Ripped off by the trade?

[Paul Hughes]

😮 😮 😮 i would be embarised to charge that much for less than a metre of cut vinyl needed quick or not. for that price i would want gold plated lettering and dancing girls

:lol1:

i remember a similar thing when i need 1m of brown vinyl and a fellow sign maker charged me £15.00 for what would be £2s worth of vinyl 😮 and i thought that was bad, nothing on yours

Paul

[Neil Davey]

No. I’ve been called on by sign companies in similar situations and I’ve never charged charged them any where near those prices.
Some I’ve even helped Gratis to get them out of the brown stuff.

I’d say you were ripped off big time!!! 😥

[Steve Underhill]

Thats not even ripped off, thats beyond ripped off. Id have charged about £20 for that even if it was a rush job. its about ten minutes work and £20 for ten minutes isnt a bad rate. was it gold leaf you had it made from? lol

[Chris Wool]

perhaps they quoted for the job and never got it 😉 or did you ask when they were fitting it.

i have helped a few sign firms out over the years when stuck away from home all but one no charge but for that job i may have asked for 30 quid if they did the weeding etc.
tea foc. 😀

[Paul Munford]

Thanks guys… Ive been doing this an awfull long time now and thought I would post this just in case I am completely out of touch with reality with my pricing but your comments bring some relief in the knowledge that Im not going mad!
I too have had calls at all hours over the years from sign companys / agencys and fitters that have cocked up a graphic on site or simply forgot to bring a graphic and my philosophy has always been that these are people in the trade who need help/support and I have always been accomodating and fair after all you never know when you might find yourself in the same situation!
I will consider my pants well and truly pulled down!

[Martin Cole]

quote Paul Munford:

.We were charged £187.20 plus vat!! this equates to £283.63 pounds a square metre 😮
Paul.

(oogle) (oogle)

I would have told them where to stick it. Shame on them.

On the flip side I can’t believe you coughed up and paid it Paul. I would have been straight out the door and googled the next nearest sign co.

Thieving B*******ds

[Roy Roberts]

I’d say you probably upset them by getting the work. As Chris said they might have quoted for the job thinking they would get it being so close.
Would be interesting to know the difference on your quotes if they did.

It can put your nose out abit when another sign company turns up in your area doing
Work, but there can also be a number of reasons for this.

[Phill Fenton]

You should have negotiated. I reckon you could have got him to knock the 20p off and rounded it down to £187 😕

[Martin Cole]

quote Phill Fenton:

You should have negotiated. I reckon you could have got him to knock the 20p off and rounded it down to £187 😕

😀 😀

now that wouldn’t have been so bad.

No matter what the reason for charging that extortionate amount there’s no excuse, they should have just said no to helping you out. imo

[David Rogers]

…bit of devil’s advocate here…

I take it that your customers ask you much something will be – why didn’t you ask them?

If the quote was too high – I bet there’s another 20 signmakers in the local area you could have gone to.

Forgot to add – yes, you were seriously overcharged – but it’s every retailers right to price their wares at whatever they want…and your choice to pay it or not.

…why DID you pay…as a fellow ‘trade’ signmaker you surely have had to deal with buying goods from suppliers before. If you walk into a restaurant that displays no prices but charged you £30 for a cup of coffee – you’d be livid and probably refuse to pay…or negotiate.

[David Hammond]

BLOODY HELL!!!!!!!

Should’ve given me a call, I would have delivered it too to help you out!

Go on name and shame! 😉

[David Rowland]

"should have gone to UKSB adverts 🙂

[Warren Beard]

I started a thread a while back about a possible service on this site to put fellow sign makers in touch with each other for instances like this, can’t find it now but the gist of it was if you were far from your office and had a problem you could look at a list of willing companies in a specific area who you could call on for some help to get you out of trouble.

Nothing came of it but still think it would be a good idea, I also had a situation about 300miles from the office and was stuck, luckily the customer was willing to apply a small line of text for me which I sent him 2 sets in case but could have been worse and lost a full day in travel expense and time.

You were ripped off mate but should never have agreed to it though.

[Mike Grant]

Ripped off big time. Name and shame, definately. 👿

[Glen Mathers]

Got to "name & shame" so none of us end up using them for owt, saying that, i would have asked for the price first 😀

[Cheryl Smith]

quote Warren Beard:

a list of willing companies in a specific area who you could call on for some help to get you out of trouble.

would be a great idea for voluntary signboard members…had the same thing happen last week where a name and number would have been handy…

[Denise Goodfellow]

Did you not ask the cost before ordering?

