(edit title) tradesmen what is a days work ? travel cost? Options

[ginny]

can anyone shed any light for me?

we have just had some electricians here, they came here the first day 10.15 and left 2.30, a week later they did a 2nd day of 10.30-3 and then they returned yesterday to put up a strip light...i also hoped they would fit a double socket but they said it had to be ordered (i could have gone to the supplier myself & bought one off the shelf if i had known!)

anyway we now have part of the invoice and they are charging 200sek travel expense every day they were here..
if they had started at 8am and done a full day like most other people they would have only had to come here for 1 day.. there were 2 of them after all !

as for the travel charges, i understand that the smaller companies ie the 1 man band units .. declare said costs on tax declaration and said cost is deductable, so surely if they charge it and declare it then they effectively get it twice ?

help...

[deb]

Welcome to the wonderful world of getting work done here in Sweden. All I can say is learn to do it yourself.

[freezebtn]

Does anyone have any positive stories about trademen here? Was thinking of getting a decorater in, any recommendations in the Stockholm area?

[jack sprat]

Was this a reputable company? or cowboys?
People here are not renowned for working long hours...
Or for working themselves to death,
Socialist principles seem to come well before protestant work ethics,
Great news for many of the immigrants though, who dont mind at all what hours they work and can be seen in so many towns working away in their fast food joints,especially evenings, whilst the locals put their feet up and watch TV after such a hard day at the office.

[jack sprat]

DIY?
Well the one thing that will get them of there asses to do just a little graft, is the thought of having to dig in their pocket amongst the mothballs for their "hard earned cash" to pay some other lazy tradesmen who will rip them of for a simple 2 or 3 hour job.
Yes,DIY!

[Johno]

When we had work done on our cottage I was surprised at the really detailed bill where every item used plus travel costs were itemised. Travel time seemed the norm for all the subcontractors, a new concept but given that out in the countryside with us quite a long drive is needed to get from all the nearby towns, so its not an unreasonable procedure. Just think how isolated some parts of rural Sweden are.

I have to say it wasnt cheap, we had to wait for him to do the job with also a long wait for the final bill. But the work was to an excellent standard.

Tax deductable only means you dont pay tax on it - when modestly self employed in the UK I saved paying 22% tax but still had to pay the bulk. Not exactly a big deal.

As in many other contexts its how they do it here. Of course with moms at 25% there is a thriving black economy (I am told)...

[Robert Ear...]

Does anyone have any positive stories about trademen here? Was thinking of getting a decorater in, any recommendations in the Stockholm area?



0736576581

[B.b]

Welcome to the wonderful world of getting work done here in Sweden. All I can say is learn to do it yourself.

sorry thats the way it is here unfortunally electric work you should never do yourself it could turn dangerous after a while anyways just pay the bill.

[ginny]

the first lot of builders we had came by recomendation but turned out to be cowboys.. have disputed bill which remains unsettled as it has gone the other way now as we are claiming damages against them ... & we had to have another firm to finish the work !

the electricians, have no idea how we found them but we had to wait a month for them & they gave written estimate etc,

a friend in denmark actually paid her electrician from england to come and do their alterations etc, turned out to be a seriously cost effective way of getting the job done .. but they needed a house rewiring etc.. we just needed odd stuff doing

just a note of caution about DIY, if you do it yourself and you are not "certified" per the swedish authorities the insurance company will not cover you
thankfully we found this out before we attempted DIY !the guy who refurb our house was not cert and it looks like he will now have to pay to have a cert plumber to come and re-do our bathroom..

[deb]

I was being a little tongue-in-cheek with the DIY comment since most of us are aware that you need certified electricians to wire your house and certified plumbers to move water pipes, etc. However, there are many things you can do yourself without hiring a professional -- adding lighting and even fitting a socket can be done yourself if the wiring is already there. Just be sure to turn off the power first!

[Shark99 - ...]

I just had an electrician here in the States put in a 220 volt outlet for my new dryer and change the 110 volt outlet to a three pronged instead of a two. They came at 8am and left at 9:15am. It cost $215 dollars with parts and labor and the estimate the day before. That's like almost $200 bucks an hour, but it's not like I'm going to do electrical work like that by myself. They had to change the breakers and run lines, etc. Still, it seems like a lot of money, but they got the job done.

[Jamie_plym...]

Does anyone have any positive stories about trademen here? Was thinking of getting a decorater in, any recommendations in the Stockholm area?

Ive been working for a painting and decorating company for the last 5-6 weeks in Stockholm so I can more than recommend ourselves if you want it done by the books?

Eller... http://www.thelocal.se/14246/20080910/
From one of the guys I work with.

[ginny]

does anyone know about the "travel charge" - it seems to be random figures to me so far everyone charges it differently - but are they actually allowed ? and do you have to pay it ?
this electrician is trying to charge us 200 sek a day and he was here 3 days but never actually did a complete day so to speak.. seems like taking the P I S S to me ??

I mean if you were to offer to go and collect them and take them home: then what ?? what does Skatterverket say about it?? anyone know the details ?

[jack sprat]

Is that 200sek per day travel costs only?
How far did he travel?

Just had a plumbing co here,gave me one price before he started,took less than an hour,then gave me a higher price before leaving.
Did not realize till too late that he was from the same firm that did a bodge job 2 year ago.
Left the place in a hell of a mess.
Had a co.recommended by the commune do some carpentry last year,another bodge job,junk material.
Even the Spanish cowboys are better and tidier than some of the so called tradesmen in my area.

[Jamie_plym...]

I spoke to a guy I worked with and he said that some people do charge travel costs but they should be agreed in the original quote not added on afterwards.