What If Your Plumber Makes Mistakes?
Plumbers have a reputation for charging well and finishing jobs quickly. Even something simple, like replacing a tap washer, can mean paying for a full call-out or minimum hour. That can feel frustrating, but good plumbers are in short supply and usually very busy. The work is skilled, sometimes physically demanding, and a poor job can leave you with leaks, damp, or worse. When water is involved, you really do not want someone unqualified working on your pipes.
So what happens when the work goes wrong? Whether the plumber has fitted a part badly, damaged your property, or simply not done what you paid for, you have rights under UK consumer law. Here is how to handle it.
Finding a good plumber in the first place
Prevention is easier than cure. Most people only start looking for a plumber when something has already gone wrong, and that pressure makes it harder to be choosy. If you can, sort out a trusted name before you need one.
- Ask how long they have been trading. A longer track record is usually a good sign.
- Ask for references, and follow them up if the job is not an emergency.
- Check whether they are registered with a recognised scheme. Gas work, for example, may only be carried out by a Gas Safe registered engineer. For unvented hot water cylinders, look for a relevant qualification.
- Ask about public liability insurance. If something goes badly wrong and your home is damaged, this is what pays out.
- Get the quote in writing, including what is and is not included, the hourly rate or fixed price, and the cost of parts.
- Check online reviews across more than one platform, and treat suspiciously glowing or suspiciously vague reviews with caution.
TrustMark is the government-endorsed quality scheme for tradespeople in the UK, and membership of a trade body such as the Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering (CIPHE) is another reasonable indicator. None of these guarantee perfection, but they reduce the risk of running into cowboy builders and tradespeople.
Your rights when a plumber gets it wrong
When you pay a plumber for work, you are entering into a contract for services. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 sets out what you are entitled to expect. In short, the service should be:
- Carried out with reasonable care and skill.
- Completed within a reasonable time, if no specific time was agreed.
- Provided for a reasonable price, if no price was agreed up front.
Any parts or materials supplied as part of the job, such as a new tap or boiler, should also be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose, and as described.
If the work falls short of these standards, the Act gives you two main remedies. You can ask the plumber to put it right (called repeat performance), or, if that is not done within a reasonable time or without causing significant inconvenience, you can ask for a price reduction. In serious cases the reduction could be up to the full amount paid.
Get a step-by-step plan to deal with a cowboy builder. Takes 2 minutes.
Try our Bad Builder Action Plan free, here on this site →Steps to take if the job has been botched
Try to stay calm and methodical. Shouting tends to slow things down rather than speed them up.
- Take photographs and videos of the problem as soon as you spot it. Date them.
- Keep all paperwork: the quote, invoice, receipts for parts, text messages and emails.
- Contact the plumber in writing, by email or letter, explaining what is wrong and what you want them to do. Give a reasonable deadline.
- If there is further damage, such as a leak soaking a ceiling, take reasonable steps to limit it (turn the water off at the stopcock, move belongings) and keep receipts for anything you spend.
- If they refuse to return or fix the problem, get one or two written quotes from other plumbers showing the cost of remedial work. You may be able to recover this from the original plumber.
Your situation may be slightly different. ask a question below ↓ and our editorial team will reply with our advice.
If the plumber will not cooperate
If you have given the plumber a fair chance and they still will not put things right, you have a few options.
- Trade body complaints procedures. If the plumber belongs to a scheme such as TrustMark, CIPHE, or APHC, you can usually complain through them. Some offer alternative dispute resolution.
- Alternative dispute resolution (ADR). Mediation or arbitration can be cheaper and faster than court. Citizens Advice can point you to the right scheme.
- Small claims. You can take a claim through the county court (or simple procedure in Scotland). It is designed to be used without a solicitor. Check GOV.UK for current claim limits and fees.
- Gas Safe Register. For unsafe gas work, report the engineer to the Gas Safe Register. They can investigate and inspect the work.
How you paid matters
The way you paid the plumber can affect what you can recover.
- Credit card: Under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974, if the job cost more than £100 and up to £30,000, your card provider is jointly liable with the plumber for breach of contract or misrepresentation. You can claim from the card company directly.
- Debit card or e-money: Section 75 does not apply, but you may be able to ask your bank to attempt a chargeback under Visa or Mastercard scheme rules. Time limits apply, so do not delay.
- Cash or bank transfer: You have no card-scheme protection, so you would need to pursue the plumber directly.
