Blatently overcharging for services, what recourse do i have?

tks ladies, shelly mcD, it would be nice to get a recommendation and yes i have learned the hard way and will get 3 quotes now everytime. This was standard practice but I did not notice the price creeping up... salsb, unfortunately i am producing booklets with 24 pages ( 4000 at a time) and different marketing material so i have to outsource it.. But be careful even with getting three quotes doesn't always guarantee best price! I needed to do this for my job, an insurance claim to repair a wall, "no problem ma'am we have three companies so we will give the three quotes you need" yes that's right three quotes, three company names, mobile numbers and po box numbers but effectively one company, they just quote the price they want to charge and two higher quotes OID!!!!

Debs post your email and I will send you his details. S

Just an idea contact Xerox you can lease printers, you will get so many free then pay for each click. It will work out a whole lot cheaper than having your printing stuff done with another company.

One of the (many) reasons I left my old job was the b@ll ache I went through every time to get something printed - I had to get 3 quotes every time (not condusive to whizzy marketing turn-around stuff!). But in fairness to our clunky accounts department - you wouldn't believe the price variation on exactly the same spec from the 3 quotes. Some printers just see the bigger picture and will take a hit on a small job in the expectation/hope it will come good for both parties in the end.....i have a fabulous printer with exactly this mindset if anyone's interested....NO we are not linked! Well we are - he was my printer of choice when I used to work for an airport - so you can imagine my spend.....I emailed him to produce 500 business cards for my fledgling business this morning and he was straight back to me - all sorted, done dusted - helping me photoshop my logo......lovely man too :-) ETA: Waxmuch is 100% right - sometimes "my man" was a few AED higher than joe bloggs - but could I get it through to accounts that his can do attitude, willingness to help, availability at really odd hours, made him pretty much priceless! Nope! so.....I did one :-) <em>edited by ShellyMcD on 29/05/2011</em>

It's wrong to overcharge. It's equally wrong to blindly pay for 'years' and then cry unfair.

A few questions that could be asked, Debs HH, on ascertaining whether you were dealt with unfairly: How long have you been using this printer? Were you happy with the work done by your printer? When you accepted the quotation for the work required, were you satisfied? Did you perform a price comparison with any other printers? Until you discovered other companies were paying up to four times less than you, did you ever feel you were overpaying for the work provided? I know it's really annoying, Debs, and it's company money you feel has been squandered, but there's really not much between your situation and that of someone who's discovered a dress she's paid 1000dhs for is available in a different shop on the other side of town for 200dhs. Even John Lewis, the store which proudly stated 'Never Knowingly Undersold' has changed its own policy. :D

I felt that way about my wedding invitations, salsb! :D But when I ordered them, I chose the company for its incredible reputation, proximity to where I lived [so I didn't have to traipse all the way into town to check proofs'>, their service, the 'nice staff' ... but I had every right to refuse the quote and shop around for a better deal. The fact that I made the decision to choose this particular company was my decision though, and I couldn't turn around and question the price later [if I'd found another company doing the same work for half the price'>. ;)

I remember when I paid 150 pounds to have pics blown up for my DD 18th birthday party. That was the price quoted, It was my discision to pay it. Did I think I was being ripped off, probably.

