Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie

Can a company retrospectively charge you for a quote?

Options
  • 05-02-2019 9:28am
    #1
    mobfromcork
    Registered Users Posts: 379 ✭✭


    I had to order a hit water tank for our house last week. I need a specific tank that are not widely available in Ireland so I had to look in Germany and Austria and get it shipped to Ireland. I got quotes from 3 companies for the same product and went with the cheapest (by approx 70 EUR).
    They were also the company with the best reviews for customer service etc. I emailed the other company to thanks them for their quote and time but they were too expensive. I got a reply saying they were very unhappy as they had wasted so much time.
    This morning they sent me a separate email and invoice through PayPal for 41 euro for all the time they had spent getting me the quote for shipping of the article etc.
    They company have my details, address etc as I had to provide them for shipping.
    I don't believe I have to pay them as they haven't provided a service as such, just provided a quotation. I understand they are annoyed at not getting the business but they were more expensive and had a lot of negative reviews online for their customer service. Am I ok to just ignore their request?
    Thanks for reading
    Mark


«1

Comments

  • Options
    #2
    Tzardine
    Registered Users Posts: 3,884 ✭✭✭Tzardine


    Put it straight in the bin.


  • Options
    #3
    TCP/IP
    Subscribers Posts: 3,699 ✭✭✭TCP/IP


    Completely ignore they have no ground to stand on unless you signed any sort of contract with them.


  • Options
    #4
    realdanbreen
    Registered Users Posts: 8,165 ✭✭✭realdanbreen


    Not since the days when you had to see your TD about having a phone installed or paying the equivalent in todays money of €500 to fly to London have companies charged for a quotation.


  • Options
    #5
    L1011
    Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 67,959 Mod ✭✭✭✭L1011


    It may still be the norm in Germany but there is realistically nothing they can do.

    Back in the boom it was common for car repair places to charge for quotes as "diagnostics", even on simple bodywork but that has also stopped mostly - and it was always clear up front, never retrospective


  • Options
    #6
    The Bishop Basher
    Registered Users Posts: 4,279 ✭✭✭The Bishop Basher


    Had an architect try to charge me for a quote once.

    I followed the advice of your first reply.

    Never heard from then again but I’m still telling people to avoid them.

    Such a short sighted move by any business


  • Advertisement
  • Options
    #7
    mobfromcork
    Registered Users Posts: 379 ✭✭mobfromcork


    Thanks for replies. I was going to ignore but just wanted to make sure there was no legal issues given they have all if my details etc


  • Options
    #8
    aristotle25
    Registered Users Posts: 689 ✭✭✭aristotle25


    Send them back a quote of €50 for using up your time reading their quotes :)


  • Options
    #9
    seamus
    Registered Users Posts: 68,317 ✭✭✭✭seamus


    L1011 wrote: »
    It may still be the norm in Germany but there is realistically nothing they can do.

    Back in the boom it was common for car repair places to charge for quotes as "diagnostics", even on simple bodywork but that has also stopped mostly - and it was always clear up front, never retrospective
    This practice has made a comeback. Virtually every mechanic in Dublin is charging a quotation fee.


  • Options
    #10
    Dav010
    Registered Users Posts: 14,193 ✭✭✭✭Dav010


    seamus wrote: »
    This practice has made a comeback. Virtually every mechanic in Dublin is charging a quotation fee.

    I think if a mechanic has to spend time looking for/diagnosing a problem with a car in their garage in order to give a quote, he/she should be entitled to some payment. That is a very different situation than a car owner who knows the problem and phones for a quote. The car owner is taking up working time.

    Op, you most likely sourced the tank on the internet, as always, look at the terms and conditions on their site. If it says nothing about payment for quotes then it’s their tough luck.


  • Options
    #11
    mobfromcork
    Registered Users Posts: 379 ✭✭mobfromcork


    Dav010 wrote: »
    I think if a mechanic has to spend time looking for/diagnosing a problem with a car in their garage in order to give a quote, he/she should be entitled to some payment. That is a very different situation than a car owner who knows the problem and phones for a quote. The car owner is taking up working time.

