Invoice from plumber - what rights do I have?

brendanb581

Hi all,

Heating has completely gone off - (hot water still working). 

Called out emergency plumber. 

Told me the heating pump had gone - he replaced with new pump, fitted but still didn't work. He then checked the electrics and told me they were dead.

Still charging me £565 in total

Emergency Callout £75.00

Search & Trace £60.00 Central heating not working Checked all fittings and diverter valve After fitting new circulating pump Checked all electrics from junction box to pump to find electrics dead 1

Fitting £180.00 TO SUPPLY AND FIT CENTRAL HEATING PUMP 1

Fitting £250.00 CENTRAL HEATING PUMP

Total of £565.

When I recevied invoice I fell off my chair!

Surely he should have checked the electrics first before replacing pump?

I.e Search and trace should have been done before replacing?


Can i refuse to pay on these grounds? Charging me £565 but leaving me still with no heating...

Aylesbury_Duck

Isn't it possible that the failed heating pump caused the electrical problem?

I would ask for the old pump if you haven't been left it.  If it works, then there was no need for the new one and you should negotiate a commensurate reduction in price.  If it doesn't, then it does suggest that the pump and the electrics had both failed, one possibly the result of the other.

Edited to add:  Of course you can refuse to pay, but a better course of action is discussion as per the above, and negotiation of what is a fair price for what was ultimately needed.  Refusing to pay anything wouldn't be fair, because you had no heating, an visit was made and now you have heating, so a service has been delivered.

brendanb581

Aylesbury_Duck said:

Isn't it possible that the failed heating pump caused the electrical problem?

I would ask for the old pump if you haven't been left it.  If it works, then there was no need for the new one and you should negotiate a commensurate reduction in price.  If it doesn't, then it does suggest that the pump and the electrics had both failed, one possibly the result of the other.

Edited to add:  Of course you can refuse to pay, but a better course of action is discussion as per the above, and negotiation of what is a fair price for what was ultimately needed.  Refusing to pay anything wouldn't be fair, because you had no heating, an visit was made and now you have heating, so a service has been delivered.

Sorry I forgot to add - I still have no heating as he is blaming the electrics... which is why I thought he should have checked them first.

He has also quoted me £250 for a pump which costs £150.

km1500

as with any invoice, you don't have to pay

they would  have to go to court at which point you can put your side of the story and the judge would decide on the rights and wrongs

km1500

On a more practical note then of course you should not pay if you still have no heating

it sounds to me as though the electrics failed and that was the root cause of your no heating.

 That should have been addressed before they replaced the pump because as far as you know the old pump could have been perfectly ok.

brendanb581

km1500 said:

On a more practical note then of course you should not pay if you still have no heating

it sounds to me as though the electrics failed and that was the root cause of your no heating.

 That should have been addressed before they replaced the pump because as far as you know the old pump could have been perfectly ok.

They have come back and knocked £100 off the bill by means of "good will" after i've proved to them they overcharged me £100.

I've  gone back and said i'll pay for the call out and the price of the part, total of £225 but that's it.

DE_612183

when you say "electrics dead" - what is dead?

brendanb581

DE_612183 said:

when you say "electrics dead" - what is dead?

The wire coming out of the controller unit in the airing cupboard - that powers the pump. That wire has no current. The other wires in the box do however.

Al_Ross

The so called plumber doesn't sound like he knows what he's doing.Looks like you called a rip off cowboy.

You will need to find a competent plumber to fix the problem then refuse to pay the first.

ColdPensioner

He's a plumber - is he qualified to identify faulty electrics if it's not a part of the boiler? 

Alderbank

Al_Ross said:

The so called plumber doesn't sound like he knows what he's doing.Looks like you called a rip off cowboy.

You will need to find a competent plumber to fix the problem then refuse to pay the first.

Would you have more success with a competent electrician? Not all plumbers are good at fixing electrical problems.