Rip Off Plumber

graemeinfo

Hello All,

I have a property which is rented out. Recentley I instructed an authorised plumbing and heating company to do a Gas Safety check. All was fine and I paid the bill. The day after the tennant contacted me to say that the shower was running constantly hot and there were some problems with the heating system.

I rang the company and was put through to the owner who agresivley denied that the check would cause these problems. I asked him to visit the tennant to see what was wrong and he agreed.

I heard no more until the tennant sent me a messaging saying all was fixed about week later. I have now recieved a bill for work undertaken to fix the shower a total of £47. I contacted the comapny and asked why they had charged me when all I wanted to know was what was wrong. Again the very aggresive owner said this was a call out charge which all of his customers know about. This is complete rubbish and no one at any stage communicated this charge to me nor did I authorise any work.

The question is where do I stand now. Am I forced to pay for something I never ordered? I am tempted not to pay but dont want to have them taking legal action.

Any thoughts on what I should do next, I do not like being ripped off.

keystone

graemeinfo wrote: »

I rang the company and was put through to the owner who agresivley denied that the check would cause these problems.

He was probably right. Were you aggressive with him as in "you man has caused this problem" in which case it would be unsurprising that he was aggressive back.

I asked him to visit the tennant to see what was wrong and he agreed.

So you have a contract, you having already accepted (one presumes) his man had not caused the problem or you would not, again presuming, have contracted him.

I heard no more until the tennant sent me a messaging saying all was fixed about week later. I have now recieved a bill for work undertaken to fix the shower a total of £47. I contacted the comapny and asked why they had charged me when all I wanted to know was what was wrong. Again the very aggresive owner said this was a call out charge which all of his customers know about. This is complete rubbish and no one at any stage communicated this charge to me nor did I authorise any work.

So in your contract did you say "I expect it to be done for free because I hold you responsible unless and until proven otherwise as your man was the last one to touch it" or did he say "you do realise there will be a charge for this don't you"? If not you are both equally at fault. If you calm down and look at it realisitically you got whatever repair done that was needed free of charge within his standard call-out fee. So you are not being charged for something you did not authorise. You are being charged for something (the visit) which you did authorise by entering into the contract.

The question is where do I stand now. Am I forced to pay for something I never ordered?

You should pay because you have a contract albeit poorly drawn and poorly understood on both sides.

I am tempted not to pay but dont want to have them taking legal action.

That would be your decision to take based on your assessment of the risk.

Any thoughts on what I should do next,

Pay it or negotiate a reduced figure due to misunderstanding because you're both clearly a tad hot headed and are both equally at fault.

I do not like being ripped off.

You haven't been. If it were £ 470 you could argue that you have been and I would stand behind you.

Cheers

David_Norris

£47, I think you got a very good deal and certainly not a rip off in any way.

As Keystone said, it sounds like both of you are a tad hot headed and are equally to blame for any misunderstandings between you.

Sparhawke

I would nip this in the bud and simply pay up, I know saying such things are not allowed on this forum and actually telling people to spend money but you did call them out, they did fix the problem therefore they are quite within their rights to charge for this.

If you contest it you may very find yourself paying much more plus court costs

1984ReturnsForReal_2

Firstly I would ask what was actually wrong with the shower.

arfurrrr

£47 RIP OFF , are you having a laugh ?

A Landlords Gas Safety Check , is just that . A Check . That is unless you are prepared to pay more for a service and repair as found .

I have some good landlords(nice responsible people) and some bad ones (don`t give a flying F , cheap , cheap cheap) , they are the ones that pay more in the long run . Becasue all problems that are not Gas Safety Issues are ignored , then the problem gets worse and i get paid more . I good example is expansion vessel faults . These are covered in servicing not Checks .

£47 is cheap . Pay up and just ask what the prolem was .

Bet next time you pay more cos the guy may not want to deal with you ! I would be too busy to deal with any of your future problems or i would be atleast £100 call out .

Business relationships work 2 ways .

fluffymuffy

Goodness! You found a cheap plumber who knows what he's doing and actually turns up when required? Don't fall out with him!

baldelectrician

You asked the guy to come out and fix a problem (carry out a task of work), and you don't want to pay?

Not being funny - how many hours per week do you work for free?

A story along simlar lines;
Call from a shop yesterday, lights were out.
Shop worker: ' Can you come out as some of our lights are not working?'
Me : 'I'm on a job in the same town, I will leave the job I am on and come and fix it'
Shop worker 'That's great'
20 mins later
I have packed my tools in to the van and call the shop to explain I am on my way and will be there in a few minutes.
Shop worker replies 'that's good'

I arrive. park van and unload tool box.
Shop worker says 'can you just give a quote for the work and I'll let the boss know?'
Me 'If you wanted a price I would have gave you one over the phone.
I am 90% certain I will either fix the problem to get most or all of the lights working within this time' I am here to do the work and will be charging for an hours labour anyway. '

Job was done within the hour (faulty light fitting found and disconneted), charged £35 plus £2.00 for 4 starters.

whitegoods_engineer

Well said Bald! Its amazing how many people call a tradesman out to do a job which they cannot do themselves, then describe it as a rip-off if they charge more than fourpence!

deano72_2

what was the problem that he fixed,thats the first thing you should of said,then take it from there.if it was something he done from his first visit then he should of rectified for free....if not get your wallet out

Razor

Rip off plumber or typical penny pinching landlord?

Don't argue it just pay what you owe