Is my plumber taking the michael??

wendfrombev

Hello
My plumber fixed my toilet which was leaking for £65.00 he was here 2 hours in total apparently he had to replace the sytem which he charged me for.
A week later it started to make a horrendous noise so I called him out again. He came and realised he ahd fitted the wrong system and was here for another 3 hours trying to fix it.
He said that he had to charge me again and said I owed him £90.
Is this right?
I havent paid him yet I just wanted to get some advice first.
personally i think I should not have to pay him as it was his fault in the first place for putting in the wrong system.
I told him I wasnt happy and that I could have bought a whole new toilet for what he is charging me.
Where do I stand on this can anyone shed some light please pretty please XXXXX

saintlee

hi wend
what do you mean by System?
what was the original fault with the wc, where exactly was it leaking from.

It's hard to understand what he did to make it create an appaliing noise without a little more info,

but if he has admitted to fitting the wrong part originally then I would ask for a refund on the original repair.

The internal workings of a cistern would not cost more than £40 in parts if everything was relaced to a high quality.

Lee

wendfrombev

Hi saintlee
Thanks for replying so quick.

Initially when i flushed my toilet it filled up for ages about a good 5 - 10 mins and my water meter was going frantic.

The plumber said it needed a new cistern and bought a really cheap one and fitted that one. He charged me 65 for 2 hours work as the replacement was about a fiver.

It never worked right after that and eventually after about a week when you went to flush it it made an awful sound as if it was trying to flush but couldnt..really weird!!
He said he had put in the wrong one and bought a new one but charged me for the labour which was £90
Hope this clarifys things, as you can see I am not into toilets lol

EliteHeat

Do you mean a siphon? the thing that does the flushing bit or cistern with all of the bits inside included?

tonygee_3

Sounds like a problem I experienced recently.I rented a property in Tuscany last year off an English woman,she went to great pains before we arrived to explain about 'the toilet' which was a bit unnerving.She said the Italian plumber who fitted it said theres nothing that can be done,it adds character and quirkiness.Basically the flush was very noisy and water continued to flow afterwards for a long time.I couldnt put up with it so took the top off made a few adjustments and it was perfectly normal after that.
Sounds like you may have been done
Ps woman was over the moon when I told her Id fixed it

jason_s_2

If he made the mistake by fitting the wrong part, then thats his fault not yours.

saintlee

wendfrombev wrote: »

Hi saintlee
Thanks for replying so quick.

Initially when i flushed my toilet it filled up for ages about a good 5 - 10 mins and my water meter was going frantic.

The plumber said it needed a new cistern and bought a really cheap one and fitted that one. He charged me 65 for 2 hours work as the replacement was about a fiver.

It never worked right after that and eventually after about a week when you went to flush it it made an awful sound as if it was trying to flush but couldnt..really weird!!
He said he had put in the wrong one and bought a new one but charged me for the labour which was £90
Hope this clarifys things, as you can see I am not into toilets lol

It sounds like the syphon has been replaced,

I've never paid more than a £10 for a good quality siphon, certainly should not have charged you more than £20 for it.

I'd had said the original charge of £60 is about right.

If he had fitted the wrong one, (not quite sure how you can fit a wrong siphon as long as the handle works and it fits in the slot, but nevermind) thats down to him.

I would ask for your money back for the second visit if you have already Paid it. If you haven't paid it, I would refuse to,( maybe offer to pay £20 for the siphon)

If he refuses , threaten to report him to trading standards and don't be afraid to follow through with the threat.

Lee

mhplumbingtiling

I had a similar issue with a customer. Her syphon had packed up so I installed a cheaper syphon to save her money but a week later she called me to say it wasn't working (the toilet had a side-handle flush) I bought the dearer syphon, changed it over and only charged her the difference, no labour. she was over the moon.

As you've said, it would've been cheaper to buy a complete toilet and install that

Wait until he calls and explain your problem and see what he has to say. Because things are tight everywhere, some guys need the money and will over charge for everything without caring for customer satisfaction.