Quote Originally Posted by Optimistic Nick View Post
The thing is, sometimes even the trademen themselves don't really get it.

We had a bedroom carpet fitted a few years ago. I used a local company who sent out a fitter. I paid the company for the carpet, and £35 to the two fitters who came to put it down, arranged by the company. The fitters did a decent job and were tidy so I asked them if they did private work. They did. I ordered carpet for hall stairs and landing. Including the supply of the rods he quoted £55 to fit. I asked him how long it would take to do the hall stairs and landing. It would take two of them half a day, at least. I questioned why the cost wasn't more. He just said that's what he gets paid by the carpet companies so that's what he charges for private work.

Absolutely bonkers. £55 for a day's work?! I paid him £120. Still saved me a fortune as I could get hold of carpet and decent underlay a lot cheaper online, and he gets to earn a fair fee. He did admit afterwards that he was just starting out on private work and hadn't really thought about pricing much, but when I got him back in to quote a few years later for something else he did remember me and said he'd upped his charging and was still busy.
You had me in the first half I won’t lie, until I read £120!

I can’t think of a decent example, but let’s say a self employed labourer gets 10/11 quid an hour, have a quick look on indeed and there are plenty of them jobs offering 8.50 which would now offer holiday pay (accrued monthly with the shit agency and minimal pension contributions)

The extra you get for being self employed IS the extra that workers get, which was why I originally started commenting yesterday I think god knows now.