Does MY HAMMER encourage cowboys???

[lloyd1980]

Hi all

Just a quick qestion to guage peoples opinions on sites like MY HAMMER, etc
For those of you who arent aware you join MY HAMMER, they email you details of jobs with what the customer has deemed a fair price
for example

Need a rewire on my 3 bed house, 16 sockets, shower, new fuse board and new 2 way switching all in brushed chrome

suggested price £1500 in VAT ( I know but this is the stupid prices public post on)

what happens then is tradesmen bid on the work and lowest price generally gets it

have seen rewires been won for £1100 inc VAT

other work like outside lights, new 10mm shower feed, new board £300 inc VAT

you scroll down to the people winning this work and one fella didnt even have any electrical qualifications he had a City and Guilds in Wood Work
No joke lads this is what is going on right now

its faceless quoting so in my opinion every cowboy up and down the land were rubbing their hands when this site launched, There is no way these clowns can be doing the job properly at the prices they bid at - no way

The most ironic thing Ive seen in ages was when I watched Cowboy Builders last night on Channel 5 and MY HAMMER were proud sponsors of it

I did smile

what do you all think

Lloyd

 

[lloyd1980]

forgot to add - when ever a customer posts must supply a certificate and be registered there are never any bids for the work

funny that eh ?

 

[rossiboy]

I thought exactly same mate. I look at the prices people are putting down for quotes and for the life of me i cant work it out! I see maybe same bloke as you Llyod applied to replace a CCU he had a City and Guilds level 1 in woodwork and joinery!!


I think it encourages cowboys big time because anyone can apply for the work!

 

[lloyd1980]

its absolutley scandalous mate

I might post a fake job on there and see who comes knocking then rig the house with cameras while I pretend to know nothing about elektrick and see what he does

 

[Voltimax]

A letter has been sent to channel 5 about the fact there are non registered tradesmen getting work from this Myhammer.

 

[acat]

In my experience wanting to advertise as much as possible all these websites either do it for nothing or require payment the one thing they all have in common is not one of them has asked for any proof of my qualifications or work standards.


Chris

 

[lloyd1980]

I registered with local traders and too be fair they only take on 6 of each trades person in each area, I wangled a deal where i got 2 areas for price of 1 cost me 105 quid for 6 months, first job i made 300 quid and quoting for second on sat - joined 2 months ago and they actually made me send in copies of my certs so they seem ok

This MY HAMMER business is originaly german - check out the german DAS ME HAMMER!!

the web site should be cut off, im sure its the same with gas safe work, any old clown just doing work on boilers etc

its unbeleivable, as I said any customer ( apart from taking the pi ss with the price inc VAT they post) is expecting competant tradesmen to get in touch, so you cant blame them, but mr no electrical quals but I have a city and guilds woodwork level 1- quoting for a mains change takes the biscuit !!!

I think we should all form a group and send complaints to channel 5 and trading standards about this

outside lights new radial for boiler and new spot lights £ 110 inc VAT

this is rediculous

I urge you all to check out this my hammer site and see the chumps who are posting for work !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Spudnik]

Ive just looked an it is an absolute joke.

Trouble is, there will be "tradesmen" making a small living out of it.

 

[john25]

Cant get onto the site for some reaso mate it keeps saying its too Busy .

 

[wattsup]

My hammer is no different than any other advertising medium, yellow pages don't ask for proof of qualification, nor do any newspapers. To be be fair and playing the devils advocat, some do cheap jobs because they 'obtain' cheap materials

 

[rocker]

As I've posted in another post somewhere, I'm a silly mug who bought an 'obligation free' 3 month membership, and am having a hell of a time cancelling it before I do have any sort of obligation i.e. a 12 month contract. To be fair when I put myself on there it said I had to send them proof of qualifications, but it did let me trade for about a month without doing that, and what would stop me closing my account and starting another one every month??

