sponix wrote:

I'd always thought of quoting £30-£35 for the first hour, subsequent
hours £15-£20. This includes fuel, labour and tools.

From the research I've done, the dearest was £40 for first half hour,
cheapest £30. Everyone charged more for the first half hour. A call out
fee by another name.

Per hour after that cheapest £30 dearest £40 (not the same people as in the
first example). Granted they were in London & NE Surrey, where you would
expect higher charges.

£30 & £30 seems about average.

So...in the theoretical case of the u-bend: parts £7, 1 hour labour
£35, total charge £42.

Would the market stand these sorts of prices?

It depends. The lower the prices, the more people willing to pay them &
vice versa. I think a balance has to be struck. I've just created a
spreadsheet where I can vary the number of jobs, number of hours, number of
'first half hours', hourly rates & initial half hour rates.

I want to get a feel for what variable makes the most money. It may be
better to charge a lower call out to get more work, or keep that higher &
rely on lots of quick jobs.

Dave