WhatsApp at 21:40: water through the ceiling. You can make it stop in forty minutes or you can replumb a bathroom in the dark. Those are two prices. If you only have one, you will do the bathroom at 11pm for the make-safe fee.
Two products
| Offer | What they buy | When |
|---|---|---|
| Make-safe | Stop the leak / isolate / temporary | Tonight |
| Full fix out of hours | The proper job, premium rate | If they insist tonight |
| Full fix in hours | Proper job, normal rate | Morning |
Worked: weekday rate £40/h, evening multiplier 1.5, Sunday 2. Make-safe minimum £120 evening (travel + hour). Full bathroom at 10pm is not “a bit extra.” It is Sunday money on a weeknight.
I can come now to isolate and stop the leak — evening call-out £120 including the first hour, then £60/h. A full repair is better in daylight at normal rates tomorrow. Which do you want? I won’t start until you reply.
What people miss
Going first, pricing later. At midnight they will hear a different number. Send it before you leave.
Doing the full fix because you are wet anyway. That is how emergencies become all-nighters you never invoiced.
The same rate as Tuesday 10am. You are selling sleep and a diary hole tomorrow. Price it.
No photo of the stopcock. Sometimes they can isolate themselves until morning. Ask.
Related guides
FAQ
- What counts as out of hours?
- Whatever you wrote: after 6pm, Sundays, bank holidays. If it is not written, you will argue at 9pm.
- Landlord vs tenant WhatsApp?
- Get who pays in writing before you go. Tenants are not always the invoice.
- Can I refuse nights?
- Yes. “I can isolate you over the phone / first thing at 8” is a service. You are not a hospital.
- Materials at 10pm?
- Emergency merchants cost more. Say materials at cost plus markup, or a cap, before you buy.
