massive problems with a plumber and now his bill!

john_p_b

Hi all, not really sure this is the right section but not sure where else to put it.

for 3 months now we've been having a new bathroom fitted, yes thats right 3 months, the plumber has been an absolute nightmare. he's a friend of my brother in law which is making things far more complex for me.

there have been various problems along the way with parts being damaged, faulty, bodged up in the first place. every problem has resulted in a further delay as parts have had to be ordered etc.

he smashed a 8" long 2" wide hole through my brand new ceiling when fitting 2 x 15mm pipes for a radiator, cracked 2 tiles when fitting a shower screen and using the incorrect fittings, broke a seal on the bath waste which he then replaced with silicone sealer twice a week for 6 weeks before i said enough is enough replace the part completely. worst of all he caused us a major gas leak when doing some soldering around the boiler and gas meter area, i asked him several times to check out the smell of gas and he fobbed it off every time saying he's tested it and there's nothing there, in the end we called out the emergency gas leak ppl as it was that bad and the guy found the leak within 5 minutes. (he is gas safe registered by the way).

so basically i've had 3 months of having my house upside down, massive stress between my wife and i, almost had the house blown up and had to do quite a few jobs twice due to his complete incompetence.

all throughout this i've been asking him how much it's all going to cost and he wouldn't give a price, just kept saying don't worry i've taken all the problems into account i'll make you happy.

well today he drops a bill in for £1900 which hasn't made me happy! i know the suite was £1100 so that's £800 in labour for doing a shocking job and taking 3 months about it!

so, is there anything i can do about it? can i argue the bill?

feeling rather annoyed and upset at the moment!

many thanks
john

edit: just for clarity,the boiler was a completely seperate issue and the fitting of which was carried out back in june and has no relevence to the bill for the bathroom.

1984ReturnsForReal_2

john_p_b wrote: »

he smashed a 8" long 2" wide hole through my brand new ceiling when fitting 2 x 15mm pipes for a radiator

Not a good start for a complaint on here.


Did the radiator go where it was supposed to (where you told him to put it)?

1984ReturnsForReal_2

john_p_b wrote: »

worst of all he caused us a major gas leak when doing some soldering around the boiler and gas meter area, i asked him several times to check out the smell of gas and he fobbed it off every time saying he's tested it and there's nothing there,

What was he doing with the gas pipe then?

john_p_b

1984ReturnsForReal wrote: »

Not a good start for a complaint on here.


Did the radiator go where it was supposed to (where you told him to put it)?

yes the radiator went where we wanted it but the pipework didn't, we asked for the pipework to be tucked into the corner, he put it a foot out from the corner and made a big mess!

1984ReturnsForReal wrote: »

What was he doing with the gas pipe then?

He'd fitted a boiler for us, when soldering the pipework in his flux had dripped down onto the flexi pipe coming from the floor to the meter and rotted a hole through it.

Alan_M_2

This is one of moments in life that falls into the "Chalk it up" category.

Tuck it away into the life learning part of your memory, pay the bill and next time get someone in that has some actual references you can check.

1984ReturnsForReal_2

john_p_b wrote: »

he put it a foot out from the corner

Why did he do that then?

WhiteHorse

Red Adair : "If you think a professional is expensive, wait till you employ an amateur".

macman

Why don't you pay him what he quoted you, plus any extras that were agreed as they arose? That's the normal method.
Or are you really saying that no firm price was ever agreed? In which case you've not really got even half a leg to stand on, and you're lucky he hasn't ripped you off for twice that.
£800 labour for a 3 month job is not really that expensive...how many days labour did it actually involve (the fitting bits, not the time spent rebuilding his own damage)?

latecomer

£800 labour isn't that much to be honest but you should have had some kind of an agreed price before strating

gas4you

john_p_b wrote: »

He'd fitted a boiler for us, when soldering the pipework in his flux had dripped down onto the flexi pipe coming from the floor to the meter and rotted a hole through it.

Are you REALLYsure he is gas safe registered, or in fact that he IS a plumber:eek:

Dropping flux/solder onto the flexible anaconda is one of the biggest no no's to do.

We all know this will eat through it almost straight away.

He is very lucky, because usually one would get a Riddor from NG for doing this.

£800 is nothing at all for the work he has done, in fact I would say it is so little it fits in with the standard of workmanship you have told us about.

However, there are always two sides to a story.

Slinky_Malinky

Given that I am about to pay £365 to have just a ready assembled vanity unit and toilet fitted which will probably only be a day`s work I reckon you have had quite a bargain....though I do sympathise with you on all the problems.