Quote for Electrician referred by Interior Designer - is the price inflated?!

[Honorary Bloke]

Guys, JuatAChick has probably had the job done a longtime gone now. This thread was started last year in Sept/Oct

Well, bless me and so it was! Very likely all resolved, although if getting a sparky in is as difficult there as it is here, she MAY still be waiting!

[bingoshelley]

my god girl you need to grow some balls when dealing with tradies or they will see you a mile away even if you dont know what your talking about make sure they know your husband will be dealing with the final quote.get your yellow pages out and look under electricians and get them to come out you may have to ring 10 and probably 2-3 will actually turn up but it will be worth it in the end i just had 2 ceiling fans which i purchased from bunnings for 39.95 and an outdoor light supplied by the electrician and he charged me 152.00 for the lot.save money and buy the parts yourself then you only pay for installation.its very easy to get ripped off by tradies when your female they get $$ in their eyes lol.by the way i live in the bush and we get ripped off by all tradies up here but im going to go and give my sparky a big kiss seeing what melb sparkys are charging.

[nev25]

i purchased from bunnings for 39.95 and an outdoor light supplied by the electrician and he charged me 152.00 for the lot.

Yeah right
You wish

[JustAChick]

The designer has, quite naturally, marked the quote up to cover service costs. Sorry, but you are asking to have it both ways. You are happy to have the designer get the quotes, select the products, etc. but evidently do not want to pay for his/her time to perform that service. It is certainly ok to ask for an itemised quote from the designer, of course, but not from the sparky directly, as the designer has now become your agent.

You are perfectly entitled to call another sparky on your own and get your own quotes.

Wow, I didn't realise this thread was still active. Firstly, in my defense Bob, I had never had an interior designer out and thought they would come and give ideas about well, interior design. I didn't know they then "refer" and "recommend" tradespeople and then add a nice little bonus on the side. I am perfectly capable of ringing 3 electricians and getting quotes but seeing as this forum is so full of friendly (?!) knowledgeable people, I thought I would throw it out there for discussion.

I did tell the interior designer that I knew an electrician and was happy for him to come and quote but she insisted on bringing out her guy and I told her I was happy to explain what I wanted on my own but she came with him and then charged me again for her time. SHE can't have it both ways - either I pay for her time and get honest advice including her organising quotes by tradies OR I don't pay for her time to do this and she adds a margin to the electrician's quote. I don't expect any advice or time for free, I just don't want to be double charged on the sly.

As it turns out, I called the electrician directly, got his number from the ID, asked what his hourly rate was - he told me $95!! I then called the electrician I know and he told me $65 and quoted me less time to do it. They are now done for about half the price of the original quote. My guess is, he didn't really want the work in the first place.

And to the poster who said I need to get some balls - if you met me in real life you may change your mind coz I aint no wallflower! I was actually just trying to be respectful of everyone's role in this whole thing as I was new to the ID thing. Don't think I'll bother with IDs again and just do all my own research!

Appreciate your posts.

[Honorary Bloke]

Wow, I didn't realise this thread was still active. Firstly, in my defense Bob, I had never had an interior designer out and thought they would come and give ideas about well, interior design. I didn't know they then "refer" and "recommend" tradespeople and then add a nice little bonus on the side. I am perfectly capable of ringing 3 electricians and getting quotes but seeing as this forum is so full of friendly (?!) knowledgeable people, I thought I would throw it out there for discussion.

Good onya and full marks as a quick study. I have learned the hard way over the years that if there is any way for people to skin you they will try it. Interior Designers are among the worst (any I-D members of this esteemed forum excepted, of course. ). But for some people, it is attractive to eliminate the hassles of getting their own quotes, etc. and they then pay for the privilege. As your designer "resisted" your efforts to use your own sparky, etc., I would say you got one of the "bad" ones.

Very happy it turned out well.