All good advice. First of all, they should have consulted you before they did the work. Based on that alone, I wouldn’t pay it. Call several other plumbers (or have a Taiwanese friend do that for you), get several estimates, take the average of those, and tell the “building manager” that’s how much you will give him. Whenever anything needs fixed, I always take care of it myself, because I know my landlady always tries to tell me A LOT more than the actual amount of what it costs (and of course there is never a receipt).
I think the building manager is trying to get me also. Because when I first told him that was too high, and asked why this isn’t coming out of my building fees, he did the “um let me talk to you later thing” and never came back around. So, what pissed me off was that he gave the bill to the guard to harass me. There is a recipt yet I have no way of knowing if it’s the original one. Also, I think that the building manager is just overcharging because the water overflowed on to another couple’s balacony, which pissed off the wife to no end, cause she had to clean it up while her husband just watched…I think paying 1000 to 1250 is correct…
little buddha’s advice was spot on. The others are telling you what to do about a plugged drain. 
My post must have been too turgidly worded for you to bother giving it a look then, Bob. Or was it just too clumsily expressed to be readily comprehensible? 
How hard are they pressing for it?
It does seem too much, so I’d suggest ignoring it. The problem might just go away.
if they keep pushing you ask them to take it up with your landlord. Then get him to argue that 3500NT is too much.
Brian
Did you pay a deposit on the place? If it comes down to it, tell them to take it out of that when you leave. Otherwises threathen to call the cops on them as they are clearly trying to scam you.
[quote=“Bu Lai En”]How hard are they pressing for it?
It does seem too much, so I’d suggest ignoring it. The problem might just go away.
if they keep pushing you ask them to take it up with your landlord. Then get him to argue that 3500NT is too much.
Brian[/quote]
The guy made the guard push for it on Monday. As I went to see him that night. I talked to my landlord today, and she knows of the problem as the man called her 5 times this weekend. It will get solved by friday. But if I have to pay this darn thing in full, I decided to give it to him all in 1nt… :raspberry:
My post must have been too turgidly worded for you to bother giving it a look then, Bob. Or was it just too clumsily expressed to be readily comprehensible? [/quote]
Turgidly worded? I dunno what that means but it sounds kinky!
Alternatively, you could find someone to clean out the drain for you (at a cheaper rate). The locals in your apartment building would probably agree that $3500 is a bit steep, and if they were in your position, would likely find someone cheaper to do the job for them. I suppose it just has to be adequately done (i.e. near enough is good enough).
You could also approach the landlord to share the bill.
drains are for water. dust pans are for debris.
You misunderstand what those fees are for. They pay for the guards’ salaries and scheduled maintenance. Anything outside of that would have to be covered by insurance or by the people responsible for the damage.
Why do you think you are being overcharged? Did you make any effort to solve the problem you caused yourself? Shoving plants and soil down a water drain is obviously going to cause problems. Expecting people to shop around on your behalf for a cheap plumber after you’ve just mucked up their balcony through your own negligence is expecting too much. And what is the relevance of the husband not helping his wife clean up the mess you made on their balcony? How well do you know them? Does he have a heart condition? A cut on his foot? I guess you could speculate as to the reasons why dude didn’t help his wife, but why? MYOB…
So even though you caused the problem through your own negligence and other people cleaned up your mess, you still want to insult them by paying in 1NT coins? Here’s what you should do: You pay the bill with a nice new red envelope, with crisp new bills. You then go out and buy a couple of small gifts - one for the buildingmanager/security guards, and one for the couple you inconvenienced. You apologize profusely, and you don’t push plants and soil down a water drain in the future. Face is saved, problem resolved, and you can still smile at your neighbours when you pass them in the hallway in the future.
he he he…
you can tell Maoman’s been round the Taiwanese block a few times… his advice is excellent and also IMHO exactly what you should do… it may feel wrong somehow (i agree 3500 is steep, although your negligence did wreck the drain), but you’ll definitely come out occupying the moral high ground… the gifts and crisp hong-bao are an excellent plan, I’d include a well written request in Chinese that next time the building manager be more mature and responsible and speak to you directly about any issues he may have… to the Taiwanese being outrageously out-faced by a smiling foreigner stings more than a direct slap in the jaw… 
Good points Maoman…I had thought about getting small gifts for the couple who’s balcony was damaged. It’s not like I didn’t realize that they weren’t nor was I ‘happy’ about such. And yes, I did offer to clean up the mess that occured, but the wife insisted that she do(while she was doing it) and no there wasn’t anything wrong with the man, he is healthy…I will consider your post again.
I thought the first ‘face saving’ error around here would have been to admit you blocked the drain in the first place. 
Actually, I have to agree that 3500NT is way too much to snake a drain, but I also have to agree that your building maintenance fees (guan li fei) have nothing to do with repairs. In this situation, I would NOT show any disrespect to the landlord, repair guy, or building guard by paying in 1NT coins. This will only sour your “relationship” with those people which will make your future dealings with them unpleasant. I would, however, be polite and charming and express my confusion over how the bill could be so expensive. I would ask a local friend to find out how much a repair job like that should cost and ask my friend to speak to the landlord with me and negotiate the cost with that person. It’s been my experience that most bills are negotiable in this country . Also, I find that whenever I feel like someone might be trying to rip me off, my friends (and even some of my coworkers) have been very supportive and helpful. It always helps to have another person there when negotiating problems . . . the repair guy has his company to back him up…who do you have? Who knows, maybe the repair guy had to spend hours cleaning your drain and the price, although I doubt it, is reasonable?
BTW, if you don’t pay it now, your landlord will most likely take it out of your deposit so you’ll end up paying for it anyway.
Oh, and you can buy drain guards at B&Q…
Oh, yes, and Maoman’s suggestion to buy gifts, fruit, cookies, whatever for the neighbors is a great one. Guanxi is everything.
You should have not put rubbish down the drain, and you should have got one of your friends to phone around the local plumbers to get a good price. The guy who unblocked the drain was most likely the landlord
Just to clarify, it was soil and torn plants from a pot that was up rooted. In all honesty, I didn’t think it would stop up the drain. Honest mistakes are made from time to time.
I went ahead and paid the darn thing. Considering Maoman’s advice, and thinking the same thing along the lines of what Rik said in the latter part of his/her post and just plain meditating on the whole thing…So, the couple that was inconvienced got a small gift, which the woman profusely denied-to the extent that she left it at the guard table. What that means, I have no idea. I know it means she didn’t want it, but I am wondering if she was trying to also say something else. The building manager just took the stuff and seemed satisfied. Thanks to every
one’s input. It was good, just to have perspective on the whole thing before really saying/do anything that I would regret later…
What it means is that she was acting too embarassed to accept it, as is expected here. Not to worry, if the guard does what he’s supposed, he’ll take it up to her later and she’ll accept it, though not without some more carrying on. See, easy-peasy 
At least you’ll be back in everyone’s good books and life there will be easier. Naruwan!
What it means is that she was acting too embarassed to accept it, as is expected here. Not to worry, if the guard does what he’s supposed, he’ll take it up to her later and she’ll accept it, though not without some more carrying on. See, easy-peasy At least you’ll be back in everyone’s good books and life there will be easier. Naruwan![/quote]
NOpe the guard did take it back up to her, as she still refused. I took it up again, and she still refused. I understand the cultural part about how they ‘turn’ things down, but man, this one really got under my skin, as I was trying to be nice…Oh well, i made an offer, wasn’t accepted. Must move on with life, as today is looking more and more like a country western song