Went on there for a while as a basic free member and got one or two jobs, but found that there were a lot of 'premium members' sending private messages to jobs that I was quoting on (something basic members can't do) and once the job 'auction' ended and my quote won, the customer didnt contact because someone else had aready priced up and done the job! Got this premium thing (£60 plus vat for 3 months) when I was really hard up for work and I find that people are quoting ridiculous prices (£800 for a three storey rewire, the person quoting would also have had to travel 70 miles to the job and back every day, yea right), they are obviously cowboys, rip off merchants or are drasticaly inflating their quotes when they see the 'extent of work'. Also loads of people without quals - as you said it looks like myhammer will let you continue trading as long as you have a qual, and that doesn't have to relate to the job you're quoting on so you get FENSA guys doing boiler works and chippies doing sparks. Total load of rubbish, and now I've sent them loads of emails to cancel membership which they haven't answered so now I'm going to have to ring their premium rate phone number. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. Oh and the couple of jobs I've got since having the expensive membership were done with basic quoting which I would have won with basic free membership.

 

[Amp David]

I stuck a job on there for people to quote on just to see how low someone would actually go.

Its was for a house with 8 circuits, nothing mentioned about MEB or the location of the CU/age of installation.

Some clown quoted 200 quid. So I emailed him to ask what type of CU he would use and if it'd be certificated. He tells me he only fits Hager CUs and he'll fully certify it.

Now, can someone please tell me how this guy makes any money?

 

[Adam W]

Ironically MyHammer profess to exist to help customers find a tradesman who isn't a cowboy.
The customer rating system is a nice idea but a customer's idea of a 'proper job' might not always be one which is done correctly; a customer may give a poor rating to a sparks who tells them they can't have what they want because it contradicts the regs, while they may give a high rating to a cowboy who appears professional because smiles politely, turns up on time in a shiny new signwritten van, does a superb job of tidying up after himself but installs incorrect cable outside safe zones and whose idea of testing consists of a bang test.

A socket wired in bell wire or coax will probably work perfectly well if it is only used to charge a phone, but plug in a vacuum cleaner a few years later and you could have a fire, by which time Barry Bodgett has got his 5 star rating because he did a cosmetically tidy job, and done one.

 

[m25maintenance]

same as rubbish rated people, ur mate can rate u, easy. i aint buying no job. Find local recommended tradesmen - ratedpeople.com. go see u buy jobs

 

[lloyd1980]

I stuck a job on there for people to quote on just to see how low someone would actually go.

Its was for a house with 8 circuits, nothing mentioned about MEB or the location of the CU/age of installation.

Some clown quoted 200 quid. So I emailed him to ask what type of CU he would use and if it'd be certificated. He tells me he only fits Hager CUs and he'll fully certify it.

Now, can someone please tell me how this guy makes any money?

its beond me,

I did breifly think of joining them but them when I looked at how I'd end up paying the customer to do their work I thought twice,

I get the members point about doing it with nicked materials but even so how do you then do a job and certify it with the rediculously low INC VAT price jobs are won at

They CAN NOT be doing the job properly, and I bet that 3 storey rewire won for 800 quid just gets the socket and switch fronts changed , new board and the old cable left in place

and its true that customers will rate you on what they can see so as long as mr yee haw cowboy hoovers up, smiles, looks smart in a shiny leased van, all sockets and switches are perfectly straight they will be happy, until they turn on the cooker an hes re-wired it in 1mm

it should be renamed MY COWBOY

 

[rocker]

Ironically MyHammer profess to exist to help customers find a tradesman who isn't a cowboy.
The customer rating system is a nice idea but a customer's idea of a 'proper job' might not always be one which is done correctly; a customer may give a poor rating to a sparks who tells them they can't have what they want because it contradicts the regs, while they may give a high rating to a cowboy who appears professional because smiles politely, turns up on time in a shiny new signwritten van, does a superb job of tidying up after himself but installs incorrect cable outside safe zones and whose idea of testing consists of a bang test.

A socket wired in bell wire or coax will probably work perfectly well if it is only used to charge a phone, but plug in a vacuum cleaner a few years later and you could have a fire, by which time Barry Bodgett has got his 5 star rating because he did a cosmetically tidy job, and done one.

Spot on.

