What is a Call Out Charge?

Understand Call Out, Diagnostic and Minimum Charges to avoid nasty surprises.

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HomeForce accredited tradespeople do not make Call Out Charges.

What they will charge for is worked carried out. This includes diagnostic work. They will also apply a minimum charge when they carry out work.

You might then ask “What’s the difference between a Call Out Charge, a charge for Diagnostic Work or a Minimum Charge?”

This article aims to clarify this. The intention behind this article is to prevent misunderstandings between customers and tradespeople.

A Call Out charge:

• Is made simply for attending a job.
• Work carried out at the job will be charged for in addition to the call out charge.
• A call out charge is made irrespective of whether work is successfully carried out or not.
• To have a legal standing a Call Out Charge can only be made when a customer is notified in advance that it will be applied.

A charge for diagnostic work:

• Is a charge for providing a service.
• The service will use the skills, experience, qualifications, knowledge and / or tools of the person providing it.
• Diagnostic work is almost always required to understand what is needed to address a particular issue.
• If the cause of an issue is not known then it cannot be addressed.
• A customer could pay only for a repair, and not a diagnostic charge, if they can inform the service provider:
  • The exact cause of a fault
  • Precisely the work and materials needed to repair the fault.
• If a customer incorrectly diagnoses a fault the service provider would still, rightfully, expect to be paid, even though the fault was not rectified.
• Read more in our “Charges for Diagnostic work” article.

A minimum charge

• Is the minimum amount a tradesperson will charge when they carry out work for a customer.
• Estimates and quotations would still be free of charge as the tradesperson is tendering to do work, not actually doing it.
• Minimum charges are calculated based on what is an economically viable amount for a tradesperson once all overheads are taken into account.
• To find out more you also might like to read our article Why Tradespeople make a minimum charge