[i'>why do you say that there is no such thing as a market rate, when clearly there is a market rate for standard items of the same quality. ie biz cards or promotional material of a certain paper weight and gloss/matt finish with certain amount of colours and the quantity involved.[/i'> That's as may be, but every company has the right to charge what it wants for its products and services and if customers were not prepared to pay the quoted price, then sales would go down and the company would go out of business [or cease to make a reasonable profit'>. One company may decide that it needs to make 15% profit on every order it sells while another wants to make 40% profit. It may seem unfair to the customer, but that's called competition [and it's a feature of an open market economy'>. Besides, while you are talking about a specific product, a company also considers other factors when crafting its price point. Maybe the customer is difficult? Maybe the customer always needs a quick turnaround? Maybe the customer is the only company which requires a certain stock of card on a certain day? There are a number of factors. And even if you don't tick any of the above boxes, your printer could provide reasons as to why the price you were paying was reasonable. Why do companies charge what they do? Because they can. Why do some 'curtain guys' discussed on EW charge 9K for a set of curtains while another company, making exactly the same quality curtain in exactly the same material, charge 12K? Because they can. I'm reminded of the numerous times people have gnashed their teeth over the prices of garments in Debenhams [and similar stores'>, especially when one peels off the pricetag to reveal the UK price of said garment is three times less what Dubai customers are being asked to pay. And when the Shopping Festival rolls around and price tags are peeled off to reveal the original price is less than the sale price ... There are lots of companies maximising their profits in sneaky ways out here [and around the world'> and the short answer to these headaches is: if you don't like it, shop elsewhere. Of course, there is such a thing as 'fair market value' but what is that if not simply the price of something which someone is selling and someone else is willing to buy? [i'>I am not sure where you are coming from when you say the company made a very good profit out of me and has every right to do so!! why do you say that.?[/i'> Because that's how successful businesses make their money. If the price point of a product is increased to beyond what the customer thinks is 'fair' then sales will go down. [i'>I trusted the source i was using to give me a competitive rate.. I am not talking about a couple of dirhams here and there, it is a substantial amount of money and when i confronted them, the girl virtually admitted wrong doing and said they would sort it out..in fact she said she would not charge me for any of it.. so if that is not an admission of guilt i dont know what is! [/i'> If indeed you have an admission of 'guilt' from the company, then pursue it by all means. I am astonished that you trusted the source to give you a competitive rate, however. Based on what? On what they told you? Or on your own research? It's clear that you didn't actually know what the going rate was otherwise you would have questioned the deal years ago. Did you ever -- until you found out recently -- feel you were being overcharged? Did you try to get discounts? Did you compare what you were paying for this service with comparable services? Sorry, I'm struggling to fathom why you suddenly think you are being ripped off apart from the fact that you have suddenly discovered that the service costs less elsewhere. But until this time, you were perfectly happy with the service -- and the price you were being charged -- so that may be a factor in seeking recompense. That said, I reiterate: if the company wishes to make amends, then pursue it that way rather than via the courts because I can think of all manner of arguments which will weaken your case, not the least of which is the fact that you have happily paid the quoted charges for some years. [i'>what happened to trust and honesty in the world of business, or is it a case of get what you can while you can.. this type of company or attitude will not prevail.. [/i'> Um ... trust? honesty? Actually, this isn't to do with trust and honesty but the fact that you feel badly done by because a company made, in your view, more money out of you than it ought to have done. Had you done some research and compared charges with equivalent companies, then this may have been sorted out years ago. When people discover they are being charged 'over the odds' for something, they find a better and less expensive means by which to furnish their needs. Dubai, and indeed the world, is full of companies which are charging more for a product or service than their customers wish to pay, so guess what: they find alternatives if at all possible. :) And -- with apologies -- I hate to say it, Debs, but this printer 'saw you coming'. :( . <em>edited by WaxMuch on 29/05/2011</em>

Understand your frustration but -- in a phrase -- you haven't got a leg to stand on. There is no such thing as a 'market rate'. The price you pay is the price you are quoted and the company has every right to charge you whatever it sees fit to charge you [and get away with'>. And the fact that you have been overcharged, in your words, 'for years', would suggest that you haven't done your homework vis-a-vis price comparison so it's rather a case of 'on your head be it'. What is 'overcharging' anyway? ;) If you took this further, the company could no doubt find myriad reasons as to why the price 'is what it is' and no amount of comparison with other companies in the sector will change that. The company made a very good profit out of you which it has every right to do so. Even if you could find 20 other companies being charged less for the same service, there probably still wouldn't be a case. As I said above, the company could give all sorts of reasons as to why your company is charged 'that much' compared with others. Sad, very unfair, but true. :( I hope you're changing printers now though! :)