Taking advantage of others
By ravisivan
@ravisivan (14079)
India
March 21, 2013 12:29am CST
I bought battery and inverter in November 2012. It was working well till Feb last week. The period for which lights were on during power cut was getting reduced. Then i remembered about filling distilled water to the battery. I called the electrical shop keeper. He did not turn up for three or four days. After much persuasion the battery boy came one day evening and filled water. I wanted to give him Rs.50 ($1) as exgratia. The boy demanded Rs.300 ($6) stating Rs.100 is for distilled water (3 bottles) and Rs.200 is for labour.
I asked him why he did not inform about the charges--I claimed it under guarantee for one year. He said maintenance will not be covered by guarantee. I talked to the owner and after much discussion I paid him Rs.100 ($2) and left. I decided to buy distilled water and fill it myself hereafter. I went to the nearby petrol pump where distilled water is sold and bought two bottles for Rs.32. ($0.6).
I learnt that hereafter we should enquire the charges for all services and then ask the vendor to give service. What is your experience in such matters. How do you manage not 
having stress?
having stress?7 people like this
19 responses
@RahulRLP (178)
• India
21 Mar 13
well well well...
distiled water is very important for batteries otherwise its plate burned up... and its not came under gaurentee... its different thing... every people have to buy it
well i think distiled water can prize is RS 40/-
@ravisivan (14079)
• India
24 Mar 13
Rahul
Welcome to mylot.
Distilled water costs only Rs.16.It is not covered under guarantee. However I learnt to ask about the cost of servicing before entrusting the work. I bought two bottles and i can use whenever I need it and I will save unnecessary charges of Rs.100. good day.
@mariaperalta (19073)
• Mexico
21 Mar 13
Sounds like something that happens here in Mexico. They take your money and forget about you.
1 person likes this
@ravisivan (14079)
• India
24 Mar 13
mariaperalta:
Interesting. It happens in your city also. Of course he did not force me further because he knew what he was asking was beyond reasonable limit.
@mariaperalta (19073)
• Mexico
24 Mar 13
very true there. Great to see you here. How have you been there? Have a great sunday there.
@jaiho2009 (39141)
• Philippines
21 Mar 13
hello ravi,
It is better to ask them regarding the service charge to avoid such trouble.
I always ask about it, because I don't want to end up arguing with anyone.
And I also do not want to pay any extra charges if I am not satisfied with the services.
Good day sir. 
@ravisivan (14079)
• India
24 Mar 13
jaiho:
Yes. We have to ask about the details of charges before entrusting work to any one. That will save a lot of trouble. I did that out of over confidence and that resulted in misunderstanding. I have understood from this experience.
good day.
@rajeev075 (1961)
• India
21 Mar 13
it was very bad experince to you but i can say that with this you will learn that you should purchase something by full specification complete asking all the details for the products.
Well i think stress will be for all even how brilliant minded you are how strong you are you will suffer from stress as well as anger. I might would fight up with that. Well that might not be good but lossing anger is my character may not be ur's. Many are like me and many are like those shoppkepers.
Well bad luck this time but guess next it will go good to you.
1 person likes this
@ravisivan (14079)
• India
24 Mar 13
rajeev
yes. this is a small matter and true I should not bother about it more. Thanks for complimenting on my knowledge. I wanted to share my experience so that others also will be guarded. good day.
@inopiratum_a_medio12 (877)
•
21 Mar 13
It is true vendors are very clever they alibi for a guaranty good if you have receipt if not sorry and if you have the receipt of the guaranty then it will be service fee but watch out for the price of the spare parts.
1 person likes this
@ravisivan (14079)
• India
24 Mar 13
inopiratum:
yes. one has to be clear about the terms and conditions of purchases/sale. Though we have the receipt they classify as maintenance and repair. Hereafter I will fill the battery with distilled water myself. good day.
@asmawahabbcs (73)
• Pakistan
21 Mar 13
Yes you are right that prices of repairing is increasing day by day. Services charges become very costly and people think that if they are paying high then the work is good but they don't know that there are many fraud cases presence in our society. You know when we are studying we must learn about some mechanical work it will help us on future.
1 person likes this
@ravisivan (14079)
• India
24 Mar 13
Yes. it is good to know how things work and how get minor repairs done with instruments we are using. Mechanical work should be learnt by us. I am not good in repairing. Nowadays I am attempting to know minor repair works. good day.
@mods196621 (3652)
• Philippines
21 Mar 13
So far I never experience the same thing as yours because I don't have that battery. I also agree to you, try to ask first about the labor cost so we can calculate what we have in our hand. Sometimes we can save much if we are the one who do fixing things.. :)
1 person likes this
@ravisivan (14079)
• India
24 Mar 13
YES. for many of household works which are done by outsiders in India are done by residents themselves in western countries. that is good in one way. I learnt a lesson out of this.
@angelkarah050182 (4980)
• Philippines
21 Mar 13
Oh, that boy should have told you about the charges first and foremost. You thought it was still covered by the warrantee so maybe it wasn't your fault. I guess next time, it's better to ask first if we'll pay something or if it's free so that we won't be taken advantage of. Thanks for sharing this discussion. Happy mylotting.
1 person likes this
@ravisivan (14079)
• India
24 Mar 13
angelkarah
This is one of the many examples where misunderstanding erupts on account of lack of communication. I learnt from this that I should be more careful in future. thanks for the response.