Insurance, damage and where to get further help
If the plumber's work has caused damage to your property, for example a flood from a badly soldered joint, their public liability insurance should cover the repair. Ask for their insurer's details and make a claim. Your own home insurance may also cover escape of water, although you may end up paying an excess and could lose any no-claims discount. It is worth getting both options on the table before deciding which route to use.
Consumer law changes from time to time, and figures such as small claims limits and court fees are updated regularly. For the most current guidance, check the Citizens Advice website or GOV.UK. For complaints about gas safety, contact the Gas Safe Register directly.
I had a bathroom and toilet restoration completed. Bath tub taken out and a shower fitted. The job ended after 2 weeks and I paid them the full amount. Within the 48hours the pipes started leaking. I contacted ted them but they kept insisting that I should close the main water connection which I did not know how to. Ended up spending more money on this thing to stop the house water supply before the whole house would have flooded. The contractor kept insisting that they have finished the job. The water came through the ceiling of the kitchen. Extremely stressful situation for my elderly parents, with no water and no solution. What can I do? Please help.
Im disabled and wanted it a bit higher so l can stand back up just a little easyer.
I wasnt able to put my weight on the toilet wilst trying to work out the hight so had to put books on the bath edge and sit on those to get the hight. His apprentice at one point said you want your feet to not be off the ground. I agreed , and came to what seemed right.
Now its set in on the frame with 7 hours of what was serious work by the plumber and on all accounts l respect him and his work.
The toilet still needs more work for the water to be re- connected to it, its an old house.
The issue is after the plumber left , and the silicone dryed around the wall edging, l sat on my toilet to see how it was and my feet are 6 to 7 inches of the ground .
This is horrible and an increadibly expensive mistake.
I realise now when working out the hight, l was sitting on the edge not back and in the centre of the hole, which requires a different position and affects the height greatly.
The toilet including seat with lid open 60 centermeters or just on 24 inches from the ground.
I would have thought, in hindsight, the plumber should have been more aware of the issues involved in hight details and reasoning.
He did say getting it right was important becose there was no changeing it once it was done. And believe me its not cheap doing it.
Who is responsible please.
Recently we had an emergent situation where our main sewage line was blocked with tree roots, verified by a video scope. This morning the company came and performed a hydro flush on our clay pipes and collapsed our main sewage line. Due to it being more emergent they brought an excavation crew and dug up our front yard and walkway. The cost of this to us is $6400 and the company is saying they aren’t liable at all since it’s a complication- however this was never discussed with me or my husband. I had requested a copy of the video scope, for peace of mind that the line was intact prior to their flush, however they are obviously dragging their feet on it. Since I didn’t have the video I couldn’t get any second opinions (nobody is going to touch that now). Is this something that happens commonplace and should I be pursuing more of a legal action on this?
Can I blame someone who fitted new taps 2 months ago when it hasn't been a problem since the work was done?
He insisted he needed to see behind the toilet first, even though we knew the issue was a blocked drain. He then proceeded to saw a very large hole into the plasterboard behind the toilet, had a very quick look and said "yep, everything fine here", went downstairs and unblocked the drain in a matter of minutes.
Is he liable to pay for the damage to our wall, considering he never needed to do this in the first place?
Can I claim off the original plumber? For the emergency plumbers time and the damage to my property
I did not contact them at the time to fix it, just got another plumber to come out
The plumbing company returned and this time bypassed the failed pump to resolve the matter. Seems they should have replaced the pump on the initial repair , understanding that it ran dry on the first call out or at minimum , bypassed the pump at that time. Additionally, they encountered this exact failure previously in another unit within the complex. I assert they were negligent in their repair and caused the subsequent and catastrophic water damage to all units and therefore liable. They are stating the pump failure to be a separate unrelated incident and therefore no culpability on their part. What are your thoughts on this?
He doesn’t seem to want to fix it unless we pay.
There are also four leaks in the room downstairs.
What are our rights please
And isolated the issue and was really good about it but blamed a stop valve that has been in my house since new (11 years) saying it has just been wedged in. However I had never had any problems with it and he was the last one to touch it. He has offers to come back and resolve the issue (no mention of costs) I did ask and he said not to worry? Is he liable for the plaster work and electrician. I had to shut all my electrics down as the fuse tripped. Thanks
Our insurers won't cover faulty workmanship. We are going to contact APHC (who the plumbers are registered with) but what will they be able to do? Any advice is appreciated. Feel so stressed.
