Quote / call out charge

Some tradesman charging for call out, as they spent money for the travelling. Some is not. They can add that later in the quote. It is up to you, who you would like to hire.

You can't expect anyone working for free? Yes he can but he should let you know in advance.

Not really i would say but he should be paid for his time. Offer half

If the call out charge has been agreed before the engineer arrived then yes the money has to be paid except the engineer cannot justify that. If the engineer has looked at the job and told you what's wrong and a quote then is reasonable to pay a call out charge whether customer proceeds with quote or not as long as the customer is aware of the call out fee.

We do not charge a call out unless on bank holidays or within the night. If we did we would of made it clear at the the time.

the term "call out" normally relates to a pre arranged - out of hours visit to a property or premises to carry out emergency repairs. What you have described, sound like a standard request to quote for work. Most plumbers dont charge fees for quoting and pricing, unless it is major work covering a large building where schematics, plans and drawings will be required to comply with standards and regulations, sometimes these will need the services of an architect, and a charge may apply.
Check any terms and conditions that you were presented with for the original work and see if they include a list of charges for quoting. If not, then i would challenge hid request for a call out charge when no work has been undertaken. Reputable plumbers dont charge for quotes. I know i dont!!

not unless he has told u in advance

the take-off fee is not distant but rather time-consuming. next question about how much it comes but the 70 pounds looks much...

Always ask for quote for a job before. Some business charges for call out but some don't, so ask first.

If he had to do investigation to locate the problem, then yes he has done work and chargeable. But has he thought you had a quote and would use him he waived the fee on that pretence. But technically you did ask him as a separate item and thus he is entitled to charge as long as he had to work to locate or find issue he was quoting for