 

[rocker]

For anyone who's interested, the following illustrates myhammers position on investigating complaints against potential 'cowboys', i.e. they don't even mention it.....

Hello there, I took out the three month premium trial period approximately a month and a half ago. I would like to cancel my premium membership - please ensure I still have premium partner priviliges up until the end of the three month period I have paid for, but I want this noted before the two month cut off period so that no contract is started. After the paid-for three month period I would like to go back to a basic membership.

Apart from the fact that there is generally not enough work in my area to justify the prices you charge for premium membership, I have decided not to keep the premium partnership due to the way that people treat the service to take up what work is in the area. I am referring to the practice of people deliberately undercutting to unrealistic amounts in order to get the jobs, presumably inflating their prices afterwards or doing poor works. One current example is a job entitled '******** ** ***** ********' in *******- this is for the rewiring of a large three storey property, something that any reputable electrician would charge 3500 at the very least to do, and probably closer to 4500. A member named **** *****, who is a repeat offender in this kind of undercutting, has quoted £880 for this job. There is NO WAY that he can accomplish this job up to today's electrical safety regulations for this price. This amount would barely cover the materials used, so either this person is doing a poor job, or is vastly inflating his prices when the work has been started. Both of these practices I am unwilling to do, and as these are practices needed in order to get any work through your website, I do not think that this is a viable financial outlay for me at this time. **** ***** is not the only member who seems to be using these practices. Another thing I do not agree with regarding your service is that you allow people with any qualification to quote on electrical jobs - if somebody has a qualification in plumbing you allow them to take on electrical work and I can guarantee you, from what I have seen - most plumbers are not suited to electrical work.
I am sure that there is not a great deal that can be done about this, as it would be quite hard to prove, and I'm sure that as these members are paying you your commission you aren't that bothered about it. However, once my premium membership is up, and I revert back to basic membership, I will obviously moitor the situation and if I see any positive change in the future, I will consider taking a premium membership again.
Please email me to confirm you have stopped my preimum trial membership and that it will cease after my paid-for three month period.
Kind Regards

Dear MyHammer Customer

Gotta love that personal touch!

Thank you very much for your recent emails, regarding the status of your MyHammer Premium Partnership Try. You have requested to cancel your package.We have been checking your account and we can confirm the following points:You had subscribed to the Premium Partnership on the 03.04.2010. The contract was initially running on a three months trial term and is granting you an extraordinary notice of cancellation. You can terminate the membership within the first two months after you had entered the contract.We have received your cancellation request in due time. Please note that your contract will expire on 03.07.2010. Until that date you can still use the entire scope of our online services. Your membership fees will likewise become due until that date.

If you have any further queries, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us – we’re here to help!
Kind regards
MyHammer Support

Did you even read the email, myhammer?

EDIT: I don't know why it's splitting the last line from the rest of the quote, but hey it does highlight their customer service policy....

 

[tommo1275]

I am amazed COWBOY BUILDERS use MY HAMMER as a sponsor!!!, they dont ask for proof of qualifications ( these are just questios asked)
MY HAMMER encourages cowboys to price jobs at ridiculous rates such as £1100 for a full house REWIRE, absolute joke.
They need to be stopped. how anyone can do these jobs at this price is beyond me.
we do a 4 year apprentiship and time on the tools in order to provide a service at a industry recognised rate and MY HAMMER exploits this.

 

[jasperhound]

You are absolutely right about the quotes people are putting in for jobs. Around my area there was a 3 storey complete rewire being awarded for under a £1000 & consumer unit replacements regularly going for under £200!.
Another thing, God help you if you have ever got a problem to sort out with MyHammer... You have to deal with Germany (no UK call center). I paid to join on a 3 month trial (regret it now), their payment system was not working on the site so I done a Bank Transfer sending the money to the account they emailed me. 8 days later, 8 phone calls later & numerous emails they still have not acknowledged receipt even though I have emailed a statement (twice at their request) from my bank showing the payment. They have suspended my account and threatened legal action. The girls on the end of the phone say that the account is active, when it is not. I have asked to be put through to accounts or to speak to some one in authority but am always told "it is not possible".
My view of MyHammer.... A BUNCH OF INCOMPETENTS!!!!