Two weeks after the job was complete I have a brown damp patch on ceiling in room below bath. Called them back out and they say problem is seal around bath is faulty and not covered by their insurance as it's not a "plumbing problem". However I never had this problem before the plumber worked on the bath, are they liable for repair of bath seal and water damage to ceiling below?
I asked before he removed it if I could keep it due to its value and he agreed.
It has now been "binned" and his company are saying I should have asked before it was removed (I did, but my word against the plumber) and that its not their fault.
I don't expect the full value but I was going to take it to a reclamation yard where I was told i could get around £300 as it is chrome plated, solid brass and enamel and very good quality. i suggests that the company and i split the difference and they robed the invoice down to £2000 (taking £150 of)
The company claim to provide excellent customer service and professional fitters.
They sent one guy who did all the plumbing, electrics, joinery and gas cooker installation.
On 6th December 2017 my kitchen flooded as a pipe to the hot water tap came away from the coupling.
The emergency plumber who fixed it said it simply wasn't tightened properly and that the other end of the coupling was also slack and had been leaking "for quite some time".
He advised taking out the units and checking for water damage to flooring and the wall. His opinion was the the plumbing work was not done by a qualified plumber.
Am I within my rights to ask the company who fitted the kitchen to see the qualifications of the installer and what can I do if they refuse?
Can I insist that they take out the units so that I can check for floor and wall damage?
The first time she tried the bath it caused a leak downstairs through the kitchen ceiling, the fitter returned, found the leak (by causing it to flood the kitchen a second time, and fixed it. They have agreed to repair/repaint the kitchen ceiling but claim "The waste pipe dislodged because it had not been pushed home fully when first fitted. The fault was pre-existing to our work and only became apparent after we fitted the bath." In effect they deny any responsibility and appear to feel that undertaking the repair was in effect doing her a favour. Is this a reasonable position for them to take or would it be reasonable to expect them to reduce the final bill slightly to acknowledge the distress and inconvenience?
Once the leak was fixed she tested the shower and then found that seated or standing the curtain doesn't keep the water from running over the sides at both ends, and at one end this means it runs into the newly fitted drawers. They suggest this is very normal and that she uses towels to mop up the water. This seems very odd for a bathroom company specialising in the in the needs of the frail or disabled who have a higher falls risk, have you any thoughts on this?
Overall their tone has been pressuring to receive the outstanding balance, no apology was received until she wrote to them a formal complaint, and in the complaint they seem keener to deflect any responsibility rather than acknowledge she was given poor advice.
Other than not recommending them to her friends, have you any suggestions about how she could get some redress for the inconvenience?
I need to have the damages in my bathroom repaired as soon as possible.
I have complained to the management company and the maintenance company that they used.
The management company said that they have raised an insurance claim but no repairs have started yet.
What should I do next?
In the tray running from the door towards the centre of the tray. The plumber who fitted it has just been round and mumbled under his breath that he should have put a central support structure in place when he fitted it. Is the tray faulty or is the plumber admitting bad workmanship? Question is he responsible for replacing and fitting new shower tray and making good any damage caused by his lack of structural support
3 weeks in and miles behind he tried to put me on a day rate,I refused and refused last payment till work completed.
6 weeks in he had left us without a toilet for 4 days,no shower or bath sink for 4 weeks.
Said he was finished on week 6 and wanted final payment and started to take his things out and I could see what a mess it was.
25 faults above ground,(wrong connectors,destroyed shower tray,Door on upside down,normal board in shower,normal grout in shower,electric cable from old towel rail plaster under new wall I don't know if it's live still or if the other end either connected in the wall as a trip switch was off for the upstairs on the last Thur.He said it was nothing to do with him,nothing is connected other than a slow leaking toilet the list is endless.
On Friday I gave him the last of his kit and gave him a list of the things needed doing which I wanted him to pay for when I knew how much it cost -the value of his work.
Nobody wants to touch it and can't get anyone to quote.
Managed to get a handyman round who said with all the faults above ground I shouldn't turn anything on as you couldn't trust the pipework,nothing is finished to turn on anyway.
Im a single mum I have a 13 year old,still no shower ,bath or sink.No family so no help their.
Insurance won't help Zits my fault I booked a cowboy other than help from the legal team as I have cover.
CAB know and have said they will pass to trading standards.Everything need taking out and starting again especially all the pipework and things like the shower replacing.I used the my credit card & debit card to by items and stupidly paid cash which I'd been saving forever.
