How to Get a Good Emergency Plumber for a Fair Price
There is a very good reason why you have an option to call your local emergency plumber any time of the day or night, even on the weekends and holidays. Plumbers are very well aware that they can charge much more when you have an emergency situation and many take advantage of this opportunity to make more money.
If an emergency situation occurs such as when a pipe brakes and starts flooding the apartment or when your walls or floor begin to get wet without any obvious reason, you need to have the problem fixed as soon as possible to avoid further complications and it is important that you remain calm and concentrate on finding a good emergency plumber for a fair price.
People will usually panic and call the first plumber they can find the number of and also pay way too much than they should. Instead of panicking, make few deep breaths and take your local business directory, local craigslist ads or browse through the internet yellow pages and look for plumbers who are available in emergency situations - usually advertised as 24/7.
You should then select several plumbers and start calling them one by one. Be very short and descriptive of the problem and ask for their quotes. End the call when you acquire enough information and do that with each emergency plumber on the list. After you are done, compare the quotes and services and select your best match. Call the plumber again and wait for his or hers arrival.
How to Avoid Being Taken Advantage of by Your Plumber
One of the things that many people do wrong is that they fail to gather enough information from the emergency plumber before they actually hire one. After their plumber is done with the work the huge bill is handed to them, making them wish they had undergone the repair themselves.
To avoid being taken advantage of during an emergency situation it is vital that you ask the plumber exactly how much he would charge for a service or per hour based on your situation. You should explain in detail exactly what seems to be the problem so that a plumber can estimate the work he will need to undergo as well as any additional tools he or she would need to buy and give you an estimation of the cost for the work.
Sometimes, during the repairing process, your emergency plumber may realize that more work is necessary, which may result in a larger bill than you have formerly agreed upon, but that is not to be blamed on the plumber as situations cannot always be predicted. However, there are repairmen who will intentionally make it look like they need to undergo more work solely to increase the final cost.
Your only protection in such case is to ask your friend or a family member who has some knowledge on plumbing to be there when the repairing will take place, so that he or she can "supervise" your plumber. Moreover, you are encouraged to educate yourself a bit on the subject so that you will have some idea what is going on and won't be taken for a fool.
Final Words
It is wise that before you call an emergency plumber you double-check whether the situation really needs extreme measures. Sometimes the problem can be fixed by yourself if you examine the issue firsthand. Only when the problem seems too severe ask for a professional help.