I had a blocked drain trap.

Looking through the classifieds, I called a plumber who responded quite quickly.

But I was shocked when he quoted $280 to clear the block.

After 20 minutes of haggling, I got his price down to $180, which still was exorbitant as it took him less than five minutes to pour some chemical into the drain and flush it; but I had no choice but to get the job done.

The point here is: How could he quote $280 when he could readily agree to a fee of only $180?

Surely there must be a watchdog to stop these cowboys from overcharging consumers.

Reg Joseph