@jenny1015 (13366)
• Philippines
21 Mar 13
It has always been customary for me to ask a seller what is the coverage of the warranty they are providing. So that I would have the idea if I were to be charged for something that might happen in the future from an appliance that I have bought.
1 person likes this
@ravisivan (14079)
• India
24 Mar 13
Jenny
you are from Phil. It is wise to ask for full details. sometimes we take things for granted and that is where the problem comes. like getting into an auto rickshaw without asking for rate and in the end the fellow will ask unreasonable rates.
good day.
@SIMPLYD (90722)
• Philippines
21 Mar 13
Usually when i am about to have a thing repaired , i would ask how much would be the labor. In addition, i would ask for what are the need things and how much would they be more or less if i buy them as compared to if he will already include it in his service fee.
I am sorry for what happened to you rav. Maybe next time you will already know how to go about it so you won't be misled.
1 person likes this
@ravisivan (14079)
• India
24 Mar 13
SIMPLYD
You are form Phil. You must be having similar experience. yes. hereafter before giving a work to a person I will ask for details of payment to be made,. that is ok. an amount I can bear without grudge. good day.
@ravisivan (14079)
• India
24 Mar 13
arun
Exactly. that is the point I also had in my mind. He should have told us. Now I bought two bottles and am ready to fill whenever required. that is to be done only once in three months or so. good day.
@roshigo58 (4859)
• Pune, India
21 Mar 13
Hi,
We had inverter in Alibag. Because there was a problem of power fluctuation and load shading. Now we have shifted to Pune last month. Here we doesn't require inverter. In Alibag we had to pay only 60 rupees for filling distilled water and some amount of sulfuric acid. They used to come our house for filling battery regularly without reminding them. In between guarantee period we didn't have to pay any charge. But after one year we had to pay charge for their service. Their after sale sevice is very nice. We didn't have any problem with them.
1 person likes this
@ravisivan (14079)
• India
24 Mar 13
roshigo
yes that is good. upto guarantee period we should not be expected to pay, Incidentally, where is Alibag. happy to know that there is not power cut in Pune. good day.
@srisahara (4508)
• Indonesia
21 Mar 13
Yes, sir. if we are not be careful there are many electronic store that are not fair. They tend to take advantage from your problem for money, they never think that good service and service satisfy will generate money for future, they just think money currently. I think before we take a service we should ask detail about the expense.
@ravisivan (14079)
• India
24 Mar 13
srisahara
thanks for the response.We should be alert and cautious enough not to let others take advantage. sometimes it is unavoidable. I booked for my family by First class AC travel and I had to take second class AC ticket because First AC was not available. However yesterday when we undertook the travel there was extra seat in AC First class and I had to pay Rs300 more for the change over. Senior citizen concessions are not allowed for change of class during travel. good day.
@victor212 (2)
• Nigeria
21 Mar 13
Thanks for this but next time when in need of any services, try to consult those who have the idea. Or you ask for the price from different people. What you did at last is also useful to me , thanks so much.
1 person likes this
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
21 Mar 13
hi ravisivan here the maintenance of something is covered under the guarantee usually and if not will be notified about any charges. I try to count to a hundred when feeling stressed then also do my imagining the plastic bubble that envelopes me that stress just bounces off of and that generally does work.Of course this is just imagined but the concept is that you do not let stress kn to bother you at all.
not let stress kn to bother you at all.@ravisivan (14079)
• India
24 Mar 13
Hatley aunty:
So many thanks for reminding me about how to reduce one's stress by counting one to hundred. It works. I have made it a point to enquire about charges before entrusing or inviting others for work. good day.
@ravisivan (14079)
• India
24 Mar 13
Hatley aunty:
So many thanks for reminding me about how to reduce one's stress by counting one to hundred. It works. I have made it a point to enquire about charges before entrusing or inviting others for work. good day.
@starsailover (7829)
• Mexico
24 Mar 13
Hi ravisivan: This experience is very common in business. A few weeks ago I asked for a service on a show store. I asked for the price but the person remained in silence after my question. When I received my shoes it cost me 3 dollars more than the first price they told me because of some additional things they did. What an unexpected surprise 
I should have asked first and in case this person refuse to tell me the price just leave. That was not polite and unfair.
ALVARO
I should have asked first and in case this person refuse to tell me the price just leave. That was not polite and unfair.
ALVARO @alberello (4752)
• Italy
21 Mar 13
Well such a case of a mobile phone that I thought warranted. It was broken, I took it in for service thinking that I would have fixed it. However, my fault I must admit that the device had been tampered with!
For this reason, the service asked me the sum of € 250 for repair! (The phone cost me € 200 from the store, bought new!).
Therefore I said that I refused to support the repair.
For this reason, I did still have to pay a pricing of 15 €. But the phone remained broken!
@Dominique25 (9464)
• United States
21 Mar 13
Sorry to hear that they wanted to charge you so much for each thing. I think that is the case with a lot of different companies. Many times we have to do all we can on our own and then have them do what we actually can not in order to save money.
@jrhartley (66)
• Dominican Republic
21 Mar 13
was it in the contract - here we are responsible for doing our own once installed.
isnt it like asking somone to come an fill your new car with petrol because its getting low.
i think any service where you have to call someone out is going to expensive eve if they do nothing at all
1 person likes this
