Unfortunately a lot of people charge for their journey to you, and hourly, but it really depends on what you discussed before, if there was a contract etc. 

Either he told you or he didnt, in which case things get a little bit complicated. You can state that he never told you these things (if true), and offer to pay the literal work time, but he might push back.

I'd also drill for details, does he charge per hour in the sense that 1 mins after the first hour immediately adds another hour charge? or is it discretionary? 

Did he tell you about the special out of town charge beforehand? was it written anywhere?

If it is your word against his, you should come out on top. But ideally a compromise of sorts would be best.

No, all of this came out when I got the bill. He charged far more than a taxi would charge to come to my house (8.4 km from his office). We didn't discuss anything beforehand -- we had a leak in the kitchen and he sent someone the next day. The work was good, but I just don't see why I should have to pay for 2 hours of work when the guy was here 1.5 hours. And the amount to come here, 25 euros, is crazy. He told me I have to pay for his trip here and back -- also something a taxi doesn't do. I actually had my daughter, who speaks much better French, call his office anonymously after I got the bill to ask about his fees, and he said nothing about extra travel charges or charging for a full extra hour when he only worked an extra 30 minutes. Now he's saying he'll have his lawyer deal with me, so I'm a bit nervous.

A plumber can charge as much as he wants, and given the lack of craftspeopel in this part of France, it's a seller's market. If you ordered a service without checking the prices, that's your problem.

IMHO his practice is not at all dishonest, he's had to interrupt whatever other work he was doing, and spend at least 30 mins to get to your house. (You have no idea where he was coming from.) And roundng up his time to the full hour can also be an accepable practice.

However, due to the abuse by many other emergency repair services (especially locksmiths) a new law  (April 2017) states that he must have his prices/conditions on his web page. If you're lucky, he may nnot have created that web page yet.

https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/eli/arrete/2017/1/24/ECFC1701378A/jo/texte

- le barème des prix des principales prestations proposées par les professionnels intervenant dans les secteurs du bâtiment et de l'équipement de la maison devra dorénavant être également publié sur le site internet mis en ligne par le professionnel ;

Thanks for the info.

He doesn't have a website. So that means he violated that law, right? At least that is one thing that supports my position.

And I know, because he told me, that his worker was coming from his office, which is 8.4 km from my home -- a 12-minute drive. He didn't interrupt any work -- he scheduled my appointment for the following day.

Displacement fees are generally accepted or to be anticipated. Its charged as soon as they step out of there work or any other location. Its like an extra charge for nothing. 

For the hourly, when any workmen , like heater problems or locksmith, they will always have a report that you read and sign, that zou agreed to the work performed and time spent. Did you have that, if not, then best next time to ensure you get this and demand such. All tradesmen in Switzerland do this, to cover there billing and avoids/reduces disputes. 

Depending on the time, 8.4km can be more than a 12 minute drive. Sometimes, it takes me half an hour to get to work and thats only 4km away

Hi,

Honestly, I would not bother for such small prices. As you said the work was good and he did not abuse you.The charges seems very correct and decent for the region. If nothing is clear from the beginning, then it's hard to discuss this afterwards.

At the end it all depends on you whether you want to spend time and energy for this.

Merry Christmas