    Op, you most likely sourced the tank on the internet, as always, look at the terms and conditions on their site. If it says nothing about payment for quotes then it’s their tough luck.

    Can't see anything on their website about payment for quotes so will juts ignore for now. A lot of reviews of the company seem to suggest that they are quite difficult to deal with from a customer service point of view


  • Advertisement
  • Options
    #12
    Sleeper12
    Registered Users Posts: 16,953 ✭✭✭✭Sleeper12


    Dav010 wrote:
    I think if a mechanic has to spend time looking for/diagnosing a problem with a car in their garage in order to give a quote, he/she should be entitled to some payment. That is a very different situation than a car owner who knows the problem and phones for a quote. The car owner is taking up working time.

    Totally agree. Has a jeep cherokee a few years back that wasn't running right. My mechanic didn't have any up to date software to run a diagnostic on it. Went to jeep dealer and they charged me 95 euros for full diagnostic. Found several issues and got my own mechanic to make repairs. The jeep dealer definitely deserves payment for this service.

    Ops case not so much. Unless you signed something agreeing to the fee then you are in the clear


  • Options
    #13
    NaiveMelodies
    Registered Users Posts: 3,172 ✭✭✭NaiveMelodies


    They are trying to charge €41 for sending an email/making a phone call to request a freight quote :eek:


  • Options
    #14
    Gravelly
    Registered Users Posts: 4,119 ✭✭✭Gravelly


    I deal with a lot of European and Asian countries in my job, and Austrian, and to a lesser extent German, companies are notorious for trying stuff like this. I've had an Austrian company try to bill me €120 for "specification work" that consisted of me having a 20 minute phone call with one of their sales engineers. This for a contract that would have been worth tens of thousands to them if they had gotten it - needless to say I struck them off the list and ignored the invoice.

    Bin it.


  • Options
    #15
    Thoie
    Registered Users Posts: 6,344 ✭✭✭Thoie


    The only times I'd ever pay for a quote is if I'm told about it in advance, and agree to it. I got a splashback recently, and in order to give a quote someone has to come around and take precise measurements. The company informed me in advance that there was an up front charge for this, but that if I went ahead, that price would be taken off the order, and I agreed.

    If they'd come looking for money later without warning, I'd have ignored them.


  • Options
    #16
    bucketybuck
    Registered Users Posts: 18,245 ✭✭✭✭bucketybuck


    realdanbreen wrote: »
    Not since the days when you had to see your TD about having a phone installed or paying the equivalent in todays money of €500 to fly to London have companies charged for a quotation.

    We charge for quotations all the time in the motor industry. Its not even a money making scheme, more simply to weed out all the time wasters who would happily have us spend an hour checking a vehicle and providing a formal quote just so they can bring that info somewhere else.

    Of course its all up front that there will be a charge, and that charge will be waived if we carry out the final repair but its certainly an industry standard for very good reasons.


  • Options
    #17
    Julez
    Registered Users Posts: 2,844 ✭✭✭Julez


    mobfromcork wrote: »
    ...and had a lot of negative reviews online for their customer service.

    I wonder why? :rolleyes:

    I'd ignore it.


  • Options
    #18
    redcup342
    Registered Users Posts: 1,387 ✭✭✭redcup342


    mobfromcork wrote: »
    I had to order a hit water tank for our house last week. I need a specific tank that are not widely available in Ireland so I had to look in Germany and Austria and get it shipped to Ireland. I got quotes from 3 companies for the same product and went with the cheapest (by approx 70 EUR).
    They were also the company with the best reviews for customer service etc. I emailed the other company to thanks them for their quote and time but they were too expensive. I got a reply saying they were very unhappy as they had wasted so much time.
    This morning they sent me a separate email and invoice through PayPal for 41 euro for all the time they had spent getting me the quote for shipping of the article etc.
    They company have my details, address etc as I had to provide them for shipping.
    I don't believe I have to pay them as they haven't provided a service as such, just provided a quotation. I understand they are annoyed at not getting the business but they were more expensive and had a lot of negative reviews online for their customer service. Am I ok to just ignore their request?
    Thanks for reading
    Mark

    It depends on what you agreed to, how did you submit the quote ?

