Will the real Plumbers please stand up?

Frank99

I have an old toilet which needs replacing and I'm after a new sink basin, our usual Plumber has moved to Australia so he claims he can't pop in and do it unfortunately.
I have had five quotes from local plumbers but after 3 failed to turn up and 2 didn't want to know i now have zero offers for doing this job, i have not yet got quotes from the large players such as Homeserve and Dynorod and looking at their ratings I'm in no hurry to do so, Any ideas where i can try next, i have a person who will come for every trade apart from Plumbing and Heating. Where can you get a plumber who is prepared to get their hands dirty and not just service a boiler?

bigsteve85

Have you tried check a trade? Also ask family if they know anyone

Grenage

I would ask for suggestions from friends; one of the few positive uses for social media.  I don't generally touch tradesmen unless it's a recommendation.

Toilets and basins are pretty simple jobs, so a competent handyman would be more than adequate.

Frank99

bigsteve85 said:

Have you tried check a trade? Also ask family if they know anyone

Grenage said:

I would ask for suggestions from friends; one of the few positive uses for social media.  I don't generally touch tradesmen unless it's a recommendation.

Toilets and basins are pretty simple jobs, so a competent handyman would be more than adequate.

I have looked on Checkatrade and 2 of the quotes were from their however the others were from my wife asking for recommends on her FB account, never thought about the handy person thing though for this so will check that out!

Ebe_Scrooge

I've got to agree with Grenage - try your local community Facebook page for recommendations.  And I also agree that a simple like-for-like replacement (i.e. not changing the positions, therefore not having to re-route pipework and drainage)  is a dead simple job for any half-decent general handyman - in fact it's perfectly DIY-able if you've got a basic level of experience.

Homer_home

bigsteve85 said:

Have you tried check a trade? Also ask family if they know anyone

Don't use check a trade!

Any trade who is in there isnt worth it, good plumbers have full books and don't need to advertise on crappy sites like that 

EssexExile

Give us a rough idea of where you are, someone may be near enough to make recommendations.

Doozergirl

Homer_home said:

bigsteve85 said:

Have you tried check a trade? Also ask family if they know anyone

Don't use check a trade!

Any trade who is in there isnt worth it, good plumbers have full books and don't need to advertise on crappy sites like that 

But they won't do a basic refit of sink and loo either...

There is a massive shortage of skilled trades in this country and the worst, for us, is plumbers.  Can't find the right one for our business and we provide a good amount of work!   
  

greatcrested

Don't use the commercial websites (checkatrade etc) which rely for their income on traders paying them to be listed!

Use a ite that atually vets the traders properly eg

Which?

Trading standards

Frank99

greatcrested said:

Don't use the commercial websites (checkatrade etc) which rely for their income on traders paying them to be listed!

Use a ite that atually vets the traders properly eg

Which?

Trading standards

Trading standards is a good call however from experience i would not touch Which Trusted Traders with a barge pole, they once told me whilst trying to leave a negative review that they won't publish it because the trader threatened to pull their membership of Trusted Trader if they did and because of money my review never got published, Trustpilot reviews of them might give an example of what others have experienced.

twopenny

Can't help. I get the same problem for just about every job I need doing and I'm local, pay on completion and make drinks and cakes.

The smaller the job the harder it is to get anyone to even give a price.

I looked local, asked frends and aquaintances and that gave a recommendation on about 3. I took the first one to give a price for a bathroom refit. I might get it cheaper but it would be a strain and I'm not being ripped off.

I've been offered a name of a guy 'who doesn't happen to have any work on this week' and I know why. Don't be tempted to go for any like this.

Also a good tradesman is very busy because so many people stuck at home with their unspent holiday money/eating out money etc and are getting work done on their house while at home.