Plumber stress

anders170

Hi, would really welcome some advice: I had some tiling done and needed a plumber to several jobs, the tiler recommended his friend who I have since found has a company advertised on My Builder. The plumber took details of what we needed done and said he wanted £600 "cash to avoid charging VAT", he started doing the work having had the cash up front, but then said he hadnt been told we wanted the bathroom and kitchen sinks both connected to a single water heater, and charged an extra £60. We paid that. But the kitchen sink hasnt been fitted and the tap/waste etc is all still in its box, and he was due to plumb in a dishwasher which he says he has but hasnt. He says "This is additional work and will charged at extra cost". A month has now passed since he started the project which is a really small one, but we have no sink and no pipes cut in the wall to the drain etc. It has really been a stressful time as he kept saying "Ill be with you later" so we have waited in hopefully many occasions and received no communication as to why he hasnt turned up. We have realised we will have to find someone new to plumb in the sink/dishwasher now, but is there anyone I can complain to about this? Also most importantly he was supposed to have filled in his certificate number to validate the guarantee of the hot water cylinder he fitted and has refused to provide us with this - is there anyone I can ask to obtain this certificate number? :mad:

warwicktiger

Of course, his written quote will show his trade body. You agreed a price, presumably no written quote and now its all come adrift and you want to complain. Of course you can complain, I'm sure HMRC will be interested too. Of course you might wonder if you too are guilty of tax fraud by conspiracy?

Ruski

Ahh.. the joys of My Builder et al....

Russ

Doozergirl

Why do people pay up front??!

Do you have a written quote with his full contact details?

Are you sure this nice man is registered with the correct trade body? You did check, didn't you?

What makes it okay to avoid VAT? Why expect someone with high integrity for 'cash'? That 20% is a sign that someone cares about what they do and has a respectable business.

Buy cheap, pay dear.

anders170

Hi, yes I did check him, he has a company with a sign written van and a website. He sent a text message with the quote and the mobile number it came from is the number written on his van. We paid up front because we are honest people and took it that he would get on with his job and get finished quickly - it wasnt until day 5 that the question of tax/VAT came up. It is a tiny house and all he had to do was some second fix plumbing - we had been given several similar quotes but this plumber was available the soonest (and before you say it, yes I know that probably means he is rubbish and doesnt have much work, but he had told us he had some gaps come up and we believed that).

Doozergirl

The fact that anyone asks for money up front at all is a huge sign.

He is motivated by money. He has the money, soends the money, needs more money so goes in search of people that will pay.

Your text message quote, does it include the dishwasher?

Take him to small claims. Give him 14 days to complete whatever you actually have a quote for, then employ someone else.

It's a hell of a lot easier to have leverage in the form of payment in arrears.

brightontraveller

If you have a written Quote stating what works /materials timescale etc then you have them pretty much bang to rights the less info the weaker your claim

People can hark on about paying upfront but it is a case of supply and demand
Being able to start certain works straight away doesn’t mean the tradespersons rubbish ? It could be the job can be done there and then or fitted in with others? If you did each job and only started the next when you’d finished you’d go out of business unless of course your screwing it for every penny that is ? Its not the same as building an extension, refurbishing an entire property etc People don’t like to wait and in the case of plumbing which normally means leak, no bath, toilet, sink etc they want it now ? Trades people don’t like coming out giving a quote then coming back days later to do the work for a job that can be done in a few hours unless there charging the customer a premium for the service that is ? Trades persons should really charge a call out but most people/clients don’t want to pay so you’re stuffed with that


If you ever want more than one item done e.g fit plumb, sink, bath etc Its important to get a written quote not an estimate as to what exactly they are doing supplying etc . If you don’t then you pretty much stuffed if it goes pear shaped

It’s a little different if you want just a tap etc changed then if you ask for a written quote stating all that will be included materials etc They may be ok giving you some like change tap £ xx anything else many would think stuff that I’m not wasting my time with this or the ones that do and breakdown everything are often the biggest sharks in my experience...

Keep_pedalling

If someone is willing to play fast and loose with the tax man, then they they are equally liable to the same with their customers, especially when they have been paid up front.

You may have thought you were saving 20%, but I am willing to bet you could have got a similar quote from an honest plumber that actually included VAT, as it is their pocket that they are looking to line not yours.

phill99

In the name of God, Allah and Jehovah, why do people pay up front? WHY?

You have only yourselves to blame.

Don't expect the guy to come back. Put this down to experience, get some one else in to finish the job and don't be so stupid in the future.

Silver-Surfer_2

Doozergirl wrote: »

Why do people pay up front??!

Do you have a written quote with his full contact details?

Are you sure this nice man is registered with the correct trade body? You did check, didn't you?

What makes it okay to avoid VAT? Why expect someone with high integrity for 'cash'? That 20% is a sign that someone cares about what they do and has a respectable business.

Buy cheap, pay dear.

I can't see the connection there. Just because someone chooses not to be an unpaid revenue collector doesn't automatically make then bad at their trade.

Doozergirl

Silver-Surfer wrote: »

I can't see the connection there. Just because someone chooses not to be an unpaid revenue collector doesn't automatically make then bad at their trade.

If they should be registered, they shouldn't be avoiding it. After all, it's the customer that pays the VAT, not the company charging it. We get to claim back what we've paid out, so it's not strictly unpaid.

It's about being scrupulous, about attitude, about treating people well, about taking finances seriously, and about having a traceable and long lasting business name, not about being good at a trade.

If you're not VAT registered and don't need to be, why dupe people into paying cash? To avoid income tax instead?