No idea what to do now.Cant keep sending us both outside for a shower with hugs at 5am ?? Any advice would be appreciated I'm really at a loss :(
I tried to contact him but not respond to me
I paid 700 pounds and I'm still without hot water.
Can please let me know what I should do
Thanks
Recently refurbished my bathroom,there were issues about his work.First he mixed up wrong water pipes in shower bath and second there is bad smell coming through toilet.
I made full payment to him by cash and now he is not responding to my phone.
Please let me know what to do
The smell was unbearable when the floor was taken up and it stunk out he whole property all three floors of the flats. I have asked for compensation was I right
He said that the electrician will come to text the plumb and issue a safe certificate. He asked for cash but refused to give me a receipt. I paid him all the fees.
He left and refused to answer my call or text. The electrician didn't come. There is not such electrician.
The plumber do the electric himself and I am afraid to use the plumb as the switch is still hanging outside the wall.
What can I do to get back the money. He is a Gas safe registered plumber but work like a " Cow Boy"
My cellar was filling with water so I called an emergency plumber. He mis-diagnosed the problem as a broken hot water cylinder, although admitted it was difficult to ascertain, which I agreed as I couldn't see any source of the water. we agreed for him to change it. he completed the work, which appeared fine and more water came. The problem then got worse the next day (an overflow pipe started overflowing, possibly new from the initial work) and I had to call another plumber. He pumped the water out and the ball valve. The water is still going into the cellar and together they have now suggest another solution.
What are my rights when they have misdiagnosed the issue but have completed work? I have paid for the previous work but the problem was not fixed.
The plumber at our local have the highest reviews that why we ask them to repair
Then I called the plumber and he advised that those type of fittings are comparable to sweating pipes is this correct?
I don't own my house so they came back with a top plumber got my heating and hot water on, now they are fighting between themselves who is going to put all this right.
It has made me so ill I can't sleep in the house and can only do a few things in here during the day before my hands start to swell as I suffer from rheumatoid arthritis so I'm having to sleep in the summer house to get away from the house, our bedroom was badly damaged and we lost furniture and carpets it seems no one wants to pay for those and all the downstairs flooring is warped and getting worse the smell is awful.
If it's taken up am I in the wrong no one is talking to us we have hard to huge dehumidifiers going but it has cost a fortune in electric where it all came through the drawers I have had to wash everything.
Please someone help me I'm at my wits end, we are insured for contents but I'm loathe to use mine as it wasn't my fault
Also the shower plug has dropped through below the level of the shower tray and is totally disconnected
I'd really appreciate a steer on what and how long work should be guaranteed, Id like to think it would last longer than 8 months
I got my bathroom replaced and wet walled about 5 months ago. The joiner was supposed to leave access to the cistern but has sealed this up. I now have a problem with the toilet leaking and the water in pan filling too much. I have contacted the plumber Saturday and he indicated he would come yesterday but didn't show and now he is not returning my calls or messages. Where do I stand?
I live in an old grade A listed building and there is a leaking internal downpipe. We employed a plumbing company to fix the issue but they only looked at the bottom half (going through two flats) of the pipe and claimed it was fixed. A couple of days later storm Doris insured we learnt otherwise. The leak is now much worse and is coming into all four levels of the each property on the adjoining wall. The company is claiming this is a different issue and we will need to pay again for them to come out and investigate and fix this. I think they should be fixing it free of charge given their work has made the leak much worse. What is the best route forward?