BEWARE! At nearly £300 a year membership & 6% commission on jobs awarded, the service you receive, in my opinion is appalling.

 

[lloyd1980]

MY HAMMER can suck MY BALLS

 

[lloyd1980]

I am amazed COWBOY BUILDERS use MY HAMMER as a sponsor!!!, they dont ask for proof of qualifications ( these are just questios asked)
MY HAMMER encourages cowboys to price jobs at ridiculous rates such as £1100 for a full house REWIRE, absolute joke.
They need to be stopped. how anyone can do these jobs at this price is beyond me.
we do a 4 year apprentiship and time on the tools in order to provide a service at a industry recognised rate and MY HAMMER exploits this.

Isnt it THE most ironic thing youve ever seen?

im going on in a min to post a fake ficticious job and see who responds, ill sugest £50 inc VAT for an extension

then when mr 'get off yer horse and drink yer milk' gets in touch ill do a 'big dom' on him

 

[jasperhound]

The repeat offender of posting completely unrealistic quotes goes by the name of **** *****. Pretty sure its the same guy 'Rocker' is referring to.
In my opinion, if you're a legit sparkie with all the costs involved with memberships, insurance, regulations to meet, certification, traveling costs, tooling (and thats before you start factoring in materials and labour costs), etc and work out of the south/south west of England, and are considering joining MyHammer, forget it, while this guy is operating.

 

[rocker]

BEWARE! At nearly £300 a year membership & 6% commission on jobs awarded, the service you receive, in my opinion is appalling.

Spot on there.

then when mr 'get off yer horse and drink yer milk' gets in touch ill do a 'big dom' on him

Ha that would be proper, you should film it and stick it on you tube.

The repeat offender of posting completely unrealistic quotes goes by the name of **** *****.

I didn't see the name before it was edited, but we may have the same person. Are you in the south wales/south west area?? Have you had a few customers through myhammer who say that old mister anonymous quotes low and fast on jobs, then doesn't bother even showing up?? If so, then we are brothers in our distain for this joker.

And he knows who he is, because I always post quotes into the forums he undercuts on asking him exactly how he plans on making money on these jobs, haven't had a reply yet....

 

[tommo1275]

I have complained to the programme COWBOY BUILDERS for having the ordastity to use MY HAMMER as a sponsor
I am sure that people must win quotes and then add work to the job on site arrival

Lets just feel sorry for the poor sod who got an £ 800 rewire.
my guess would be new facias and a new board is all they got

 

[jasperhound]

Yes, I work out of Bristol & I am sure we are referring to the same joker.
Problem is most consumers have no idea of the regulations involved with electrical work, the issuing of certification, the testing etc. so as long as you turn up with a few tools, be polite and the job looks okay & works, any chimp could turn up and pose as an electrician.
The MyHammers of this world need to be brought to account because sooner or later somebody could get seriously harmed by employing a cheap jack to work on their property.
P.S. Are these so called electricians aware that when you change a fuse board you then become responsible for the whole installation. I would never quote on changing a board without first visiting the site and doing a pre-test inspection.
Another crazy quote just been placed on MyHammer.... It never ceases to amaze me!

 

[johnboy6083]

ive just had a look at my hammer, and ive noticed that some people have city and guilds certificates in the qualifications/memberships box. City and guilds in what? a lot of tradesmen think that they can do each others jobs, just because they have watched other trades on site! so whats to stop a plumber deciding that he can add an ouside socket to a ring, in a house with 3036 fuses and no RCD/RCBO? nothing, but he has a city and guilds certificate. In plumbing, but it doesnt mention the plumbing bit!

 

[Echo]

Have done a few jobs on myhammer when its been quiet basically just to get me out of the house! Can't possibly compete with the prices being posted on there. I suspect they turn upto the job and then say its going to cost more. Thats the only way half of the jobs can possibly be done.

IE, changing a few light fittings and socket facias. Joe Bloggs from 76 miles away quotes £50?????