They certainley did you no favours –

We have before now, given/lent vinyl to companies close to us, to get them out of the sh1te.

When 1 company needed an extra pair of hands we lent him our labourer, he paid to cover his wages and abit more..

We borrow/hire a lift of another company when we have signs to fit high up.

[Steve Morgan]

I quite agree with Warren & Cheryl, a list of contacts who would be willing to help out other members is a very good idea, it could be very useful especially to those of us who work on our own.

[Martin Pearson]

I would probably have got caught out as well, I have done odd bits for other sign companies & helped others out from time to time when they needed it & never because I thought I could make a few quid from it. Just helping out a fellow signmaker who may be in a position to help me one day. So I probably wouldn’t have asked for a price up front either.

Problem with a list of names & contact numbers is where do you put it?? Not against the idea & always happy to try & help others if they need it but a list like that could be a real problem as far as spam etc is concerned.

[Sam Armstrong]

I am just speechless which is unheard for me!!! What happened to supporting business amongst trade, to be ripped off like that is just shocking and disappointing. 😳

[Sam Armstrong]

I do have a vast client list nationwide with being a trade supplier, always would be happy to assist if given a postcode of someone I knew in area. Just drop a line and I would assist.

[John Harding]

Im with the others on this and assume this is not one of our group, personally this hasnt happened to me but if I needed someone when away from my base location I would use the boards to find a signmaker local to where I was working. A quick chat about price and everyones a winner.

[John Cooper]

That is so OTT! Is there any possibility they made a mistake? £18.72 and the typist put the decimal point in the wrong place?

[Robert Lambie]

Paul, I feel your pain mate, not good at all and i agree it’s way over priced!

I agree with the others in as much as "you should have asked first" but i also get you were probably guess-timating what you would charge and maybe doubling it for the inconvenience caused.

I have had similar done to me many times. in most cases "locally" 🙄
Just learn from the mistake mate and make sure it doesnt happen again.

As for the suggestion of having a list of members within the UKSG area.
are we not missing the obvious here, if you are caught on the hop and 100 miles or more from home, Simply Google from your phone a local sign company. either that or Yell.com.

if you travel allot on national signage installs. before leaving, Google the local sign companies in that area and print off the list. should you need anyone around the site for whatever reason, you now have your choice.

I have actually mentioned this sort of thing before. There are various reasons for UKSB not doing this, a major one being the data protect act. we cannot ask all the info we do when someone registers on UKSB, then openly share same.

another thing, just because we think we know someone well on this website, does not mean they are up to the job. no names or instances being mentioned, but in the 11 years of running this website i know of many stories of unhappy members that have subbed or bought products from other members blind. can end in tears! 🙂

That aside, if anyone has Signapp on their iphone, iPod or iPad.
Go to "more" then "Suppliers Index" then scroll down the list till you come to "UKSG Vinyl Application Network" and tap through the options. although incomplete, You will see here the foundation of how anyone can freely tap into what will become the largest network of "accredited" vinyl installers. from Advanced vinyl applicators to vehicle wrappers.
The difference here is how the network is formed, from registering to become part of it. to being tested and so on…
This list will begin populating itself very soon…
my purpose for mentioning this is to just to show i do see the need for "a network" of some sort, but it must be constructed right from the beginning.

[Jon Marshall]

quote John Cooper:

That is so OTT! Is there any possibility they made a mistake? £18.72 and the typist put the decimal point in the wrong place?

That actually sounds plausible. Did you query the price?

[Lee Attewell]

Nice one Rob 🙂

On the whole ripped off matter… Someone can be a tool in the trade or out of it. Karma’s a wonderful thing. Let’s face it… It was still probably cheaper than going back to your shop wasn’t it?

IMO as well the client should have been made to pay for the mind change as well… You’re not a mind reader. Are you ?

[Rodney Gold]

Perhaps the local firm saw you as direct competition who took the job away from them..and thus decided to "punish" you?

A lot depends on the local economic climate , some areas/trades you have collaboration with the attitude "there is enough to go round" and in others when competition is fierce , their policy might be might be active "obstruction" and try to cut your throat at every opportunity.

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[Steve Maple]

I am between Olympia and Earls court exhibition centres
I think you simply paid the ‘I’m desperate’ pricing structure.
sadly, If the exhibition had a shell-scheel, generic name board system, there would have been someone there with a plotter doing ‘show-cover’ – late arrivals.
should have asked at the organgrinder’s office