£100 for a 2 minute job?

Doozergirl

As long as it gets fixed, I don't there would be a better outcome for you.   The route might have been a bit clearer, is all.  

Message them and tell them to wear masks in advance of when they come back.   There's no requirement for any specific Covid related PPE. 

matticus7

I guess I'd better get clarification that they're not going to charge to come back out and do the job right the 2nd time at the risk of everyone telling me it's my fault I didn't see that one coming too lol

TELLIT01

matticus7 said:

It wasn't even fixed properly so they have to come back out after they've done their other jobs so I guess I'll get more than my 2 minutes.

Also my original complaint was more around the fact I hadn't been given any indication of costs at all whether that was that they'll quote it on-site or a flat rate. Either way I'm happy to pay for the job to be fixed but as I said it wasn't done right first time either.

Who's fault is it that you didn't ask about call out charges, minimum charge etc etc?

Ebe_Scrooge

matticus7 said:

 I realised it must be the pipes themselves and noticed that the rubber seal of the pipe had snapped.

After many hours of working on it myself I gave up and contacted a plumber with good ratings on checkatrade and advised there was no rush as the shower (seperate) still drained fine.

A couple of points to add to the excellent feedback already given.

Firstly, by your own admission, you were unable to fix the problem yourself after many hours of trying, whilst the plumber fixed it in 2 minutes.  You're paying for his training and years of experience that has taught him how to fix things quickly and efficiently.

Secondly, irrespective of whether this particular plumber is or isn't a cowboy - Checkatrade is not worth the paper it's written on.  Personal recommendation is always the way to go.  There are at least some positives to Facebook - ask on your local community page for recommendations for tradesmen in future.

matticus7

Right so let me run this by you lot then.

I got in touch with them to say there was a leak under the bath and that I SUSPECTED it was coming from the overflow pipe or the drain underneath. (Note: I'm not a plumber, I simply checked where I could see the water coming from to help them make an informed decision)

They came out today, put a rubber seal on the inside of the waste pipe bit since the old one had snapped, ran the bath and said it was fixed and went away.

I then fill the bath, check for any leaks, notice the water is still dripping and ring back to say it hasn't been fixed. I then get told that the lad didn't know about the overflow despite me telling him that there seems to be water coming from the overflow and the plumber saying he will check that too (which he didn't).

When I ring back the lad who takes the calls told me it's likely just not centered and they will come back out tonight. I told him that I would take the overflow apart again, centre it and ring him back to save them the bother if thats all it was (not something I HAVE to do, just trying to save them another trip).

I then notice that with the bath empty and no water overflowing there is still water dripping down into the kitchen ceiling if I just turn the taps on. So I ring back again like he asked and tell them that it may actually be something to do with the pipes where the mixer tap is as its dripping when I turn the taps on (again not a diagnosis but those pipes are right next to the overflow pipe).

He then goes on a tangent about how I TOLD them "it was only the waste or overflow" and that if it's something else then I'll have to pay for it. Surely that can't be right?! I paid for a leak to be fixed, not just to look at what I said could potentially be causing the issue.

I understand potentially having to pay for any extra parts if new pipes or something are needed but I don't see how I can be charged for anything else just because it may fall outside what I GUESSED could be when describing the POTENTIAL cause of the problem?

Edit: Also now that I think about it if they had actually checked their work they would have seen the water still dripping even after fixing the waste pipe so they clearly didn't check it properly when they ran the taps after fitting the seal.

Jeepers_Creepers

That's a slightly different issue.

(I'm with everyone else up to this point - the charge to fix that first issue wasn't excessive. Would you have felt better if you hadn't said or dane anything about your suspicions, and they'd ripped off the side panel and then discovered the damaged O ring? I suspect you would, because they'd have 'done more work' to arrive at the fix.)

I guess you could argue now, tho', that had they carried out a full test rather than seemingly just assuming it was only that obviously broken O ring and scampered, they might/should have discovered the further problem. Ergo, it could all have been fixed during that initial hour. I would hope, therefore, that a return visit would be at a lower rate - do they have a cheaper rate for subsequent hours?

But that's something you'd need to clarify with them before/if you call them out again.

Le_Kirk

Did you get a receipt/invoice with a VAT number on it?

Doozergirl

...and then we end up with the usual Checkatrade debacle and the real reason you were able to find someone to 'fix' a leak for £76.  

I don't know what to say, other than sorry.  I was a bit optimistic about the result.  

matticus7

Turns out it wasn't the taps as the water only leaked when there was no plug and the taps were turned on. When the plug was in and taps were turned on there was no sign of any leaks through to the kitchen ceiling. 

They came back out and abruptly asked why they were back. I told them to turn the tap on without the plug in and check under the pipe to see the leak. They did and I think the penny dropped that they hadn't actually fixed it the first time. I then told them all of the checks I had done myself (I work in tech support to diagnosing things is just what I like to do) and told them that I had refitted the overflow pipe again and it was still leaking and also that water was still leaking through the waste pipe when there was no plug in the bath. Again they had another penny drop moment when they realised I was correct.

I didn't get a full answer as to what they've done but I did ask them to completely remove the overflow pipe and reconnect it "as a plumber would" since I did it myself and wanted to make sure it wasn't something I had done. They faffed around in the bathroom for about half an hour and left saying "they've put some sealant on" (I'm guessing the drain and overflow connections) and told me to leave it for 24 hours.

While I'm happy with the fact they came back I still don't know if it's fixed, I'm still appalled that the person on the phone booking the jobs (guessing owner) tried to argue that they were only liable for the things I said COULD be the reason and not fixing the leak as a whole and I also feel like they tried to do a 2 minute job and get paid for a full one. 

If I don't report back in 48 hours or so then it was indeed fixed but this has definitely opened my eyes to using checkatrade rather than local recommendations.

matticus7

Le_Kirk said:

Did you get a receipt/invoice with a VAT number on it?

I did, yes.