 

[jasperhound]

I have today notified the NICEIC & MyHammer about an individual (quotes crazily low for jobs and gets awarded them on MyHammer) who is associating himself with the NICEIC on his website in regards to his certification practices. On investigation he has no association with the NICEIC at all.

Guess what... NICEIC take these matters very seriously and are taking action, while MyHammer are still allowing him to quote on electrical jobs as of this evening.

Encouraging Cowboys? I'll leave it with you to ponder over.

 

[rocker]

Wow really? He was quoting on so many things I didn't even think to check that he was registered, gotta be pretty brazen to be that out-in-the-open and to pee off a lot of people if you're not squeaky clean. If it does transpire he's unregistered he deserves everything he gets, great detective work, Jasper.

 

[rocker]

Hmmmm just checked the NIC website for his business name and his proper name - nothing at the address given on myhammer, nothing under the postcode and nothing indeed in the city he trades from. Verrrry interesting.

 

[rocker]

Hmmmm just checked the NIC website for his business name and his proper name - nothing at the address given on myhammer, nothing under the postcode and nothing indeed in the city he trades from. Verrrry interesting.

EDIT: Or indeed ELECA or Napit.

 

[Des 56]

Just looked through the thread and had a lok at some jobs on my hammer
This one made me smile


Quote

House is low on earth and has been requested by a company to get an electrician in to check if next door has all the earth going to their house (semi detached house)




I might quote to pinch a bit of next doors,they surely dont need it all

 

[rocker]

Just looked through the thread and had a lok at some jobs on my hammer
This one made me smile


Quote

House is low on earth and has been requested by a company to get an electrician in to check if next door has all the earth going to their house (semi detached house)




I might quote to pinch a bit of next doors,they surely dont need it all

Ha Des you must live near to me, I saw that one on Saturday morning, how I laughed through the hangover!

'Darling, I'm running a bit low on earth, do you think you could pick me some up down the garden centre'.

 

[arjay]

Made the fatal mistake of thinking it might get me some work never won a job worh a light website operators, were oblivious to my complaimts ,unfortunately money talks and i joe public wants to keep it in his pocket so we cant win.

 

[lloyd1980]

unfortunatly guys this all goes back to, joe bloggs and mrs jones down the road, all domestic customers care about is the figure at the bottom of the estimate - they will always go for the cheapest one as everyone likes to think they have got ' a bargain '
cowboys on this stupid site play on this tendancy , the customer still expects a decent job and assumes they are getting the same re-wire for 800 that they would for paying 2000
you get what you pay for in life

pay peanuts and monkeys will work for you

MY HAMMER illustrates this point

I feel sorry for the people who end up with the shower wired in alarm cable

 

[Des 56]

MY HAMMER illustrates this point

I feel sorry for the people who end up with the shower wired in alarm cable

You saw my job then
I had a bit left on the coil so it seemed sensible to use it up
Just think of the benefits

Light to carry and manhandle
Small slots to lay it in (some stupid peope drill holes)
Minimum damage when chased in or clipped
The white colour goes with the tiles
Able to terminate in a light switch without crushing
Mind you I had to explain off the gkowing effect on the wire as a colour effect to indicate the shower was working( I suppose thats a justifiable excuse considering the other quotes were rip offs)
Can be used on all sizes and makes of shower
Cheap to buy, so the profit margin, along with other lower overheads like minimum tax donations means its a lucrative way of making a living

I also have an astute buisness sense
Other foolish people in this trade buy ready made certificates,now I ask you,why waste hard earned cash to pay for something that the customer doesn't understand or read
I'm overcome with work demand
You just have to be competetive thats all

 

[lloyd1980]

think theres a few of these everywhere

prob a few on this forum too its sad to say, lurking in the shadows, never posting, always reading and picking up tips and then ****ing things up for the customer in a good ol ' cash and dash '

 

[johnah]

