrician to make a profit on any materials that he uses on your job, just in the same way that a mechanic makes a profit on any parts that he orders in order to fix your car.
Just let it go and chalk up this experience to a relatively cheap lesson. You are also in a bad way already, since you have canceled the check. Do what you have to do to make sure he gets his money. Besides you being nailed on check fraud charges, you may not realize that this electrician can get a judgement and put a lean against your house if you do not pay the full agreed upon price. You will never be able to sell your property without paying the electrician first. Auto mechanics often set leans on peoples' cars who do not pay up for the auto service that was perfermed on their car.
Reminds me of the story where a guy got a pin put in his bum knee by a doctor, during surgery. He woke up and was surprised at the $10,000 doctors bill. He called the doctor over and demanded an itemization of the bill. "Sure" said the doctor. He hastily wrote an invoice that said "One Stainless Steel Pin ----- $1.00 Knowing how to put it in ----- $9999.00"
Why is it that people will not think twice after getting a $5000 bill from a doctor for 1 1/2 hours of surgery, yet will complain nonstop about getting a bill for $373 for an hour and a half of service from an electrician. Peoples' difference in attitude between the two always amazes me.
It would have been common sense for you to get a written price BEFORE the job started. It would have also been wise for you to get bids and prices from several electricians before having the job done.
Let me ask you this.....say you were looking for a car. Would you go into a car dealership and and buy the first car you saw at whatever price they wanted to charge you? Of course not. How is this analogy any different from your electrician situation? The car dealership will charge you whatever the maximum price you will agree to pay, and so the same with the electrician. This is the basic principle of capitalism.
You also do not mention the charge for materials, as this can be a substantial cost depending on the specific job. Believe it or not, it is standard practice for the electrician to make a profit on any materials that he uses on your job, just in the same way that a mechanic makes a profit on any parts that he orders in order to fix your car.
Just let it go and chalk up this experience to a relatively cheap lesson. You are also in a bad way already, since you have canceled the check. Do what you have to do to make sure he gets his money. Besides you being nailed on check fraud charges, you may not realize that this electrician can get a judgement and put a lean against your house if you do not pay the full agreed upon price. You will never be able to sell your property without paying the electrician first. Auto mechanics often set leans on peoples' cars who do not pay up for the auto service that was perfermed on their car.
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