Gouging Ireland

Terrier2023

I had a call out last week in the cold weather my battery died so the call out was a good man and he had the battery I needed in his yellow van. He took away my battery & fitted the new one it took 10 mins. I asked him how much was the battery and he said 265 EURO. I pay for the road side assist so thats fine but to be gouged 107.23 over & above the price of the actual battery was disgusting.the price of the battery in the Motor Factors is 157.77. Thats gouging whatever you say.

GBX

Businesses are out to make money - its a buyers market and unfortunately, it hurts more when you are in a corner with no alternative.

My wife was quoted a seriously high price (150+/- difference from Battery World) for a battery from a main dealer after a service which she declined. It can be bought cheaper elsewhere and easily fit at home.

Eggs For Dinner

How do you think he covers the cost of his van, fuel, servicing, VAT and his time?

DayInTheBog

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058387045/gouging-ireland

So he charged you a hundred for fitting a new battery and disposal of the old one. Not to mention the time it would have taken you to go and get a new battery, fit it and dispose of the old one. It's a reasonable price to pay.

chooseusername

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058387045/gouging-ireland

Get Motor Factors to come out to you and fit their 157.77 battery.

Terrier2023

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123032483#Comment_123032483

Biog insurance company yellow vans if i had had a battery in my shed he would have just fitted it & drove away. I f a member of my family went into town & picked up a battery for me he would have fitted it as part of the service which i pay for annually he over charged me by 107 euro i would have expected 50/60 on the price but it was a lot to find after xmas & it was not necessary to gouge so much. the same company towed my old car for 45 mins to a garage a few years ago and did not load my premium or charge a fee. So they did gouge on the battery.

Terrier2023

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123032502#Comment_123032502

online service next day delivery battery sales only i can fit a battery myself its not rocket science

Kimbot

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123032529#Comment_123032529

Its not rocket science but you called someone out to do the job and now your cribbing over how much they have charged. To me the following is what you have to pay:

1: The battery

2: Call out fee

3: Pay the man for his actual time taken doing the work.

You may think its unreasonable but im sure if you ring around it is the going rate for it all then the price would be similar.

GBX

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123032516#Comment_123032516

Why would you expect to nominate a fee to a company providing a service? Nobody walks into any business and tells them what to charge? As its been mentioned already - when you factor in other costs which is how a business operates, you have to pay what they charge. If you don't like it, pay with your feet - have a working battery or at least one that's charged. Its not on them your battery failed or you needed to use their service. You rang them and they provided the service you asked for.

Terrier2023

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123032562#Comment_123032562

I had hoped he would just jump start my car.

Terrier2023

Guys stop attacking i pay an annual fee separate from my insurance fee which is with the same company he had loads of batteries in his car. When he first texted into head office he said battery was about 165.00 then it went up by 100+ EURO. i was happy he had a battery i am sure the company buy the batteries in bulk as they have hundreds of vans on the road. Point is 60 euro would have been enough excess on the price i did not require the battery to be taken away as i use them for electric fencing

GBX

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123032617#Comment_123032617

Did you ask him to jump start the car or just hoped?

Terrier2023

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123032634#Comment_123032634

I asked him he said probably no point the cold spell would make the battery flat again the next day as it was obviously running low

GBX

Well if you asked and he said no, your left with little choice. The options then are leave you on the side of the road or new battery. You got sorted so.

Terrier2023

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123032652#Comment_123032652

correct they just put a bit too much profit on the price of the battery thats all i am saying if a motor factor is making profit at 157.77 at 265.00 they took 108.00 over that margin thats all i am saying and its a bit steep.

GBX

You cant compare a motor factor scenario to this instance though. If you had have had a battery charger hooked up to it - €20/30 in Lidl/Aldi you would have kept it in better condition. If you had have had the battery in your shed, you would have fit it previously and that would be irrelevant as you wouldn't be in this situation. But you didnt. You called them out and needed a battery, which they fit. At that moment in time, your options where very limited. No battery or a battery at a cost.

Again, a business decides how much profit they make. Not the consumer. If you drive up to a motor factors to buy a battery, do you question how much profit they make? No. Same as any other shop.

SteM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123032632#Comment_123032632

The companies might buy them in bulk but they buy a huge amount of stock and it's just sitting in depots or in the vans being carted to every job so they can have the correct one there for when someone needs it. That's a huge up front capital cost for a company whos main business isn't battery supply. You say if you had one in the shed you would have just fitted it, but you didn't. You're paying for the convenience of someone to come to your car and do it for you when you were stuck. You might complain about the cost over a supplier but that's the cost of convenience. Make sure buy another one and keep it in the shed for the next time you need, save you being 'gouged'.

Terrier2023

thanks for all the feed back guys on some level i have to suck it up and take the pain happy new year to you all 😉

galwaytt

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123032516#Comment_123032516

so, how much does your employer charge for their services ? I bet it's more than €108/hr…………