    Was it on a Website and then there was a Terms and Conditions that you had to accept or did you just send them an email and they emailed you back ?

    If it was the second one then you don't have to worry.

    If it was the first then they do have a legal basis under german law.


  • Options
    #19
    rubadub
    Registered Users Posts: 32,379 ✭✭✭✭rubadub


    mobfromcork wrote: »
    Thanks for replies. I was going to ignore but just wanted to make sure there was no legal issues given they have all if my details etc
    with some of these things I like to think of them in the extreme, and it can become very obvious.

    If they legally could just charge with no prior agreement or indication then what is to stop them asking for for €100,000.

    I have said the same of dubious private clampers with no notices or anything, you cannot just clamp a ferrari and ask for €100,000.


  • Options
    #20
    ArthurG
    Registered Users Posts: 1,306 ✭✭✭ArthurG


    seamus wrote: »
    This practice has made a comeback. Virtually every mechanic in Dublin is charging a quotation fee.

    No they aren't. I visited 3 bodywork places recently (from small to a large well known dublin repair company) to get a big enough job done and all the quotes were provided free.


  • Options
    #21
    the_pen_turner
    Registered Users Posts: 7,507 ✭✭✭the_pen_turner


    while agree 100% with charge for a quote that is taken off the bill if they go ahead with the job, its bad form to look for it after the fact given you wernt aware before hand.

    i hope this become the norm here. it would really reduce the tyre kickers and piss takers that seem to be everywhere


  • Advertisement
  • Options
    #22
    L1011
    Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 67,959 Mod ✭✭✭✭L1011


    the_pen_turner wrote: »
    it would really reduce the tyre kickers and piss takers that seem to be everywhere

    People obtaining multiple quotes and going with the best value are not "tyre kickers and piss takers"

    In most business environments its obligatory to do so at that.


  • Options
    #23
    realdanbreen
    Registered Users Posts: 8,165 ✭✭✭realdanbreen


    bucketybuck wrote: »
    We charge for quotations all the time in the motor industry. Its not even a money making scheme, more simply to weed out all the time wasters who would happily have us spend an hour checking a vehicle and providing a formal quote just so they can bring that info somewhere else.

    Of course its all up front that there will be a charge, and that charge will be waived if we carry out the final repair but its certainly an industry standard for very good reasons.


    The motor industry! Don't get me started!


  • Options
    #24
    Dav010
    Registered Users Posts: 14,193 ✭✭✭✭Dav010


    L1011 wrote: »
    People obtaining multiple quotes and going with the best value are not "tyre kickers and piss takers"

    In most business environments its obligatory to do so at that.

    Not all, but undoubtedly some. Show me a business who would not like to reduce the number of time wasters making enquires. Putting up with time wasters is not obligatory, unfortunately it is sometimes unavoidable.


  • Options
    #25
    the_pen_turner
    Registered Users Posts: 7,507 ✭✭✭the_pen_turner


    L1011 wrote: »
    People obtaining multiple quotes and going with the best value are not "tyre kickers and piss takers"

    In most business environments its obligatory to do so at that.

    Of course they are not all piss takers but most are to some extent.
    Getting 2 to 3 quotes is good practice but any more is tyre kicking it taking advantage of the guys quoting.

    At least 75 % if the quotes I did last year were piss takers. Some the work was never done, some just wanted the paperwork for insurance etc, some wanted it as leverage against the person that they wanted to do the job, others just wanted a shopping list and do it themselves.

    All tradesmen are taken advantage of like this regularly.
    All these quotes take hours between looking at it and working it out


  • Options
    #26
    ArthurG
    Registered Users Posts: 1,306 ✭✭✭ArthurG


    the_pen_turner wrote: »
    ......All tradesmen are taken advantage of like this regularly.....

    Oh come on..... tradesmen aren't all angels you know - unexplained no-shows, over pricing and 'under the counter' work are all real things you know.


