Connecting an existing but disconnected Arial up?
As Lucid has already said it is "aerial". It does not need a capital letter either. Ariel is washing powder.
But at the end of the day if you are getting all the equipment out to get to a high aerial the actual cost of a new one is small in the scheme of things.
I assume you mean as a installer, in that the price is has to include labour and all parts.
I told you this would happen. No company can survive doing £35 repair jobs; it's not worth their time turning up. So what has happen is they turned an unprofitable job @£35 in to profitable job @ £166. It's called "switch selling", offering a low price to get a booking and then switching you across to something higher value when they're on-site. You haven't been ripped off, but if their advert had read "new aerials fitted for £166" then you probably wouldn't have rung them.Ok, I think I may have just been ripped off?
The company that I linked to (that I ended up using) ended up costing £166
In the end you were told in no uncertain terms that it would end up costing you more, yet out of either stupidity or greed you still went ahead despite the warning. Ripped off? No, you got exactly what you deserved.
I am speaking on behalf of my parent, who went ahead and got them in after they asked me to find the cheapest aerial installer, which I did for them.
I suppose we feel ripped off as we are used to doing things our selves, and I personally expected the total price inc VAT to be trade price of parts with VAT included + 20% markup + £20-£30 hours labour.
Switching the aerial over for a new one just to make a decent profit when the old one is/is likely fine just seems like taking the P and a way of conning the customer out of money.
Wish I had done it my self now and saved nearly £166, but then my parent wanted to get a person in due to the trickiness of it and for insurance reasons. Between me and my parent, we have done so much work around our house our selves including all the skirting, all the flooring, electrics outside/minor electrical jobs, drive way, decking, CCTV& Alarm system, etc... and thus are used to low prices of the things we buy.
Your reply reads like you are trying to justify your position as the injured party. I'm not trying to be argumentative, just pointing out the obvious. There was absolutely no mention of your parent in the fist post; it's all you saying I, I, I. "I am getting rid of..." "unaffordable for me..." "I am going to get..." "I have chosen..." "I have an existing Arial...." "I stupidly cut..." "I would never need to use it again." etc etc.
Even if your parent asked you to find the cheapest installer, it was you who came on this forum asking for advice so you're the one responsible for feeding that advice back so your parent could make decision based on our collective experience. Looking back I can see I advised you precisely that this could be done as a DIY job and I detailed how. You had the option but you've now said your parent wanted someone in for insurance purposes. Then you start moaning that it's not the price you expect. Well guess what, insurance costs money, running a van costs money, paying wages and employment tax and insurance and corporation tax and running web sites and paying for phones and premises and, and, and, all costs money. Supplying and backing up a warranty all costs money too. You've not said how long the guy was on site, but a meter-aligned aerial install for £166 is on the cheaper end of the install price spectrum. Making up your own price expectations based on what you pay for DIY gear just isn't commercially sound or sensible.
I said it before and I'll say it again, the predictions were made and you (and your parent) made your choice. Everything that followed after that choice is your responsibility. Don't moan when you choose to go against the advice of people you've asked for help.
Even if your parent asked you to find the cheapest installer, it was you who came on this forum asking for advice so you're the one responsible for feeding that advice back so your parent could make decision based on our collective experience. Looking back I can see I advised you precisely that this could be done as a DIY job and I detailed how. You had the option but you've now said your parent wanted someone in for insurance purposes. Then you start moaning that it's not the price you expect. Well guess what, insurance costs money, running a van costs money, paying wages and employment tax and insurance and corporation tax and running web sites and paying for phones and premises and, and, and, all costs money. Supplying and backing up a warranty all costs money too. You've not said how long the guy was on site, but a meter-aligned aerial install for £166 is on the cheaper end of the install price spectrum. Making up your own price expectations based on what you pay for DIY gear just isn't commercially sound or sensible.
I said it before and I'll say it again, the predictions were made and you (and your parent) made your choice. Everything that followed after that choice is your responsibility. Don't moan when you choose to go against the advice of people you've asked for help.
I am not moaning, just stating my/our opinion as a factual statement. When talking about a personal situation on here (DiyNot), I often write on behalf of my parent as if it was me.
Anyway, it's done now and that's that. Yes we may have saved some money by forcing him to re-use the old aerial, but that point is moot now anyway.
Fifteen years ago I was charging £35 an hour in the NorthWest. (And London rates are higher - for any cockinese reading this.)
For an aerial installation I'd expect to pay at least £35 per hour or part thereof, plus retail price of parts (not trade) plus £50 working at height surcharge, plus another £50 for a chimney job. There are rules for working at height, which include having two workers (at £35 an hour each), the correct type of ladders with ropes attached, hard hats, harnesses and tethering hooks. And add VAT for any company earning more than £80,000 p.a.
Sky eventually got the Health & Safety message after at least one installer fell to his death. However, there are still some "professionals" willing to risk their lives in order to undercut the opposition.