Problems with work done by plumber plumber

ImranQ

Hi,
I had some work done by a plumber around the beginning of November 2021 and since had some issues with the work he has done. I have phoned him and texted him numerous times and he even arranged at three appointments that I can remember but he either couldn't come due to him "being busy with emergencies". On the last appointment, he didn't even have the courtesy to reply back after texting him that no-one turned up. I did leave a bad review on Checkatrade over a week ago. Checkatrade have a policy to wait a week before publishing to see if the tradesperson may try to rectify the faults. On Friday I decided to suspend publication as had enough of the plumber figured that I may need to pursue legal possibly legal means and the review might jeapordise the case. I'd appreciate any advice on the next steps as this is the first time I have had to take the legal path.
I was wondering if it is better to just give the case to a solicitor or do it on my own which I assume would mean considerable time spent on chasing the plumber..?
FWIW, he trades under a limited company and advertises on Checkatrade as a limited company.
Many thanks for any help anyone can provide.
Regards,
Imran


Here is a brief history:

We had a leak issue at home near our unvented high pressure cylinder and suspected it was the tank. Called the plumber through Checkatrade to take a look and he thought it was the same. On the day he claimed to be reliable and not “typically unreliable like other plumbers”.

In any case we contracted him to replace the cylinder, replace the valves on two radiators and service the boiler. We paid him ½ upfront “to purchase parts”.

The plumber told us he would be here at 8am on 6/11/2021 but around 08:15 texted and said he would be here “10-20 mins late”. However he turned up after 10am and said he had to go to an emergency in Guildford.

Took the whole day to replace the cylinder. The radiator valves were quite quick. When he turned the system on, the piping around the cylinder leaked. So he had to dismantle the piping and redo it. Again it leaked so once again he had to repeat. By the time he had completed the work and fired up the boiler it was quite late running well late into the evening (around 7:30ish). At this point he did a basic boiler service which was relatively quick. Some of radiators weren’t turning on so he had to go round and let the air out. At this point he was looking to leave in a rush and although the radiators weren’t working properly, he asked us to leave the heating on on full and everything should come up. He promised that if the radiators weren’t working, he would come the next day (Sunday) and have another look. At this point, he left.

The rads eventually started working after he left and in good faith, I wired the plumber the remaining money owed.

Then the problems started. Initially we started getting knocking sound when any taps in the house were turned on presumably due to air in the system. We thought this would also settle like the heating but the noise seemed to be getting worse. What’s worse is that the pressure system is near a bedroom so the noise is very bad at night for the person who sleeps in that room. So, around the end of the month, I contacted the plumber and he said he would come and look at it but didn’t bother. I have had to message him and  phone him multiple times and he either says he is busy or that he is on some emergency or other. He has made 3 appointments on one appt he subsequently cancelled the day before and on two appts he didn’t bother turning up.

We recently discovered two issues. Firstly, the thermostat on the tank seems to have dropped off. It seems that the plumber has tried to reuse the one from the previous tank and it looks perhaps as if it hasn’t fit onto the tank fitting. Another problem seems to be a pipe that seems to have popped out of the tank Pressure and Temperature socket. I assume that if the pressure of temperature in the tank somehow is exceeded, the tank will shed water through this socket. SEEMS HIGHLY DANGEROUS TO ME. On examining the pipe, the plumber seems to have used part of the existing piping and somehow forced the pipe into the socket even though there doesn’t seem to be enough length of the pipe to go into the tank socket as it doesn’t seem to reach up to the socket on its own. The pipe seems to have just popped out in stress after a while and we just never noticed it. Note that the white piping is the old piping some of which he has just reused. On texting the plumber on Saturday 19/02/2022 evening when we noticed it, The plumber shrugged it off and said it wasn’t dangerous but he would come to look at the issues. He made an appt for 25/02/2022 between 15:00-17:00. Unfortunately no one turned up or had the decency to let us know anything. I texted the plumber but he didn’t bother to reply back.

The plumber’s attitude around the final appointment seems to be the attitude that we have faced over the last 2-3 months. He doesn’t seem to be interested in repairing his poor handiwork as he has been paid now. I would advise any of his customer to look carefully over his work and only pay him in full once you have made sure everything is complete. He doesn’t seem to give a toss about his customers after he is done.

Here are a couple of pictures of the bad work:

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

OP services must be carried out with due care and skill, where that doesn't occur in the first instance you have the right to a repeat performance.

If the trader fails to do so within a reasonable time and without significant inconvenience then you have the right to a price reduction.

If the guy isn't coming to fix the issues then seek another tradesperson to correct the work and seek to recover the cost of this as a price reduction.

You'd have to send the first trader a letter before action (templates available on Google) and then go down the small claims route. You'd have to weigh up the odds of recovering your losses, does the company have assets? Would it fold before payment was made?

I would advise as a start to post over on the DIY board with a brief post on the problems, simply cylinder and rad valves replaced resulting in knocking pipes, lose pipe and loose thermostat, along with your photos again, and see if anyone recommends what the cause/fixes are likely to be.

ImranQ

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Thanks for your feedback and advice. 

mcplumb

Have you got some more pictures, it looks like he has reused the old combination valve

NSG666

Good old checkatrade..........

The pipe that is disconnected from the temp and pressure relief valve is a potentially serious problem as, in the event of the valve activating, near boiling water will be discharged. The pipe should lead to a tundish to give a visible indication of a problem.
Take a look at the pipes on p10 of the following:

main_unvented_direct_indirect_36005994_issue_09.pdf (mainheating.co.uk)

The thermostat is a potentially dangerous situation.

The installation should be carried out by a suitably qualified and certified installer who is a member of a certifying scheme. See below

Who can fit an unvented cylinder? | Kingspan | Great Britain

If the installer is a member of a scheme then I would report them. If not then it might be something trading standards or HSE would pick up on but it's not clear who to report them to.

ImranQ

mcplumb said:

Have you got some more pictures, it looks like he has reused the old combination valve

Posting some more pics. If not OK, please let me know what particular view you want.

ImranQ

NSG666 said:

Good old checkatrade..........

The pipe that is disconnected from the temp and pressure relief valve is a potentially serious problem as, in the event of the valve activating, near boiling water will be discharged. The pipe should lead to a tundish to give a visible indication of a problem.
Take a look at the pipes on p10 of the following:

main_unvented_direct_indirect_36005994_issue_09.pdf (mainheating.co.uk)

The thermostat is a potentially dangerous situation.

The installation should be carried out by a suitably qualified and certified installer who is a member of a certifying scheme. See below

Who can fit an unvented cylinder? | Kingspan | Great Britain

If the installer is a member of a scheme then I would report them. If not then it might be something trading standards or HSE would pick up on but it's not clear who to report them to.

I don't know all the qualifications he has but I believe he is Gas qualified. He has the yellow logo on his clothes and also seemed pretty chuffed about it. I can post his website?

mcplumb

The replacement cylinder would have been supplied as a kit ( the supplied kit is certified for compliance)

Your guy has re used all the old kit and bagged himself the parts that were supplied with your cylinder - Rough work

mcplumb

Also that strain relief on the immersion cable appears to be missing

ImranQ

mcplumb said:

The replacement cylinder would have been supplied as a kit ( the supplied kit is certified for compliance)

Your guy has re used all the old kit and bagged himself the parts that were supplied with your cylinder - Rough work

Thanks for confirming. I had a feeling that he had done something similar when I saw the thermostat had plopped off.

ImranQ

mcplumb said:

Also that strain relief on the immersion cable appears to be missing

I'm a complete layman wrt heating. May I ask where this is and what this should look like? At least then I can query him if I need to.