Reasonable mark-up on contractor supplied goods (Electrical work)

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Handle9

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#3137982 2-Oct-2023 20:56

SomeoneSomewhere:
CGA B2B contract-out needs to be *in writing* IIRC. So unless you actually signed something up-front or they specifically sent terms and asked you to agree to them, it's still covered by the CGA. And if you do that, you've probably got a contract covering hourly rate and supply markup.

From Consumer Protection:

you as the buyer and the seller are in trade and agree to this

the agreement is in writing

it is fair and reasonable to do so.

B2B transactions are considerably more complex than B2C transactions as the buyer is considered to have significantly more knowledge than a consumer. As such you need to review the entirety of the correspondence.

The battle of the forms, where each party attempts to conclude the transaction on its own conditions, is a particularly tricky one. In some circumstances “first shot” wins, in others “last shot” wins.

It’s why it’s always better to actually have an agreed contract rather than a morass of deemed acceptance.

https://www.buddlefindlay.com/insights/my-way-or-the-highway-protecting-yourself-from-the-battle-of-the-forms/

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k1w1k1d

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#3137984 2-Oct-2023 21:02

Have you contacted them to query the pricing?

SirHumphreyAppleby

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#3138071 3-Oct-2023 06:06

k1w1k1d:

Have you contacted them to query the pricing?

I will be doing so this afternoon. There are some possible discrepancies with quantities and parts I need to check that will require a site visit.

BlargHonk

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#3138094 3-Oct-2023 08:26

At a risk of being off topic, can any Sparkies with a trade account at Ideal/JA Russel let me know how much you would pay for this network enclosure? https://dynamix.co.nz/hws-2803wrv2

I'm just curious to know how much they rinsed me for buying one without an account off the street.

networkn

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#3138156 3-Oct-2023 10:04

It's honestly the wild west out there right now. It was bad before, but it's greedflation and make money while the sun shines. We have had contractors trying to charge us 4 times the retail price.

We are making sure, we get an agreed % now, to avoid getting ripped off.

tchart

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#3138185 3-Oct-2023 11:12

SirHumphreyAppleby:
I am just reviewing a couple of invoices for electrical work that was carried out as part of a much larger project and it appears the mark-up on supplied parts is very high.

Well at least you got an itemised invoice.

I once got a quote from a largish electrician company in Wellington. The quote, which I had to pay for mind you, was a single figure (2-3 times the other quotes). This wasn’t a big job either.

They refused to itemise.

I said that as a business owner myself that I’d be laughed out the room if I gave one of a my customers a single number for any work.

Don’t know how they think this is above board.

SirHumphreyAppleby

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#3143122 5-Oct-2023 13:35

So, I've heard back from the contractor...

"Materials are supplied at trade prices, this is quite literally, the actual industry standard."

4/4 people in the industry, commenting, asked or billing us recently all seem to disagree.

Daynger

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#3143223 5-Oct-2023 17:43

SirHumphreyAppleby:

So, I've heard back from the contractor...

"Materials are supplied at trade prices, this is quite literally, the actual industry standard."

4/4 people in the industry, commenting, asked or billing us recently all seem to disagree.

Sparky here, that is not the industry standard.

They must be very new to invoicing people/their own business.

They will not get any work they quote for if the customer gets more than one quote.

Daynger

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#3143225 5-Oct-2023 17:46

tweake:

but also sparkies are the highest markup of the building trades and is purely a profit driven industry. they are in it only to make big $$$. hence tons of scams, rip offs etc.

You are very wrong, sure there are some shitlords like any businesses we all have to deal with but to tar an entire industry with that brush is a very long bow to draw.

k1w1k1d

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#3143284 5-Oct-2023 18:58

There seems to be lots of people out there that are quick to condemn those of us in the trades for trying to rip all our customers off. As Daynger advised there are rogues about, but most of us are just trying to make a living.

Don't get me started how 20 minutes at the dentist costs $310.

Handle9

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#3143288 5-Oct-2023 19:11

tchart:
SirHumphreyAppleby:

I am just reviewing a couple of invoices for electrical work that was carried out as part of a much larger project and it appears the mark-up on supplied parts is very high.

Well at least you got an itemised invoice.

I once got a quote from a largish electrician company in Wellington. The quote, which I had to pay for mind you, was a single figure (2-3 times the other quotes). This wasn’t a big job either.

They refused to itemise.

I said that as a business owner myself that I’d be laughed out the room if I gave one of a my customers a single number for any work.

Don’t know how they think this is above board.

Commercial construction contracts are done like this. The contractor quotes to do the job.

If you get a fixed lump sum price then that's a reasonable position for the contractor - they are giving you a price to do the job and have to bear the risk of the job. It's swings and roundabouts, sometimes the contractor wins, mostly they don't.

A lot of clients want a fixed lump sum but then quible about the details. If you want to work on a schedule of rates then I'm sure they would be happy to give those to you and do it on chargeup.

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