Tradesman with no liability insurance

mackemdave

Had a tradesman around doing some work yesterday,I had found him in yellow pages.During the work he drilled a hole through the wall and it appears that he has drilled through a heating pipe in the wall.I rang him today and he came out and he contacted a plumber who came out but is unable to rectify the problem till Sunday/Monday

When the tradesman came back today he said he had let his liability insurance lapse.If its found that he did drill through the pipe what are my options as to who should foot the bill for the plumber.Plumber has already said its a big job as he needs to remove the hot water tank to find the leak

vax2002

as he needs to remove the hot water tank to find the leak

Its where the hole has been drilled, mystery over, call another plumber.

Ebe_Scrooge

Difficult one. Your best bet, I would suggest, is claim off you own insurance, then let them pursue the tradesman. At least that way the damage is rectified. This does depend on your specific insurace details. But worth a call to them. And they have the clout to pursue him through whatever legal loopholes are required. Other than that, you'll be looking at a small claims court approach, which you would likely win, but it's hassle. If your insurance company will cover it, and fight it out after the event, it'll be easier for you.

That said, a simple hole in a pipe should not be a major job for any plumber worth his salt ...... Can you come to an agreement with the tradesman and a local plumber ? Might save a lot of aggro.

bengasman

mackemdave wrote: »

...Plumber has already said its a big job as he needs to remove the hot water tank to find the leak

Never say never, but it would be the first leak repair I've ever seen that needed the tank removed. Somebody trying a bit of bill padding maybe?
Unless it's a steel pipe, I can't see how it would be more than a couple of hours work.

dave82_2

Did the tradesman get the plumber or did you? I can't help think this sounds a bit scam like.

Tradesman drills through pipe
Tradesman gets plumber to fix
Plumber sucks through teeth "Big job"
Plumber charges the earth
Tradesman dissapears
Customer left to pay the plumber.

As suggested you should either source your own plumber and come to an agreement over payment

or

Get your insurance involved.

Ebe_Scrooge

dave82 wrote: »

Did the tradesman get the plumber or did you? I can't help think this sounds a bit scam like.

Tradesman drills through pipe
Tradesman gets plumber to fix
Plumber sucks through teeth "Big job"
Plumber charges the earth
Tradesman dissapears
Customer left to pay the plumber.

As suggested you should either source your own plumber and come to an agreement over payment

or

Get your insurance involved.

Top advice ! I don't often like getting insurance involved, as is it tends to get complicated ! If you can sort it out youself, so much the better. But they have got the legal bods to help you. And this does sound slightly dodgy, as Dave says. Do you have a trusted local independant plumber who could give advice ?

mackemdave

Thanks for replies

The tradesman was installing a box into my airing cupboard which houses the hot water cylinder..He drilled through from the kitchen to the airing cupboard to run a cable,,The only way to get access to the part of the wall he drilled through is to remove the hot water cylinder...Its not a scam,its a genuine mistake.

I wont even entertain making an insurance claim as Ive currently got an ongoing claim for a recent burglary...

dave82_2

Fair enough but you are paying him for the job he isn't a mate. His liability insurance isn't your responsability. I would expect him to put it right at no cost to you.

photome

mackemdave wrote: »

Thanks for replies

The tradesman was installing a box into my airing cupboard which houses the hot water cylinder..He drilled through from the kitchen to the airing cupboard to run a cable,,The only way to get access to the part of the wall he drilled through is to remove the hot water cylinder...Its not a scam,its a genuine mistake.

I wont even entertain making an insurance claim as Ive currently got an ongoing claim for a recent burglary...

Sounds like you are being to soft.

It wasnt your fault it was the "tradesmans" if thats what he is with no liability insurance?

Either he pays or its an insurance claim..or of course you could pay for it yourself.

busiscoming2

He caused the problem so he should pay for it to be rectified.

iamcornholio

I think you are getting confused on the need/purpose for PL insurance

The contractor is responsible for any damage which he causes. That's a basic and simple fact.

The purpose of him having insurance is that if say he burns your house down, then he may not have £200k to pay to rebuild it, so he insures himself for this.

You are talking about a £200 repair job, and that is within the realms of the contractor to pay without reverting to his insurance ... which may carry a £500 excess in any case. So it matters not if he has insurance or not

Obviously if you suspect that he has damaged the pipe then you don't pay him until the damage is rectified. If he has called the plumber out to repair the damage then he pays. If you called the plumber out, then you may need to pay and then claim the money back off the contractor - or you claim on your insurance and they chase the contractor