I disagree.....as with auto repairs most people have no clue
as to reasonable cost and materials. In fact, that is why the
automotive flat rate manual was born.
So we relie on the interigity of the contractor or repair person.
The company I work that manages 34 apts bldg...has a saying.
We want or contractors and repair persons to make money so they
stay in business and are around when we need them...
but we are not going to be ripped off.
We have paid for rental of airless paint sprayers when one failed in the
middle of a job
which wasn't our responsibilty...but hey, it's $60 or $100 worth of
goodwill....
but inflating prices to that degree is wrong.

Terry
"Curmudgeon" wrote in message
...
Frankly I have a lot more sympathy for the electrician than for you.
He was upfront and above board about what he was going to charge you to do
the work. He didn't raise the price afterwards and hold your feet to the
fire.
You, on the other hand, agreed to the work and the price and now, after
the
fact, are whining about being overcharged.
Yes, you got overcharged. But you called him...he didn't call you. You
dropped your pants, bent over and said please. Don't bitch about it now!!


"Snoop Drew" wrote in message
news:e4Cqc.4691$zw.4@attbi_s01...
I hired an electrician from the yellow pages to replace a faulty Ground
Fault Circuit Interruptor (GFCI) in the garage, and install two new ones
in
the kitchen to bring it up to code.

The guy charged me $261 per GFCI, for a total of $783. He spent an hour
to
do the job. I told him before I signed the work authorization that this
seemed expensive and asked about a discount but he just frowned. Is this
really a fair price?

Their yellow page ad reads "reasonable prices" and "complete
professional
&
reliable service" with "30 years experience!!"

I don't think someone who has 30 years of professional experience would
say
that $783 is "reasonable" for installing three GFCI outlets, with no new
wires to be run.

i have no one to blame but myself, but do i have any recourse? Can't i
just
call the guy to complain and ask for a partial refund? Or can I really
win
in small claims?

yes, I deserve an award for stupidity and gullability, but i think
there's
a
special place in hell for people like this...