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Must I pay anything to a septic tank pumper who quotes a price over the phone but raises it when he arrives at my home?
Anonymous5 views3 answers
For example, I'm quoted $300 on the phone but, when he looks at my tank, says the charge will be $450 because there's more than 1000 gallons of water in there, if I refuse the higher quote, am I obligated to pay him anything for driving out to my home? He's asking for $85. There's no written contract. Perhaps a verbal one on the phone for $300. His reason may be legitimate, the tank is a little over-filled but not by much. Still, legitimate or not, am I obligated to pay him anything at all?
If he gave the quote with no exceptions then I do not think that you should pay if he changed the price. If he said our standard price is X but I cannot give a firm quote until I get there and by the way there is a $85 service charge, that is a different story. I personally would not pay
If you feel this is a case of deceptive business practices, you might like to call Georgia Department of Law's Consumer Protection Unit and report the matter (see http://consumer.georgia.gov/consumer-services/filing-a-complaint). You could also complain to the Better Business Bureau (http://www.bbb.org/). It is not uncommon in this industry to hear of consumers being quoted one price on the phone and then, when the truck arrives, being hit with "digging fees," "hose charges," "trip charges," etc. $300 seems like a reasonable, all-in price for Loganville, while $450 seems excessive if all you are getting is straight pumping of a 1,000 gallon tank. Be reasonable, however. If there is truly additional work involved, and if you knew this did not disclose it on the phone, you cannot expect a contractor to take kindly to being deceived any more than you do.
You have two good answers here already. What I'll add is that it is common for the consumer to not hear all the details when on the phone. There may be a fine line between deception and somewhat misleading statements. For example, if the guy said "Our standard charge is $300," then he may have been truthful but he didn't point out what standard is. And, if you do have more than 1,000 gallons and that's a standard measure, then perhaps the company has a point. However: a 50% increase for the extra gallons sounds like he's gouging you.