Having read the quotes made on this topic I agree with the rogue trader part and how they possibly can be making a living out of the so low price jobs. But surely the main concern would be how low the agencies are asking "Electricians" to work on sites in London never mind in the "North" for less than the JIB and being paid CIS without any holiday pay etc.
900 for 7 days in 2010 compared to 1300 in 2005 for the same 70 hours [Olympics - Wembley] is a disgrace and proof of how far we have slipped.
You then throw in the con of the part P, a load of money making regulations and you can see why people are under cutting like mad and are willing to travel 70miles to earn a 100 pound for a days work. It's a lot better then working with bluffers on site for 9 1/2 hours for agencies who are making more money out of you than the 6% My hammer is. Even the JIB rate is laughable but exceptable if a firm pays all the benefits. [Not many left].
It is the "race to the bottom" for Electricians and all the construction sector until we all stand together in the country then nothing is going to change.

 

[lloyd1980]

JOHNAH

Nothing is ever going to change, even by standing together do you really feel it will make any difference?
what do sparks do? refuse a job when they have bills and wife and kids to pay for - purley to make a moral stand againsed agencies and the low pay?

look at the fuel blockades a few years ago - It ground the country to a halt, the government reduced fuel duty by 2p everyone backed down and then it got reinstated, now look at the cost of fuel!!!

the only way wages and rates will rise is when demand out strips supply, in that there are more jobs than people to do them, this wont happen for a long time yet due to the climate and confidence

the eastern europeans are not helping matters working / living on site for a bag of chips at the end of the week but this is what we face

we all just have to get our heads down suck it up and it will get better eventually.

just a matter of time

 

[jasperhound]

I am at my wits end with MyHammer.... They are, in my opinion, a total shambles and a cowboy outfit themselves. JUST POSTED THIS ON 'moneysavingexpert.com' FORUM: As a tradesupplier on the MyHammer platform, I have 2 concerns, one from a consumers point and one as a user of MyHammer. From a consumers perspective I am very concerned at how easy it is for any tom, dick or harry to quote on a customers job requirements. I continually see jobs being awarded to so called trades persons for figures I would lose money on, let alone break even. As a qualified NICEIC registered electrician there are stringent rules & regulations that have to be met including Part P & Building Regs notification for most jobs apart from minor works. Work in Kitchens & Bathrooms almost certainly require Building control notification and this can be a minimum of £200 for starters unless your Electrician/Installer is a member of a government approved body such as NICEIC, Electra, Napit etc. Safety is surely being compromised by allowing non qualified persons to quote on jobs involving electricity & water, in installing a shower for example. I have voiced my concerns to MyHammer, but they fail to respond. Be very vigilant if using MyHammer as there seems to be no safeguard in allowing the Cowboys of this world to thrive on this type of platform. *****To Trades people considering signing up to MyHammer***** Having signed up to a 3 month trial I have had nothing but headaches. If you have problems with MyHammer you may find that trying to get things resolved will cost you money in phone calls, time wasted in emails, loss of possible earnings through quotes being placed & questions asked, being deleted from your account as they continually place restrictions on it. Due to what I can see as total incompetence, they are failing to bring my account up to date. They are continually placing restrictions on my account due to what they claim is an unpaid Invoice that has been paid via transfer to their account, at their request, due to problems with their accounting system. Then, when they acknowledge its been paid they lift the restriction but within a day or two the restriction is back on again. This has now happened at least 8 times! I have sent over 10 emails, telephoned (0871) over a dozen times, & written to the CEO with no response to this issue. The operation is based in Germany & you speak to German girls when you phone who would not put me through to their accounts department nor let me speak to supervisors if indeed they exist. I have now hit a brick wall and when seeking advise from 'Consumer Direct' have been told that taking action against a German Company may be difficult to accomplish. Never have I dealt with such incompetency, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!! p.s. I have a further issue with them now that I won't go into, but, once again they have failed to respond to my emails.

 

[Colonel Hathi]

I have a problem with these people.
I signed up to a 3 month "Try Package".
The 3 months has expired and they are still sending notifications and invoices.
They claim that because I didn't cancel the trial period in writing, I have by default agreed to a 12 month contract!!!

I only quoted for one job during the trial (unsuccessfully) and have never used them since.

