Not The Cheapest Aerials
An interesting programme I nearly always watch is The House Of Horrors on ITV. Last night the spotlight was on rogue Tv aerial installers and their pricing tactics.
Before I go further I must add that most aerial companies operate a reputable and ethical business, but those featured on the show let the side down and are the exception to the norm.
The feature started off with one guy being quoted £380 +VAT for what was assumed to be a single point domestic aerial install, although I don’t think it was made clear. My initial thoughts were the quote is on the steep side, around 50-100% over what you would normally expect to pay for what was installed. The installation consisted of double chimney lashing brackets, a 10-12 foot mast and the aerial looked similar to a “Triax Unix 100″. Equipment wise this was pretty much top of the range but unfortunately when the customer received the final bill it was around £840 inc VAT! This is about 90% mark up of what was initially quoted and I can’t see where this final figure came from. Another point to note is that people don’t understand the difference between a quote and an estimate. A quote is a fixed, non variable price and an estimate is an educated guess! I would have been fuming with the final bill but only paid what the initial quote was.
Next came a 6 or 8 way domestic distribution amplifier charged at £245 + callout + VAT! Where on earth do these prices come from, normal retail of a decent domestic amplifier like that would be £40-80! To cap it all off the amplifier wasn’t even faulty and all that needed to be done was to change the fuse in the plug top.
I’m a strong advocate of “you get what you pay for” but this simply wasn’t the case here.
There definitely seems there may be a strong case for the old adage “buyer beware” leading up to the Uk digital switchover, but let’s hope it’s a very small minority of cases if at all.
If you’re in any doubt over what to pay for a digital tv aerial install then phone around before booking an installer. Prices will vary from area to area and will be affected by quality of equipment supplied and signal conditions. To that end the cheapest won’t always be the best in a lot of cases, but a good aerial installer is one who’s knowledgeable and supplies quality equipment.
If you can’t find a friend or family member who can recommend someone reliable then it would be best to try one of the aerial trade bodies listed below.
http://www.cai.org.uk Confederation of Aerial Industries
http://www.idsc.uk.com Independant Digital Standards Commission
http://www.rdi-lb.tv Registered Digital Installer - Licensing Body
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