Since the work was completed and the plumber paid in full
We discovered faults with the bathroom
1 crack to the bath
2 shower leaking
3 shower head constantly dripping
There are other issues to be repaired but these are the main ones
We keep getting false promises to attend and repair the faults ( 5 cancelled appointments)
What else can I do on the legal front to have these faults put right
In the first 6-12 months I noticed discolouration of the Lino in the downstairs cloakroom toilet. I put this down to the Lino being of poor quality and just due to footfall in the cloaks. I had planned on tiling after a while so decided to live with it. Fast forward to a few weeks ago when I noticed the skirting bird was blown in the corner of the cloaks. I immediately lifted the Lino knowing this was caused by water being soaked up into the skirting. Upon lifting the Lino I found the entire concrete floor was completely soaked to the point it was going under the skirting into the sitting room and under the carpet in the hall way. (Photos taken) I cleaned up the water getting the floor completely dry after a little while. I Knew the leak must have been from the sistern or the feed into the pan as the water that was under the Lino appeared clean and there was no smell. After the floor dried I flushed the toilet again and sure enough the water cane from under the pan. Our toilet sistern is hidden and tiled over with no access. I left it with the plan of taking the pan out and investigating myself a few days later. In the mean time though the company who did the work on our estate had an engineer working in my street I asked him to come and take a look which he did. He took the pan out cutting the silicone away from the back I order to gain access. He immediately said that the leak was coming from the inlet pipe into the pan from the sistern and that the cause of it was the pipe was poorly fitted in the first place and was too short therefore it didn't have an adequate seal so with every flush a small amount of water was escaping under the pan and under the Lino. He said this would have been happening since it was fitted. He told me he would have a word with the girls in the office and organise booking in to get fixed. I was more than happy with this. Over the next couple of days I spoke to the office and after a bit of back and fourth they made an appointment for the same guy to come back yesterday. He did just that he came in the afternoon with a new piece of pipe. I left him to it for half an hour for him to come in and say the piece of pipe he had been given was the wrong size and he had to pop out to get another pipe. I was happy with that as long as it was getting done. Unfortunately he didn't return and no call to say he wasn't coming back. I spoke to the office today eventually getting some information. Apparently it was a specialised piece of pipe which they won't be able to get till next week. I questioned this and made the point that we have been without the toilet with rotten Lino up and I wanted to get it rectified. They simply said they wouldn't be doing it till next week. They also said they would not be footing the bill for the Lino and skirting etc to be fixed and that I should contact the build
please help. on 21 November 2016 I appointed a handyman to do a full bathroom refit. In his business card it states qualified bathroom & kitchen fitter. He finished the job on 23 December 2016, well anyway his definition of finish. He left that evening and to be honest because I'm a full-time carer for my husband who has Multiple Sclerosis I was pre-occupied with being a carer and just let Ray carry on doing the job, not really questioning him. I also had flu at the time and a heavy cough which I thought was being caused by brick dust because it started when he started the job. However when he left that evening myself and my daughter went up to clean the bathroom only to find that there was a gay between the bath and the wall tiles (he hadn't filled the bath with water before he put the sealant around the bath). I sent him an image and just a small line to say "Ray, hate to say it but you haven't used enough sealant around the bath". I got a response back and immediately it was really defensive "what gap, I do my job everyday don't tell me how to do my job". I replied zoom in on the image and you will see there's a most obvious gap, anyway this carried on and he refused to put it right and if I knew how to do it I should put it right myself. Having gone round the bathroom he has missed areas of grout around the bathroom, used cracked tiles, when there was 4 spare boxes, left the radiator leaking, the main sink does not drain, he used mastic in areas where he hasn't cut the tile the right size, and the list goes on. I called citizens advice who told me to send him a letter under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and again another letter to give him 7 days to reply. He replied basically saying there was nothing wrong with his work and if I knew better I should do it myself and as he is not a trader that act is not relevant to him. However he has the mistake of having a business card which says Rays Handyman Services with his address etc listed. I have spoken to the Consumer Ombusdman and opened a case and they will now look into it for me. Failing that I have no alternative but to go through small claims court. I was wandering how much I would be able to claim, should I just get 2 quotes and submit them or should I also pit down the fact that the bathroom has bot been used since he left on 23rd December 2016. If anyone has experienced the same problems I would be most grateful for some guidance.
Thank you for reading
When I finished I turned the water back on.
I was then called back a few day s later to find the stop cock was leaking, now they want me to replace their kitchen floor ! The work I carried out was in the bathroom and not related in any way to the faulty stop cock ! Am I responsable for the damage caused by the stop cock ?
Please help
thanks
About two months ago and noticed water between tiles and floor moving around drain
Anyway i told him he came bavk removed tiles and dried surrounding area and recemented tiles and regrouted and also reienforced area
He now wants to charge me £480 for work which he attended approx 2 days maybe less
Should i pay him
I purchased a brand new radiator from a company on EBay in October , I paid £125 to have radiator fitted, a few days ago ( less than 1 month of use) my wife discovered that the radiator was leaking (and quite a lot of rust was seeping out), after investigating further I saw that there is a small hole in the metal work of the radiator. The water that had leaked also warped the brand new laminate floor underneath the radiator.
I sent the company images of the problems caused. They agreed to send out a new radiator, but refused to provide an installer or pay the cost of installation of the new radiator, or compensation for the floor damage caused by their faulty product.
I would like to know is there a professional body I can complain to for compensation for the cost of installation and damage to our floor?
What are my options?
