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Odd-jobs without being ripped off?

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Comments

  • #32
    Eyepatch
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,677 ✭✭✭Eyepatch


    Thank you, all! Your replies have been most helpful!


  • #33
    u_c_thesecond
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,052 ✭✭✭u_c_thesecond


    What my brothers always told me to do is when i have an odd job i give them my budget and if they cant do it for that, then ill get someone else

    Example- ive a small bathroom, can bearly fit my shower loo and sink in there, and it badly needed wallpapering. I had all the materials but there was a lot of cutting etc involved and i didnt have a clue.I had 50e to my name.

    So i text everyone in my phonebook and said. "Im looking for someone to wallpaper all my small bathroom(i gave the mesurments in this text too), i have the materials and need it done asap. 50e is my budget , wont go any higher. if ya know anyone who wants to do it let me know.

    An hour later my friends neighbour was in my bathroom for the 50e

    if people want the money bad enough you can get it done for cheap


  • #34
    Tabitharose
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 940 ✭✭✭Tabitharose


    I'd to get an electrician recently, and found one on adverts, who had a fair bit of positive feedback, he did an excellent job and for a lot less than some others had wanted for it - so I found adverts good for finding someone :) that said, why not check with your neighbours & friends for recommendations there is no way on earth you should have been charged that much....


  • #35
    Guy:Incognito
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 38,227 ✭✭✭✭Guy:Incognito


    u_c_thesecond wrote: »
    What my brothers always told me to do is when i have an odd job i give them my budget and if they cant do it for that, then ill get someone else

    Example- ive a small bathroom, can bearly fit my shower loo and sink in there, and it badly needed wallpapering. I had all the materials but there was a lot of cutting etc involved and i didnt have a clue.I had 50e to my name.

    So i text everyone in my phonebook and said. "Im looking for someone to wallpaper all my small bathroom(i gave the mesurments in this text too), i have the materials and need it done asap. 50e is my budget , wont go any higher. if ya know anyone who wants to do it let me know.

    An hour later my friends neighbour was in my bathroom for the 50e

    if people want the money bad enough you can get it done for cheap


    Presumably though if you go in to work tomorrow and your boss says I've only got enought to pay you 50% of what I used to , take it or leave it, you'd be fine with that?
    Things work both ways.


  • #36
    animaal
    Closed Accounts Posts: 815 ✭✭✭animaal


    Guy:Incognito wrote: »
    Presumably though if you go in to work tomorrow and your boss says I've only got enought to pay you 50% of what I used to , take it or leave it, you'd be fine with that?
    Things work both ways.

    To be fair, he's talking about hiring for a new job, not a job for which there's already a contract.

    A better comparison would be an employer saying "I need a new employee. Can't afford to pay you though. Interested?". But that'd never happen


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  • #37
    Jane Eyre
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 127 ✭✭Jane Eyre


    Eyepatch wrote: »
    Thank you all for your replies. Yes, I thought I was ripped off. Granted the guy did spend more time on the job than would have been expected. But originally he had said there would be a call-out charge of 75 euro. He would measure the letter-box and supply a new one and then the labour would be included in the call-out charge with the price of the letter-box on top of that. So the letter box cost 95 euro - and that was not a solid brass one. he was saying there is a three-year guarantee on the letter-box, but was walking away without leaving any receipt. So I asked him for a copy of the guarantee. He wrote out a receipt. Also he walked awy without asking me for my old letter-box, of which parts were still usable. I don't think he had a right to take it. It did not belong to him. All he had to do is ask politely and I would not have objected to his having it, as I had no further use for it. But it's just the idea of being taken so for granted that's annoying!

    The pity about those rip-of merchants is that if I had found one that didn't try to pull a fast one, I would have other jobs for him in the future. I'm still looking!

    So my original question was - how do I avoid getting ripped off by odd-job persons? I thought I had covered all the bases this time.

    My advice would be to ask around and get a personal recommendation. I'd never get a tradesman from the Yellow Pages or from a leaflet/ flyer. I ask around via friends and family. When I get somebody doing a good job for a reasonable price, I am happy to recomend them. I think everyone feels that way.


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