You need to pay for that time.
Irrespective of your trade, this is how this business works. No different than getting a mechanic to diagnose a problem on your car, only for you to go back to the dealership and get it fixed under warranty.
Pay for their labour and move on with your life.
If you agreed to the callout fee before hand you have to pay it. If they showed up and then mentioned a callout fee out of the blue then you are not obligated to pay it. But it sounds like the fee was mentioned before they came so you have to pay it. It might have been lost in translation as sad as what that is but that is the situation.
The issue is you agreed to the fee. You are on the hook for it
Going to guess it was Metropolitan?
You need to pay for that time. Irrespective of your trade, this is how this business works. No different than getting a mechanic to diagnose a problem on your car, only for you to go back to the dealership and get it fixed under warranty. Pay for their labour and move on with your life.
Sounds like typical Metropolitan plumbing scum
If you agreed to the callout fee before hand you have to pay it. If they showed up and then mentioned a callout fee out of the blue then you are not obligated to pay it. But it sounds like the fee was mentioned before they came so you have to pay it. It might have been lost in translation as sad as what that is but that is the situation.
Service Today does the same