2 weeks ago we were awoken to running water and about 2 inches of water covering the whole ground floor.
a join in the mains water supply, done by the kitchen fitter's plumber had failed. we had a different plumber come to get our water supply back on and he said that there was a part left off the fitting and a rubber washer was misfitted. According to him the joint could have failed in days, months or years.
We have photos that show that the pipes were altered by the company fitting the kitchen. but don't know what to do now as they are saying they have no liability and even want to charge us for replacing the waterdamaged units.
Anyway we called him initially before we knew what had happened to get a few details about the pump of which he answered the call...now he's not answering as I'm guessing he knows he's done something wrong and he's not returning out calls or voicemails. Can anyone help how to find out if he's a member of any bodies? Thinking may have to go down small claims court as we now have to buy a new pump and have his work sorted out ??
My question is....can we sue the builder and or plumber for using known defective material?
Investigating, I discovered KITCHEN ROLL and GAFFER TAPE plugging an area of barely noticeable water tricking from the toilet where it was obviously damaged during installation. The water has now got to a point where is closed beneath the lino.
Contacting the builders they just said we were out of warranty - but given the circumstances they'd contact the plumbers. I handwheel hearts anything for a week.
Am I in a position to threaten legal action, when its been three years? I had no reason to check behind that last of the ubend until now.
Please help as we're a toilet down!
Thanks
We are no longer in touch with the plumber who did it any advice on what we could do will be amazing
We had building work done around 7 months ago, during which it transpired we needed a new boiler. The boiler was replaced by a plumber contracted through our builder (who has since gone bust, and is uncontactable). The boiler was not installed properly, and we have not had hot water in the kitchen or utility since, and the boiler is leaking what is apparently corrosive water (over a plug socket!). the plumber also made several other mistakes which we paid someone else to fix as he has been impossible to contact.
For weeks we have been chasing him to come and rectify the fault with the boiler. The boiler should still be under warranty, but we have no paperwork including gas safety. The plumber will either answer his phone and agree to a day to come then never show, or simply refuse to answer his phone. What can we do, or threaten him with to elicit a response? who can we report him to? He is clearly at best incompetent and lazy, or more likely a charlatan.
We need the boiler fixing, but not at personal expense. Thank you
Asap
We had a plumber come in to remove and install a new pump, after insuring he took the maximum time he could to remove and install this new pump, the hot water was never right and after a few days there was leak that came through the living room. He came back and said the problem is our pipes though it was the same make pump that he installed. He said he will come back and fix the problem at a cost to us and we will have to get a handyman to remove the tiles in the bathroom so he can gain access to the leak again at a cost to us. Is this right? Should he not take responsibility if the leak occurred after he fitted the pumb?
I am in the middle of getting my bathroom completely redone. The plumber had been in and removed the old bathroom and done some pipe work for the new one going in. I live in a split house and have the upper the level. My neighbour from downstairs has said he has had quite a substantial leak from us. The plumber is coming to look tonight but says we are liable. Is this true?
Around 2 months ago we hired a plumber to fit a brand new bathroom as the old bath was leaking into the flat below (this was quite urgent as the woman below was 98 and blind and the leak was hazardous for her). This was done but immediately we noticed a problem, the bath and shower would not drain, I.e every time we shower the water comes half way up our legs. We tried to contact the company about this issue but they have ignored us. They have already been paid. What can we do?
Thanks
What are my rights? Thank you!
I recently called a plumber as the boiler in a house I am looking after overheated and stopped working.
I thought perhaps he could fix it which in theory he would have done but it turns out the pump had gone. Anyway without having the owners consent I didn't want to commit to the "big" job of getting it changed.
Essentially he came for 10 minutes and charged me £100 and left with the boiler still broken.
It's seems steep when the problem still remains and he couldn't fix it there and then?
Thanks
J
ps He had given a "verbal 12mth guarentee on the work also ..Thank you for your time One very stressed lady x
Thanks
I got my new Vaillant boiler installed by a local plumber in Aug.2014, the service is including register my boiler with Vaillant for warranty's purpose. I also had the same plumber serviced the boiler in Oct 2015. Now the boiler's gas valve failed ( investigated by the same plumber who installed and serviced the boiler). I phoned up Vaillant for competent replacement as it's still in free warranty period ( 5 years), and I am told the boiler has not been registered at all.
