One of the biggest fears homeowners in Atlanta have is that they are being overcharged by their plumber.  They are constantly being told to spend the extra money to hire a professional licensed Atlanta plumber for any home repairs needed.  By educating yourself about a few simple signs to look out for, you can help ensure that you are being charged a fair price for the services being performed.

Ask For An Itemized Estimate

Before agreeing to have any work done, make sure to request an itemized estimate form your Atlanta plumber or Atlanta plumbing company.  Once a repair job is broken down into its individual price components, its much easier to see if you are being charged $100 for $2 worth of parts.  If you’re not familiar with a part, look it up on the internet to see how much it actually costs.  You can always expect a slight markup on parts to be charged, but any substantial mark ups may be a sign that you are being overcharged.

You also need to ask whether the price being quoted is a fixed price or an estimated cost.  A fixed price quote means that, barring any unexpected issues with the repair, you will be a flat rate regardless of how long the repair takes to complete.  The downside to fixed prices are that they may be slightly higher, but they also ensure your plumber isn’t billing you for the two hour lunch he’s taking on the clock.

An estimated cost means that one of the variables in the final cost will be the total amount of time the repair takes to complete.  Once again, by doing your research, you should be able to get a rough idea of whether replacing the wax ring on your toilet is a one hour job or a three hour one.

Shop Around

Always get at least two separate quotes for the service you need.  Even if you have been using the same company for years, it still doesn’t hurt to get another quote every now and then.  While we would like to think our loyal business merits better pricing, with the wrong company, it  may not get you anything but a price hike.  By asking around and getting other quotes from time to time, it ensures your loyal business to one company is being appreciated and not taken advantage of.