tree surgeons - unrealistic quotes?

city slicker :P

buy an axe and go hog wild, line boot of car with tarpaulin or something and do a few dump runs.

my personal preference, borrow 30" chainsaw and a trailer, do george washington impression "MUST..... CHOP....... WOOOOOOOOD!!!"
 
Efour said:
Long story short. 450 quid +75 if not cash in hand, to avoid Mr tax man, to do work which is described by said surgeon to take no longer than 2 hours......

Is that a joke? 250 quid an hour to chop down 2 bushes and dispose of the mess?

I think I went into the wrong business.:D

This is on par with the 350 quid my mum once paid for a plumber to fit 20cm of copper pipe twist fitting, not a bit of hot work, to replace a busted bit of crap push fit plastic stuff.
That was his emergency rate, and he didn't come until after 5pm when he had finished his normal jobs. Even though he was called at midday. Again it took about ten minutes....

I know its a cool story but these prices/quotes are ludicrous or am I just utterly out of touch?

This is in London .
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Plumbers are expensive because you need certificates etc, joining pipes together is not difficult at all, but you need insurance etc to make it all legal.

Generally there are two ways to pay, either priced, or day wage.

Even if a job will take 1 hour or so you cannot pay by hour, it must me a day wage minimum pretty much, you might get it for less depending on circumstances. People doing priced work will generally work as fast as is possible, basically finish and gtfo.

I would pay two people £50 each to do the work you say, cut it down, bag it up clean the garden.

If i had work that might take 2+ days (of the same type) i'd pay £90 per day

As for any tax considerations IMO they should be self employed and so if they want to report the income and pay the tax when its time for self assessment than that is entirely their problem. Paying someone with bank transfer or cash is exactly the same, the "tax man" cannot see into your bank account. You do not need to be paid in cash so you can not report it and thus not pay tax on it.
 
Efour said:
Long story short. 450 quid +75 if not cash in hand, to avoid Mr tax man, to do work which is described by said surgeon to take no longer than 2 hours......

Is that a joke? 250 quid an hour to chop down 2 bushes and dispose of the mess?

I think I went into the wrong business.:D

This is on par with the 350 quid my mum once paid for a plumber to fit 20cm of copper pipe twist fitting, not a bit of hot work, to replace a busted bit of crap push fit plastic stuff.
That was his emergency rate, and he didn't come until after 5pm when he had finished his normal jobs. Even though he was called at midday. Again it took about ten minutes....

I know its a cool story but these prices/quotes are ludicrous or am I just utterly out of touch?

This is in London .
Click to expand...
The cost of a petrol can, the cost of a minimum fill at the petrol station and the cost of a match.
beavis+fire.jpg
 
They are pricey. Part of my job here in NZ is to negotiate with all trade types for our residential and commercial work. Only electricians are more expensive but not always consistently. I even spoke to a tree surgeon that rebranded himself a tree 'engineer' and bumped his prices to laughable levels. Now, unless it's dangerous, I just get a labourer to remove branches or bushes.
 
I would do it yourself then pay yourself £450 and spend it on something nice :D

On a serious note (GD forgive me! :p) - please do not use a chansaw without the proper training and PPE. They are lethal and one slip or one mistake can result in serious injury or death. Yeah I know they are cool, but they only need to bite once for it to be a life changing or fatal injury!
 
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