  • Options
    #27
    feargale
    Registered Users Posts: 8,636 ✭✭✭feargale


    mobfromcork wrote: »
    I had to order a hit water tank for our house last week. I need a specific tank that are not widely available in Ireland so I had to look in Germany and Austria and get it shipped to Ireland. I got quotes from 3 companies for the same product and went with the cheapest (by approx 70 EUR).
    They were also the company with the best reviews for customer service etc. I emailed the other company to thanks them for their quote and time but they were too expensive. I got a reply saying they were very unhappy as they had wasted so much time.
    This morning they sent me a separate email and invoice through PayPal for 41 euro for all the time they had spent getting me the quote for shipping of the article etc.
    They company have my details, address etc as I had to provide them for shipping.
    I don't believe I have to pay them as they haven't provided a service as such, just provided a quotation. I understand they are annoyed at not getting the business but they were more expensive and had a lot of negative reviews online for their customer service. Am I ok to just ignore their request?
    Thanks for reading
    Mark

    Email them back claiming €42 for the time and trouble they have cost you in dealing with their baseless claim.


  • Options
    #28
    Thoie
    Registered Users Posts: 6,344 ✭✭✭Thoie


    the_pen_turner wrote: »
    Of course they are not all piss takers but most are to some extent.
    Getting 2 to 3 quotes is good practice but any more is tyre kicking it taking advantage of the guys quoting.

    At least 75 % if the quotes I did last year were piss takers. Some the work was never done, some just wanted the paperwork for insurance etc, some wanted it as leverage against the person that they wanted to do the job, others just wanted a shopping list and do it themselves.

    All tradesmen are taken advantage of like this regularly.
    All these quotes take hours between looking at it and working it out

    If you're in a business where you feel a lot of people are looking for quotes, with no interest in having the work go ahead, then it makes sense to charge for quotes, as long as you tell people this up front. Pick a price for quotations (e.g. €50 for one hour of investigation + paperwork), and you can decide if you can give them a €50 discount off the job if it goes ahead or not. As long as you spell it out up front, people can decide for themselves.


  • Options
    #29
    Sleeper12
    Registered Users Posts: 16,953 ✭✭✭✭Sleeper12


    ArthurG wrote:
    Oh come on..... tradesmen aren't all angels you know - unexplained no-shows, over pricing and 'under the counter' work are all real things you know.


    There's another side to tradesmen that you only see in closed tradesmen groups. Many are getting stiffed by the client. One chap on a plumber Facebook group is owed around 4k for well over a year. Nothing wrong with the quality of his work. Homeowner just decided not to pay for the new boiler. Homeowner no longer answer his calls

    Being a tradesman myself I cringe listening to tradesmen not showing up a all. The general excuse is that they already know that the homeowner has half a dozen quotes & and they are now looking for a below cost or cash quote. Some homeowners are blacklisted on these sites as time wasters. Some tradesmen will try waste the homeowners time too


  • Options
    #30
    the_pen_turner
    Registered Users Posts: 7,507 ✭✭✭the_pen_turner


    Thoie wrote: »
    If you're in a business where you feel a lot of people are looking for quotes, with no interest in having the work go ahead, then it makes sense to charge for quotes, as long as you tell people this up front. Pick a price for quotations (e.g. €50 for one hour of investigation + paperwork), and you can decide if you can give them a €50 discount off the job if it goes ahead or not. As long as you spell it out up front, people can decide for themselves.

    thats the only way to do it


  • Advertisement
  • Options
    #31
    the_pen_turner
    Registered Users Posts: 7,507 ✭✭✭the_pen_turner


    ArthurG wrote: »
    Oh come on..... tradesmen aren't all angels you know - unexplained no-shows, over pricing and 'under the counter' work are all real things you know.
    i agree with what you say. thats true . but only of a small percentage of trademen.

    ask any tradesman have you been screwed over or ripped off by a customer and every one will have several stories. we all have been ripped off

    ask that of customers and very few will say they have been ripped off by trademen.


Advertisement