Plumber not replied for 7 weeks now wants payment.

pinkshoes

mallen said:

pinkshoes said:

mallen said:

Hi all, 

So I have paid the plumber minus my fees of £250 to fix the issues and cost of materials to me. 

He is now saying full payment is required today otherwise this will be passed on to a debt recovery.. what is the situation here, can he do that or should it go to small claims, Will this affect my credit rating? 

He has said all materials remain his until the balance is paid. I’ve transferred him £500 which covered the materials on the invoice. 

I would write back detailing the times and dates you contacted him asking him to complete the job. I'd then list the cost of materials you had to buy to fix it as he didn't respond, and I'd then point out that the repair took you 12 hours in total which you have charged at the very low rate of £10 an hour rather than your professional rate of £X an hour.

I'd say you feel you have been more than fair, so if he feels this isn't right you are happy to let a court decide.

To affect your credit rating you'd have to lose in court then not pay! And debt collectors have no jurisdiction unless a court has ordered you to pay.

Thanks, so just to be sure even if I did loose in court it would only affect my credit rating if I didn’t pay the court. 

I don’t think I would lose if it did go that way as I have been more than fair. 

Any independent debt collectors are to be ignored unless I am taken to court 

If you lost and paid immediately then no CCJ.

Independent debt collectors are powerless so do not engage with them. They'll probably just send letters asking for money and adding their fees on. Ignore them unless it is a court paper you receive. 

mallen

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

mallen said:

My worry is that if he sends this to a debt collection agency it would impact my credit score as I am looking to move in the next 3 months and apply for a mortgage..

Debt collection agencies typically just send scary looking letters, should any appear you can post on the MSE debt advice board for how to get them to go away.

As others have said this kind of issue affects your credit rating via a CCJ if you go to court, lose and don't pay the amount in the time the court stipulate. 

Plumber may be bluffing, sorry I don't think it was answered did you send the plumber the legislation in the earlier post OP? 

Thanks for the reassurance. I have sent him a letter claiming The Consumer Rights Act 2015 and details of why I was claiming a price reduction. Which legislation are you referring to? 

RonRamsgate

Maybe the person doing the plumbing is not a proper plumber, ask installer if they are a trained plumber with some paperwork to prove they are.

Sorry to hear your having problems, on a straight forward job 

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

mallen said:

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

mallen said:

My worry is that if he sends this to a debt collection agency it would impact my credit score as I am looking to move in the next 3 months and apply for a mortgage..

Debt collection agencies typically just send scary looking letters, should any appear you can post on the MSE debt advice board for how to get them to go away.

As others have said this kind of issue affects your credit rating via a CCJ if you go to court, lose and don't pay the amount in the time the court stipulate. 

Plumber may be bluffing, sorry I don't think it was answered did you send the plumber the legislation in the earlier post OP? 

Thanks for the reassurance. I have sent him a letter claiming The Consumer Rights Act 2015 and details of why I was claiming a price reduction. Which legislation are you referring to? 

No problem. 

The bit about about the repeat performance and price reduction which it sounds as if you have.

I don't see the plumber has a defence, they didn't do the job correctly and ignored you for 7 weeks, in the extremely unlikely event you went to court and the court disagreed with the amount of the price reduction the trader hasn't mitigated their losses (by ignoring you) which can affect their chances at getting costs.

Throw in the time off work to deal with it and the plumber could easily earn more than £250 working than fighting you. 

The plumber should send a letter before action and then you'd get court papers, should you get court papers obviously don't ignore those but again I think the chances are very slim indeed.

mallen

RonRamsgate said:

Maybe the person doing the plumbing is not a proper plumber, ask installer if they are a trained plumber with some paperwork to prove they are.

Sorry to hear your having problems, on a straight forward job 

You may have hit a nail on the head there. The plumber whose company it is had another man working with him. He was the one who installed the second fix whilst the company owner and main plumber was not on site. Which mostly likely caused this issue. If he pursues further I will raise this point to if the other chap is a trained and qualified plumber as thinking back he did not seem to be. More like his labourer. 

Undervalued

RonRamsgate said:

Maybe the person doing the plumbing is not a proper plumber, ask installer if they are a trained plumber with some paperwork to prove they are.

Sorry to hear your having problems, on a straight forward job 

Except for some gas work and pressurised hot water cylinders, AFAIK there is no legal requirement for any particular qualification or registration. You or I could set up in business and offer most plumbing services tomorrow.

Obviously anybody offering such a service is liable if they don't do a competent job in accordance with any agreed terms.