Landlords are fair game for tenants, property managers, and tradesmen - or so it seems after I've been repeatedly stung with outrageous repair bills such as the world's most expensive light switch and the recent installation of a simple oyster ceiling light in the kitchen which costs $29.95 at BUNNINGS but for which I was charged $330.
Okay, there's the travel time, and the time wasted in finding a parking spot, and then the cost of labour, and administrative overheads, before they make any profit, but some jobs are definitely on the nose, such as this quote the same electrician gave me while he was on that $330-job.
Apparently, while doing the "isolation of power to carry out works" - I think he switched the fuse to OFF but that wouldn't have justified charging me $330 - he found that the switchboard inside the unit no longer complied with today's standards, and an upgrade, according to him, would cost me $1,100 plus GST. Thanks to GOOGLE, I was able to find three other electricians who came back with quotes of $848 plus GST, $685 plus GST, and $550 plus GST. That last one was from Mark of Mark Brown Electrical, and I gave him the nod. It's amazing how much you save when you cut out the middle-man (the property manager).