I called the plumber and texted him about the situation, and he went quiet and never answer the phone. I have to manually restarted the boiler every day which is a pain in the back. Vaillant said if I can provide the installer's information they can register it for me, and I can NOT find the plumber is on gas safe list. I went back to the contract for the boiler installation and google the company, found out the trade was dissolved in September 2014 right after he fitted my boiler.
How come he can still service my boiler if he is not longer gas safe registered and not longer operate the plumbing and heating service. And obviously he didnt registered my boiler back to Aug 2014 and now he is no longer qualified to register my boiler, this leaves me in a devastating situation as I will not be able to get my boiler registered for warranty purpose, and no one would be responsible for the all heating work just been done in less than 2 years.
The plumber never answers my phone call now, please help to share your ideas how can I get this sorted.
Regards
Edward
"Piped up all wrong" and that was without him doing anything else upon just opening the door, it was apparently that evident, Point 1. He went on to say that the boiler (Valiant) was not maintaining temp due to the heat exchanger. Point 2. He then said that the pipe work would need to be "fixed" before the boiler would be able to maintain temp as the system was sucking in air and asked if we heard the pipes banging to which I replied not not at all, Point 3.
After he had left and left me with a the thought of spending £1300 to fix it even though we are insured, he said we weren't covered as it was a legacy issue!
I called corgi and asked for a second opinion and as soon as the 2nd plumber opened the boiler cupboard door said exactly the same as the first - it's not piped up right mate, the system is sucking in air and I bet you get loads of pipes banging when the system fires up right? NO we don't. This plumber said a power flush was needed as well now to fix the problem to which-at £475 seemed a reasonable fix compared to the previous estimate.
He poured some kind of fluid into a downstairs radiator and said it would take a week / 10 days to work through our system and he would come back. A week later that radiator he used had not been hot once and has never been anything other than cold since he touched and it was by far the hottest rad downstairs! We called him and he told us to turn all the other downstairs rads off to ensure the flow of water went to that rad. We did this for 3 days and nothing!
He has been unable to get back to us to finish the job as he is no going on holiday!
Now my concern is that we have lived at the property for nearly 5 hears, have two small children, had regular service visits each year, 2 of which from Corgi (the current insurer) and at no point during any of those visits has anyone ever mentioned this apparently obvious pipework issue and have always said everything is fine and continued to take my insurance money! Since the plumbers have been to fix a problem we now do have the pipes banging when the system fires up in the morning to such a degree that my daughter can't sleep in her room, it wakes everyone else up as it sooooo loud it sounds like the roof is coming in. The radiators downstairs take hours to heat up and sometimes don't now while the rads upstairs fire up seemingly ok. Where do I stand with this as none of these problems were there until the plumbers came to the call out. None of this was raised to me during any of the service visits and now my heating system is actually broken?!
By this point the bathroom had still not been finished and so the plumber came back and was able to to go through the floor boards again to mend a fitting that had come apart.
This has now happened again, but with the bathroom now completed and tiled the only access will be though the ceiling of the kitchen. This is going to incur costs relating to putting the ceiling right.
Am I within my rights to ask to plumber to meet this (assuming he answers his phone and comes back to repair the work)?
This was installed/completed in Sept this yr. including ripping out all pipe work from under the sink and putting new pipes/fittings, for new sink, existing dishwasher and washing machine, waste, etc.
We came down last week to find water was coming through the laminate floor boards near the sink when you stepped on it. I turned off the water supply, dried off what I could under the sink, turned on the supply and could clearly see water coming out of the washing machine cold water feed connection.
I turned off the isoluation valve and the leak stopped and called the kitchen company.
They advised they would need to contact the fitter, who has since called and advised me to take off the pipe and screw it back on (hand tight).
I've done this and no longer have a leak, but have water damaged laminate.
The kitchen company said I'd have to discuss this directly with their fitter, as he did the plumbing and have told him he needs to speak to me.
He's just text to say he will be out to have a look at the pipe to ensure no further leak, but if the leak was on the inlet hose he doesn't understand how anyone is to blame.
Any advice / thoughts?
What claims do we have against the company which installed the bathroom?
I asked my plumber who have used before to fit a new bathroom but instead of doing it himself he bought in a helper and then he left him for the rest of the day to do the job. He told me he had emergency callouts, First the helper started with the new loo he slipped and put is spanner through the side of the new loo not a good start because he had to replace,
He did the job and then the plumber I thought was going to do the job turned up late afternoon, put in a towel rail and did a good job of that,
The next morning I found water all over the bathroom floor the toilet is leaking water from the cistern and I have had to switch off water to it .The bath copper pipework looks bent also leaking on the floor at the joint. The basin is leaking from the waste when I empty it.
