Elderly neighbour ripped off by plumber

ruth0220

I hope this is the correct forum! 2 days ago an elderly neighbour rang a "local" female plumber, (turns out they weren't local) for some simple toilet and radiator work. The woman turned up, along with her male partner. The man asked what the problem was, immediately started work without discussing the costs, presented her with an invoice for £155, which she paid by cheque, and left. They were abrupt and made her feel uncomfortable. Anyway, after looking at the work they have done, they have been dishonest. The valve on the radiator they supplied and fitted, is still the old valve. The part behind the toilet handle (inside the cistern) they supplied and fitted, is still the old part. We know this because it was replaced by a friend a few months ago and he has confirmed that it's the part he fitted. A couple of other things like this too - I have told her to cancel the cheque but she is worried about any repercussions. I have found a few reviews of this company and all are bad and all say the same thing - abrupt, rude, two of them charge in without discussing cost, etc. Should she cancel her cheque and where does she go from here? Thank you.

sheramber

It is not bounce a cheque you want it is stop a cheque.

Your neighbour needs to ask her bank to stop the cheque and as long as it has not been presented the bank can stop payment. There is a charge for stopping a cheque.

naedanger

sheramber wrote: »

It is not bounce a cheque you want it is stop a cheque.

Your neighbour needs to ask her bank to stop the cheque and as long as it has not been presented the bank can stop payment. There is a charge for stopping a cheque.

To the op:

I had a post which referred to bounced cheques, which I have deleted in light of the above post.

The following may be worth a read if you are considering stopping the cheque. (My previous post probably overplayed the risks of stopping a cheque, but there are still risks which the article covers. You can judge for yourself whether they are a concern in your neighbour's case.)

https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/customers-face-cheque-mate/35221.fullarticle

SailorSam

I agree with Sheramber, i'd stop the cheque. If the plumber wants to take the lady to Court for the 'bounced' cheque. I think my defence would be, i don't owe her anything if she never did the work. But as advised you need to check with the CAB is that the best thing to do.

boliston

Did the plumber actually fix the problem ? - I have a faulty WC a couple of years back and the plumber manged to fix it fine without new parts.

marlot

Stopping the cheque sounds easy, but be aware that the neighbour may have to prove in court that the work was defective.

eg. https://www.theguardian.com/money/2006/jun/29/yourrights.legal2

(the ability to stop or reverse a cheque or credit card payment is why a number of these conmen only take cash, or course)

arcon5

Defective workmanship is not a valid defence for cancelling a cheque. The only defence would be fraud. Op would loose in a split second if they pursued the cancelled cheque

Sicard

My bank charges £12 for canceling a cheque. As already mentioned there are risks involved in doing so.

To rip off vulnerable people is pretty low.