Specialist misdiagnosed leak and dug up floor unnecessarily

Suedehead

With a suspected leak in my home, I contacted a leak specialist company to examine the property.

On his first visit, the specialist diagnosed a leak at the washing machine area and said he would return later that week to properly source it.

On his second visit, he said with 100% certainty that the leak was now in a different area of the room.
he assured me the leak was here and asked permission to dig a small hole to source it.
i agreed to this.

However, despite water running for around an hour, no leak emerged.
Despite this, he remained insistent the leak was there and would require a bigger hole to be dug.

This covered around 6ft. However, no leak was found and he then left after telling me I now needed a plumber.

two days later, I received a bill for £900. I contacted the company and informed them no leak was found and my floor was damaged.

I agreed the owner could send a second technican to get to the bottom of things.

He carried out tests and assured me there was no leak present.

Despite not being happy with the situation, I paid the £900 and put it down to experience.

However, I have since received a further invoice covering the first visit and the third visit totalling £1,200.

I believe this is an absolute joke considering the unnecessary damage caused by the first technicians misdiagnosis of a leak.

How to I stand legally? 

Alderbank

You entered into a contract with a leak specialist company to carry out various tasks as specified in the contract. In return you agreed to pay at a rate specified in the contract.

We don't know who the company is, don't know their terms and conditions and we know nothing of what was in the contract so we can't give much useful advice.

If the work was carried out as agreed in the contract then you are liable to pay the bill as agreed.  It is not a joke and if you refuse to pay the company could take you to court.

Is the leak specialist a dowser?

sevenhills

What is a specialist leak company? Not sure if they deserve your money, but you gave them permission to do the work.

HillStreetBlues

Alderbank said:

If the work was carried out as agreed in the contract then you are liable to pay the bill as agreed.  It is not a joke and if you refuse to pay the company could take you to court.

But did the OP enter into contract by misrepresentation by telling the OP leak was certainly (100%)  in an area?
Had the " specialist" stated  it could be there but I haven't a clue really, would the OP have entered into contract?

Aylesbury_Duck

I assume that they're not a dowsing outfit, because that would be ridiculous, but that they use a dye to try and trace a leak? Saying that, how can they flit so quickly between diagnosing a leak in one part of the room and then the other? That does sound odd.

Without knowing exactly what you agreed with them, I can't really advise whether their invoicing is a "joke", or where you stand legally.

Alderbank

But did the OP enter into contract by misrepresentation by telling the OP leak was certainly (100%)  in an area?
Had the " specialist" stated  it could be there but I haven't a clue really, would the OP have entered into contract?

That was all on the second visit so I think the contract would have been entered into by then.

The leak specialist appears to believe in the adage 'If you're in a hole stop digging!'

Suedehead

Thanks.
No dye or listening equipment was used on the first two occasions.
Dye wasn’t used at all. 

No contract was produced, no terms and conditions were produced, nothing was signed.

i (stupidly) took this guy at his word that there was a leak present - what was the alternative? Say no and risk a leak ruining my home? 

Had he told me he wasn’t sure, there is no way I’d have agreed to any digging work. 

Aylesbury_Duck

Suedehead said:

Thanks.
No dye or listening equipment was used on the first two occasions.
Dye wasn’t used at all. 

No contract was produced, no terms and conditions were produced, nothing was signed.

i (stupidly) took this guy at his word that there was a leak present - what was the alternative? Say no and risk a leak ruining my home? 

Had he told me he wasn’t sure, there is no way I’d have agreed to any digging work. 

A contract does exist, because you asked him to do the work.  It doesn't need to be written down or signed for it to be a valid contract.

Why did you think you had a leak?  Something must have led you to think you had one, and to call someone in?  What symptoms did you notice that this "specialist" couldn't find in three visits?  What "tests" did he run on the third visit?

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Alderbank said:

You entered into a contract with a leak specialist company to carry out various tasks as specified in the contract. In return you agreed to pay at a rate specified in the contract.

We don't know who the company is, don't know their terms and conditions and we know nothing of what was in the contract so we can't give much useful advice.

If the work was carried out as agreed in the contract then you are liable to pay the bill as agreed.  It is not a joke and if you refuse to pay the company could take you to court.

Is the leak specialist a dowser?

Not to nit pick but whilst this statement is 100% correct it does omit that the contract is taken to include the term that the service will be carried out due care and skill (as well as other terms). The average person probably doesn't know this and just thinks what is written is what is. If the OP can show due skill wasn't present then they'd be entitled to a price reduction. 

OP can you tell us how you contacted this company please, what information they gave you about the price, the specifics of the service and the right to cancel the contract please? If the answer is very specific it helps in giving the correct advice  

Suedehead

I had some boasting of skirting boards and wanted to be sure it wasn’t a leak causing it.

The third visit was a new technician - he used dampness and listening meters.
He was also very quick to tell me the other guy was an idiot and about his work that he had to put right. 

Aylesbury_Duck

Suedehead said:

I had some boasting of skirting boards and wanted to be sure it wasn’t a leak causing it.

The third visit was a new technician - he used dampness and listening meters.
He was also very quick to tell me the other guy was an idiot and about his work that he had to put right. 

Every tradesperson I've ever met says that 

Skirting board swelling(?) - I hadn't come across the term 'boasting' before - could be down to a number of things, including a leak.  Since a leak appears to be ruled out, I suspect it's either a result of excess humidity (do you have a damp problem in a kitchen where cooking and washing create a lot of moisture?) or ground movement.  Over the last two years of long, hot, dry summers and wet autumns and springs, our ground shifts quite a bit and we notice all sorts of superficial cracks, bulges, etc. in some paintwork, the skirting in our extension and so on.