They cannot produce a copy of any contract - but say that I must have clicked on something in their website to agree to their general terms and conditions.

I have no intention of paying.
Has anybody else had this problem?
How did it work out in the end?

I have also had the same problem as other posters with completely unrealistic quotes being put up and with the very poor English of the call centre.
I actually asked to speak to a supervisor today but was told this is not possible as she does not speak English!!!

By the way the problem with tradesmen listed with just "City and Guilds" being listed as qualifications is again probably My Hammer's fault. I twice sent mine through (17th Edition, 2392, DISQ, 2377, Part P) but the site just states "C+G" three times. I tried to tackle this on the phone with them - but they are hopeless!

Thanks for any advice on dealing with the contract issue.

CH

 

[jasperhound]

I am now in the process of making a European Union Cross-Border Claim, the equivalent of a UK County Court Claim against this joke of an organization.
Its not the most straight forward of things to do but this company needs to be brought to account for its utter incompetence and appalling customer service.

I am considering writing to Watchdog and if more disgruntled customers do the same maybe our case will be taken up and MyHammer exposed on a national level.

 

[lloyd1980]

i am so pleased that Im not alone in hating MY HAMMER, and I wasnt unlucky enough to sign up, although I did consider it, I thought better of it when saqw the prices being quoted, although even though im not a member they still blanket my inbox with these stupid jobs, all 160 miles away in bilaricay or devon
Im really going to devon from chester to look at a broken switch

 

[arjay]

I am with you guys all the way i myself am involved in the same argument with them have threatened them with the press ,MP's trading standards but have stopped short of the missus no one deserves that !!!!

 

[jasperhound]

SENT THIS TO CHANNEL 5 TV TODAY AS (if you didn't know) MYHAMMER SPONSOR THEIR PROGRAMME... wait for it... COWBOY BUILDERS....HOW IRONIC IS THAT! :

I am concerned at how your TV program COWBOY BUILDERS is sponsored by MyHammer.
This site as with others of its like are a breeding ground for potential Cowboy Builders and the like due to the fact that anybody can quote on potential jobs posted by unsuspecting joe public.

Consumers, ( I suspect in these tough times trying to get a cheap deal) are awarding contracts to so called trades persons on quotes that are totally unrealistic and could only be achieved by serious compromises and cutting of corners which is frightening especially when dealing with electricity for example.
In my opinion, jobs are clearly being undertaken and completed by unskilled trades persons, possibly illegally, and I fear it won't be long before somebody is seriously harmed by employing a Cowboy through MyHammer.

Having seen the MyHammer sponsorship advert on your channel, I took on a 3 month trial with MyHammer which has resulted in an ongoing display of utter incompetence, ignorance and appalling customer service resulting in me starting proceedings to issue a European Union Cross-Border Claim, the equivalent of a UK County Court Claim against this company. I am not the only one to suffer as you will find if you search various forums. I have also voiced my concerns to MyHammer about unskilled people quoting for jobs but they fail to respond.

I would suggest that you visit trade forums to see for yourself what the professional, registered Trades People have to say about MyHammer.

Before associating yourself with certain sponsors would it not be worth delving deeper into their operations to at least protect your viewers from employing a possible Cowboy and appearing on your next series?, as well as professionals such as myself getting involved with MyHammer.... More like MY HEADACHE!

 

[lloyd1980]

nice mate, most people couldnt be bothered with the hassle but good on ya, money talks tho. and if MY SPANNER has stumped up 1000,s in advertising fees to channel 5 then they will prob not ask may questions

it is very very ironic that the program sponsored is COWBOY BUILDERS

 

[rocker]

Yea, well done. I think Lloyd's right though, I remember we sent letters to C5 before, specifically about the Cowboy Builders program, and while some of the 'electrical expert' scenes that were factually balls were pulled from the repeats, someone on here got a narky email from them more-or-less saying we don't know what we're on about.

