I've been ripped off... Advice needed.

riva

I recently had my boiler changed and found a tradesperson from ratedpeople site- 5 star rating etc and chose him on basis of timescale more than price (all 3 quotes very similar). Decent job, very clean, took 2 days in total. All good. Then a rental property required a boiler changed. I stupidly did not bother shopping for it as it was a Satuday and I had a heavily pregnant tenant (this was in Jan) and this guy was able to do it the next day. His quote seemed reasonable and I accepted. He did the job and wanted cash payment. Prior to this, I recieved the receipt and waranties in post. I assumed the same this time. I just delivered a baby as well and forgot that I never received this. Oh yes, scrappage scheme was in place then and he told me I qualified but after job was done refused to be available- I did not get the scheme. I wasn't happy but had so much going on that I let go.Fast forward to now....
Boiler problem with said boiler. He checked and claimed it needed 3 port valve changed and said £280 for it. I double check with 2 other plumbers- British gas- who told me a power flush was not done, flue was incomplete etc. Called him up- asked me to F*** off. He called me 5 mins after and tried to 'make good' but accidentally admitted that he did not do a power flush, only a regular flush. Claimed the flue was stolen by people (this was apparently not true, it was incomplete/defective- confirmed by 3rd plumber- an apparently very straight guy who was recommended). My Worster warranty is null and void as far as I'm concerned because no power flush was done. On top of that, this plumber apparently did not even fill out the log book- this was with my tenant and I didn't know it till now.
What are my rights and what can I do? He's going around fleecing a lot of people- he now has a large number of positive ratings on ratedpeople and I have treated him with respect at every point of the way.

Swipe

Report him to gas safe, you never know he may not even be registered with them.

undaunted

You could also report him to Trading Standards but personally I'd give him a chance to put things right - ie tell him (ideally also in writing if you have an address) you are intending contacting both but would like to give him the opportunity to put things right amicably first.

If he does so it's then upto you whether or not you still wish to proceed with that and / or (if you can) add a truthful but negative & rating on "ratedpeople" explaining these events but I can't see him doing anything he isn't forced to once you report him unless you can work it so that you get it fixed first

Funkyfreddy

riva wrote: »

I recently had my boiler changed and found a tradesperson from ratedpeople site- 5 star rating etc and chose...[snipity snip]
...
His quote seemed reasonable and I accepted. He did the job and wanted cash payment. Prior to this, I recieved the receipt and waranties in post. I assumed the same this time. I just delivered a baby as well and forgot that I never received this. Oh yes, scrappage scheme was in place then and he told me I qualified but
...[snip]

He is Gas Safe registered ?

You have a written quote from him detailing the work to be carried out or just verbal ?

Write to him assuming you have his address detailing the faults you want correcting - you said "recently" so if something is wrong under the Sale of Goods Act you wouldn't expect it to be faulty in a short period of time.

Inform him you require the work to be carried out by a certain date and get his reply in writing.

You could pursue matters through the small claims court if you can support your claim that what was quoted was not carried out but you need to be using supporting facts rathar than "this plumber says that" and "this other guy suggest this and it wasn't complete"..

FF

Pincher

Hmm, a boiler upgrade costs £1,000+,
but you didn't get a receipt for tax deduction against rental income? Sounds like the rent is also in cash and not declared either.

People who deal in cash a lot don't use the law,
they hire muscle to do their enforcement. You pay the muscle in cash, too, of course.

riva

Thanks for the responses. He is registered- we checked. We suspect that we may have a case against him with gas safety as he didn't register the system to be gas safe after fitting the new boiler. For the boiler in my private residence, we had a written quote but not for the one where the problem is. I trusted him!
I suspect the problem is with the boiler (loud knocking sounds that only goes away when the hot water function is switched off) but he claims its with the 3 way valve system as we have a tank (something else that a proper plumber would have sorted I feel- a system without tank as its a ground floor flat?)- this gets him out of the 'sale of goods' Act.
We thought of trading standards and getting back to him first but what if he wilfully damages something? I'm not sure if I want him near my property.
As for evidence- bg didn't do much except for suggesting a power flush but at least have registered all points to paper. The honest plumber doesn't think a power flush will solve the issue but could not elicit the knocking sound while he was there so that problem is not sorted but he did change the flue which cost us of course- would his findings hold up?
This nice plumber is in South West London area if anyone needs one- send me a private message (is that possible on this forum?)

riva

Pincher wrote: »

Hmm, a boiler upgrade costs £1,000+,
but you didn't get a receipt for tax deduction against rental income? Sounds like the rent is also in cash and not declared either.

It cost me a lot as its a Worchester. As I mentioned- for my own residence the receipt and warranty came in post later. I had no reason to believe that this would not happen again. I chose a Worchester because its one of the best and I didn't want to cut corners. Whether cheque or cash- it doesn't make a differance to me. Its still coming out of my bank account.

Canucklehead

riva wrote: »

Thanks for the responses. He is registered- we checked. We suspect that we may have a case against him with gas safety as he didn't register the system to be gas safe after fitting the new boiler. For the boiler in my private residence, we had a written quote but not for the one where the problem is. I trusted him!
I suspect the problem is with the boiler (loud knocking sounds that only goes away when the hot water function is switched off) but he claims its with the 3 way valve system as we have a tank (something else that a proper plumber would have sorted I feel- a system without tank as its a ground floor flat?)- this gets him out of the 'sale of goods' Act.
We thought of trading standards and getting back to him first but what if he wilfully damages something? I'm not sure if I want him near my property.
As for evidence- bg didn't do much except for suggesting a power flush but at least have registered all points to paper. The honest plumber doesn't think a power flush will solve the issue but could not elicit the knocking sound while he was there so that problem is not sorted but he did change the flue which cost us of course- would his findings hold up?
This nice plumber is in South West London area if anyone needs one- send me a private message (is that possible on this forum?)

Good morning: was the quote to only replace the boiler in the rental and not make any other changes? Re: building compliance certificate...contact your LBC for advice.

Btw...there any many 'nice plumbers' working in southwest London and many of them are also competent.;)

HTH

Canucklehead

riva

Only to replace the boiler. I don't know if any of the work would have needed building compliance. Although had he or another plumber suggested something better, I would have researched it and probably taken it up.
Have had very bad experiences with plumbers- I'll remember what you said and ask you for great plumbers next time ; )

riva

Should correct myself- have had bad luck with plumbers- my fav was great and super reliable for many years til he separated from wife. Then totally undependable! Most friends have not been able to recommend good ones, being like myself, still trying different ones and not found someone reliable yet. That's where companies like bg comes in I suppose....

booter

"loud knocking sounds that only goes away when the hot water function is switched off"

I had this problem & it turned out to be air in the system. All I had to do was bleed the radiators! (Making sure the pressure in the boiler was adequate).Not sure if yours is the same, but worth a look?