0 of 12 questions answered in the quote you are reading. Ask about the rest before you book.
Tick a question only when the quote itself answers it, in writing. A blank is a question to ask, not a verdict on the firm.
On this page
How to use the checklist
Put the quote beside the list and tick a question only when the quote itself answers it. A verbal answer on the phone is useful, but it is not on the page you will be held to. A blank is not a verdict on the firm. It is a question to send back before you book.
The checklist works on any quote, from any firm, and names none. Print it if you would rather mark a paper copy.
The twelve questions in four groups
The questions fall into four groups, and the group tells you what a missing answer is likely to cost.
| Group | Questions | What a blank can cost you |
|---|---|---|
| The figure | 1 and 2: single figure or rate, minimums | A total you cannot work out in advance |
| What is in it | 3, 4, 5 and 8: methods, VAT, travel, report | Lines added after the visit |
| If it goes differently | 6, 7 and 11: no find, someone else's leak, more than one visit | A bill for work that did not answer your question |
| After detection | 9, 10 and 12: repair, making good, the written quote | Finding a leak and then meeting a second price |
Why a rate is hard to compare
Most London firms publish no price at all, so the quote is the first time you see a figure. When the figure is a rate charged by time, the total depends on how long the search takes, and nobody can know that before the pipes are traced. The break-even calculator turns a rate and the hours into a total, not a quote, so you can set it beside the price of the visit.
Ask for the rate, the minimum and the way time is counted, then ask what the firm expects the total to be and whether it will put that in writing.
Detection is not the repair
The question that catches most people out is the last group. Finding a leak and mending it are separate jobs, and many quotes cover only the first. Repair work is quoted separately in writing before it starts, as one fixed price with labour, parts and materials set out. The repair itself, opening up and making good, commercial or multi-unit buildings, and underground work that needs a different set-up are quoted separately, in writing, before any work starts.
Whatever the firm, ask who opens the floor or the wall, who closes it and who decorates, and whether those are in the figure. The costs pages cover the extra charges to ask about in more detail.
How the detection visit answers them
One fixed price of £480, every method included, agreed before we attend. No VAT is charged. The visit covers locating the leak with every method it needs, and the written report, in one visit to a single domestic property in London. No find, no fee waives the detection fee only when a live leak inside your own property cannot be located; the full terms are on the no find, no fee page.
See what is included for the written scope. The same twelve questions apply to us, and the checklist shows our answer beside each one where there is one.
Sources and method
- The scope and price wording of this siteThe position lines beside each question are the published scope and price terms of the detection visit. The questions themselves are general: they apply to any firm.
Questions customers ask
What should a leak detection quote include?
The figure and what it is for, the methods covered, whether VAT is added, any travel or parking lines, what is charged if the leak is not found, whether a written report is included, and where the repair starts. Anything not on the quote is not agreed.
Should I ask for the quote in writing?
Yes. A written quote that names the property type and the exclusions is the only version you can hold a firm to, and it is what an insurer or a landlord will ask to see.
Does the checklist rank firms?
No. It shows which questions a quote leaves open. A firm that answers all twelve is easier to compare, which is not the same as being better.
Is the repair included in a detection quote?
Usually not. Repair work is quoted separately in writing before it starts, as one fixed price with labour, parts and materials set out. See the pricing page for the detection price. No VAT is charged.
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