Also a couple of chips on my new floor tiles.
I managed to get the basin fixed by my friend’s son. He had a quick look at the toilet and said he could not fix because the donut was missing and the toilet had not been put together properly.
I have contacted my plumber (via text) and he has told me quite casually that he will come around the end of next week because he is busy with his customers. I then texted again and said I really need my toilet and can he come sooner at least for that. Bearing in mind I have recommended him to loads of people he texts me and said he has no confidence in me anymore. He also said that if he came out I would have to pay him more money.
I don’t know what to do I am a retired lady living alone and don’t know how to fix this problem,
Please help
He did the job and then the plumber I thought was going to do the job turned up late afternoon and put in a towel rail and did a good job,
The next morning I found water all over the bathroom floor the toilet is leaking water from the cistern and I have had to switch off the bath copper pipe look bent also leaked when I emptied the sink
The plumber came out and advised me that there was no exiting blockage from the bowl onwards (which I already knew) but that he had adjusted the amount of water that the cistern held to the maximum (this made no difference) but that my only option was to replace the whole toilet. His invoice was £35 for this. I wondered if there was more that I could do, and bought some 'serious' limescale removing solution which has made a significant improvement to the problem.
My question is do I have to pay him the full invoice amount despite him giving me incorrect (and potentially costly) advise. I realise that we're not talking huge amounts here, but feel that he was hoping to have to replace the whole loo when that doesn't appear to have been necessary.
Thanks!
What can he do?
Thanks
Where do I stand legally?
Regards
We had a damp specialist out who immediately said that's a leak.
We know have a second plumber out who felt same area of same pipes and found the crack at the bend and is replacing the pipe.
Do we pay the first plumber a penny? It was over priced anyway, he missed the leak which in turn has cost us £25 for damp man to come out unnecessarily plus a period of a week of more leaking and further damage to our kitchen.
Do we have grounds to refuse to pay the invoice?
The other issue is until the carpet has been fully cleaned I don’t know that it is ok. So the cost of the carpet if it need replacing may also be in question here. Again I do not feel I should pay or claim on my insurance. Are accidents like this not the reason plumbers have public liability insurance?
I have not yet paid for the work (nor has he asked yet). Do I withhold payment until the carpet situation is clear and is he liable of and costs incurred?
Thanks
I had a new bathroom fitted. In the estimate I was quoted for a bidet and toilet. In the range chosen the only bidet is a back to wall, but there are two versions of toilet, one back to wall and one open back. The estimate didn't specify which of the two toilets but I assumed it would be back to wall to match the bidet.
They fitted the bidet and toilet and then I noticed the toilet was an open back. I queried it. They tell me that a back to wall wouldn't have worked in my bathroom, and that "in the trade" unless you specify back to wall, it is assumed to be open back.
This seems to be the case on the manufacturers website where the back to wall is described as such whereas the open back one simply gives the toilet range name.
I don't like the toilet supplied as the open back is very open and would like to change both the bidet and toilet.
I have offered to cover the cost for a new bidet, but feel they should contribute something towards the cost of replacement toilet since they did not make it clear in the quote which toilet it was. Do I have a case? Thanks
Surely there is a duty of care, to fix if the same issue has occured to what they were fixing?? Who is liable and what is the best way of getting the work corrected?
I don't feel like I should pay anything unless there is a clear understanding that another fault is the cause.
Any advice
I had a bathroom fitted 2 yrs ago. The shower is now leaking into the kitchen below. I contacted the company and they sent some one to re seal it. That didn't work. Now there is a leak intermittently whether the shower is being used or not. The plumber had moved the toilet and sink to another wall and fitted the shower in at the time of the original job, so it is the plumbing of that company. I have re contacted them and it appears they have sacked that sub contractor saying he was having constant complaints. The problem is that the company are saying it has been 2 yrs now and they don't want to do any further work beyond re sealing, but I know there is an underlying fault with a fixture and my door frame in the kitchen is ruined and the door is sticking, I have cracked plaster. What should I do? I feel intimidated.
A week after he fixed the issue the drainage begun slowing down and now is as bad as it was when we first called him out. I have called up th eplumbing company and asked that they send the same plumber back to investigate and resolve at their own cost as I have already paid for this service. They have said that they will not as they cannot guarantee what I have put down my sink in the last 10 days or so.
What are my rights? And what should I do next?
Thanks in advance!
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