General Plumbing and Heat

I’m renovating my bathroom and doing a lot of the work myself, with the exception of the electric and plumbing. I called General Plumbing to provide what I understood to be an estimate to move the toilet drain about 2 foot over, cap off an old bidet hookup and install a new tub/​shower valve where the old one was. He had to cut a small part of the subfloor (12″ x 42″) to get access. He quoted $ 1500 which I thought was high, but the other contractors I have used for electric, carpentry, etc quoted high to cover themselves and then ultimately charged me much less for their time/​materials after the job was done. This is what I am accustomed to when using contractors for jobs like this. General was here 3 hours the first day, 2 hours the next and used my pre-​purchased materials. I had asked the hourly rate twice and was told $ 150. When the job was done, I was charged $ 1500 and protested as I thought that was an estimate and based on the hourly rate, it was twice what I should have paid, or $ 300/​hour which is very high for a plumber (in the doctor range!) even in NJ (his rate admittedly is $ 150/​hour so I still feel very overcharged!). So be careful that you understand the terms and price before you use General Plumbing. I take some responsibility for that myself, I thought I understood but think I should have required a written estimate, which I will from now on. I protested, but no adjustment was made. The work appears to be good, but I won’t know until I finish the bathroom and start using the toilet and tub. At that time I will adjust the ‘quality’ rating appropriately.