 

[wh666-666]

Nothing is ever going to change, even by standing together do you really feel it will make any difference?

what do sparks do? refuse a job when they have bills and wife and kids to pay for - purley to make a moral stand againsed agencies and the low pay?

we all just have to get our heads down suck it up and it will get better eventually.

just a matter of time

I agree entirely with this sentiment, so much so it's changed me from a lurker here to a poster. I know an electrician a couple of streets away who used to work for a company but got made redundant over a year ago. However he needed to get his 17th edition ASAP to continue on his own but still hasnt.

He has been offered other work at £40 per day labour working within a team, but refuses work that he feels is "beneath him". If you cant earn £20 per hour anymore, suck it up and be prepared to earn only £7 if you cant find anything better. I know a lot of people with the same story, going from high earning salaries with a refusal to drop down in wages. Food and the mortgage paid is the most essential thing.

Lets just feel sorry for the poor sod who got an £ 800 rewire.
my guess would be new facias and a new board is all they got

Maybe, maybe not. I dont mean to make myself unpopular on my first post.

Myhammer may be full of cowboys, personally I dont know as I never use the service. If the customer is unknowledgable, the may just end up with new faceplates and board. However you run the risk with shabby work from those that quote the highest as well. I usually find price has no bearing on quality or integrity of a tradesman.

However a three storey rewire for £800 is entirely possible and even very profitable, although the margins are very tight and it requires proper quoting rather than picking a price out of the sky. Pricing up my own three storey home (well two storey + loft conversion), the materials for 3 + sockets per room in white works out at just over £400, in chrome somewhere between £500-£600.

For the sake of argument, lets call it £500 for materials, while betting they wont bother with too many outlets in each room. With £300 left you could work for two days (12 hr shifts solid) which would work out at £12.50p/h, right on the ball park with what a lot of sparks earn. With this being the case, how can some sparks justify quotes exceeding £2k?

To make it more profitable still, hire yourself a Electricians Mate. Leave them doing the lousy tiring work, such as channelling out walls and clearing up the mess at £5p/h or less, while you go round and do more work. You can leave them there while you go doing PAT work nearby for example. This reduces your working hours and increases you wages significantly, even after giving him a tool allowance.

outside lights new radial for boiler and new spot lights £ 110 inc VAT

this is rediculous

I will completely agree with you all here, this is a stupid quote. I havnt checked recent prices on lighting/etc but materials should be close to £100, Vat will suck up £20 ish, so where is the profit or allowance even for a couple of hours work?

Some clown quoted 200 quid. So I emailed him to ask what type of CU he would use and if it'd be certificated. He tells me he only fits Hager CUs and he'll fully certify it.

Now, can someone please tell me how this guy makes any money?

He probably doesnt make much. He may only make £20. However at least he can feed his children for half a week. In ultra competitive areas, many may not have the choice.

 

[mogga]

WH 666-666 Iv just got to wire my m8s shed (ok big massive shed) 6sockets drum o 2.5 3 floury fittings a 3 way cu 2 out door sockets and a 10mm swa how huch should I charge to make £20 to cover my petrol??

 

[wh666-666]

WH 666-666 Iv just got to wire my m8s shed (ok big massive shed) 6sockets drum o 2.5 3 floury fittings a 3 way cu 2 out door sockets and a 10mm swa how huch should I charge to make £20 to cover my petrol??

As I said before on the final quoted example in my post, Im unsure of todays market rates for the lighting example but I AGREED that seemed like a stupidly low quote.

However my example with a rewire still stands. You can rewire a house even buying materials from places like screwfix, charge 12.50 p/h over 2 x 12hr shifts for £800. The time will vary on how much wall you're going to be channelling out.



I appreciate you have expenses to cover, dont we all? Insurance, liability, replacement tools, etc. However if after materials and expenses, all you make on a job is £20 profit you either have the choice of quoting more, or taking whatever profit you can.

It depends how competitive quoting is in your area and how much you really like eating?


However if you're asking seriously how much you should charge for such a job I would personally say anywhere from £500 - £2k presuming the installation will be on its own separate fused board, wired back to the home network. It really depends on how much digging you're going to have to do and what you will have to dig through to lay cable from the house to the massive shed?