Refusing to pay a bill- overcharging?

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seabiscuit

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Got charged a horrific amount for some saddle work done, which was way, way over the top and I know for a fact it was 5 times more than what other saddlers would charge. The work on the saddle prob took them all of 10 mins.

Can I dispute paying this bill and pay what I think the work was worth?
 
OK here goes £325 for widening the saddle and taking some stuffing out of the middle and some sticthing! Reckon a 10 min job.

and £150 for widening a different saddle plus £45 consultation fee!

so total about £500.

F****ING RIDICOULOUS!! I dont care if the blooming saddler is reading this!

Have decided, am not paying this, will send them a cheque for £100.

MDM, how much was your saddler charging?
 
OMG that sounds way too much. My old saddler widened my saddle for free, only had to pay the call out! New saddler put extra flocking in alisha's dressage saddle and also only charged me the call out fee!! I would definately refuse to pay that, you could almost buy a new sadd;e for that amount!
 
crikey................
that sounds like a lot to pay. Surely you could have just bought a decent second hand one for that, that fitted rather than fannying about on that one.
I take it the saddler didn't give you a rough estimate before they started work. I always ask for an idea of costs for anything, horsey or otherwise. ASt least that way you are fore warnned, and if it then goes way above estimate, you can question it
 
Hi Forrest,
Did you use a saddler that uses one of those machines that make the saddle wider as I have read about these machines and they do charge a lot to alter saddles with these machines. I know that it is ridiculous, but perhaps this is what he did.
Maybe you should phone and ask if they have made a mistake? as it sounds awfully high like you said. Did you not get a price before they did the work?
Ask them exactly what they did to the saddle and explain that if you knew it was gonna cost that much, you`d have had a new saddle!
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It is worth asking as you never know, they could`ve made a mistake.
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Well actually I don't think £100 is enough. Widening a wooden tree saddle requires the saddle to be taken apart - was it just removing a bit of flock or a total reflock - which means all the flocking is taken out and thrown away - and the saddle is flocked from scratch. The saddle is then stitched back together. That does not take just 10 mins. I would charge customers £35 consultation fee and then a reflock is £85 - tree widening and complete reflock £110. Bearing in mind a new saddle would cost you over £700 it is well worth having it done. If there is some spot stitching then that would cost more

The £325 does seem over the top - check they havent made a mistake .
 
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For £20 you have not had a total reflock - you have had some more flock stuffed in it

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Well it fitted him perfectly after he did it so I was happy
 
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OK here goes £325 for widening the saddle and taking some stuffing out of the middle and some sticthing! Reckon a 10 min job.

and £150 for widening a different saddle plus £45 consultation fee!

so total about £500.

F****ING RIDICOULOUS!! I dont care if the blooming saddler is reading this!

Have decided, am not paying this, will send them a cheque for £100.

MDM, how much was your saddler charging?

[/ QUOTE ]

wooops, i totally got the wrong end of that post!!!
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I can't actually remember the last time i had a saddle restuffed (don't have saddles that need it).. i thought you were talking about simple repairs.. i was going to complain that they charged me £10 so stich a straight rip in a rug...

ok, so in answer to your origional post.. yes you are right to make a fuss!! and no i wouldn't pay it!!!!! rip off!!!!!
 
I think I paid about £40 for flocking, not a total reflock but £325 seems a joke although I wouldnt have a clue at how much to have expected. They should have at least warned you that it was going to be expensive so you could have had the choice whether to go ahead with it or not.
 
I may be wrong but I think that as you did not get a quote before the work was done you will be obliged to pay the price charged if you take the saddle away. You asked for the work to be done and the saddler can charge the amount they want if you did not make an agreement in advance
 
So, let this be a lesson for us all, never trust anyone to just do the work, always ask for a price up front. I learned this years ago through a friend with something similar. I always get a price, and get about 4 quotes from other people. Then tell them if I have had a better quote. Always looking for a bargain.
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I remember i had total reflock (new flock) few years ago and paid £100 inc Consultation.....

U could have bought new saddle for that price knowing how much you paid for them!! what a rip off....
 
£500 seems a complete and utter joke to me !!
I don't know how much it costs to get a saddle widened but I do know that my saddler (he only does Albions though) charges £25 for a consultation/call out and for a complete reflock (all stuffing out and replaced with new) it is £75.
 
I think I would get a quote from another saddler or two. Look at what they come out as.

If the quotes are less - Write a letter to the one who did the work on yours explaining difference in his charges and other quotes, that you think you have been overcharged for the work and offer to pay an amount closer to the quoted one.

Then if they kick up a fuss and take you to small claims court, you can show you've approached the situation logically and have tried to agree a sensible amount.

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Agreed.

the whole of the underside of the saddle would need to be detatched from the top to access the tree, then widened, then a total re-flock.
this would take at least 1/2 a day, so a little longer than 10 mins.....
assuming you have a leather saddle, and not a Saddle Co Saddle? or synthetic?
 
I do agree with you that this price seems incredibly high, however as for not paying the bill? Well I would pay it. If you didn't ask for an estimate beforehand then you have asked for this work to be done and by doing this you have given a guarantee that you will pay for it to be completed.

You may be very lucky and be able to negotiate with the saddlers but I would think that if you don't say anything and just don't pay the bill then they will fight you for the money.

Sometimes it is just better to swallow it and learn from your mistake.
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It may be an admin error. If it was me, I'd ring them up and ask if it was a mistake. If they then say it wasn't, ask for a breakdown of the costs, as it does sound extraordinarily high. Ask how long the work took, and if it is as little as you suspect then query it with the Trading Standards bods.
 
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