Should I pay for plumber who didn’t fix problem?

WIAWSNB

stuart45 said:

WIAWSNB said:

stuart45 said:

If you went through Checkatrade you can get up to £1,000 refunded.

I suspect that 'angel is committed to that bill as she presumably knew what it would cost when she called them out. But, she hasn't confirmed. 

But, if this complete debacle is outlined in crisp B&W, especially in the form of a 'review', then I'd like to think they'd be as flexible as that pitiful pipe they installed.

With Checkatrade, they will refund for defective work, whatever the agreed price. Darkangel agreed to a price to fix a leak. The leak wasn't stopped, was they shouldn't get paid. 
I've finished jobs for people who've got refunds from Checkatrade. Just done one where they got the full £1,000 back. 
All a customer needs to do is leave a review with a low rating. Checkatrade will email straight back asking for more details. In this last case the builder refused to answer their emails, so they had no choice but to offer the full amount.
I wouldn't have paid for this job until the leak was fixed. 

Oh, that sounds promising. In which case DA could do this, and then use a proper plumber to sort it. :-)

Grenage

There's no way the person that did this is a real plumber.

bjorn_toby_wilde

Are you sure this was booked through Checkatrade? It’s a long thread but I can’t see the OP mention them

ic

A lot of PTFE used there where water shouldn't actually be getting to due to the seal being on the olive or the use of a rubber washer.  I expect the connection on the underside of the toilet has been been overtightened crushing the washer into submission (hence the use of PTFE as a bit of belt and braces), whilst the installation of an olive on that painted surface of the pipework is leaking because it'll never get a great contact - olive should be on clean copper pipe.

Out of interest, do you have high water pressure from the taps? Does it blast out of all taps, do you sometimes get a thud when taps or the washing machine turn off the water?  If so, you might want to install a pressure reducing valve after the stop tap to reduce that pressure in the pipes - that could help reduce the strain on all all the joints long term.  Regardless, none should leak until the pressure is *insane*.

Darkangel

The plumber didn’t come via check a trade, I was desperate so googled Plumber and my area and found one that was about a mile away (not the first plumbing company that came up on Google but said they would be around within 3 hours). To be clear I didn’t tell them I was desperate over the phone, just that the inlet pipe under my toilet cistern was leaking and that I’d turned the water off. 

When I first noticed the leak I thought it was a simple job of replacing a worn out washer so I turned off the water isolation valve, undid the nut above it to see if I could get the washer out to take to Screwfix. There was very little gap between the thread (this bit, and it was originally plastic) and the isolator so I tried to do it back up.
but the nut must have slipped because when I turned the water back on water was gushing everywhere. I turned it off and tried a couple more times to unscrew and tighten but it wasn’t any better which is when I called the plumber. 

He told me the thread had gone the plastic and that he would need to replace this part in the cistern. The photo above is of the new, non plastic fitting I have now and photo below is of the new part. 

He then told me not to use the toilet for a few hours etc, which is where I started this forum post, so that’s pretty much the full back story up to where I am now. 

I live in a block of flats (not ground floor) and have decent water pressure. 

FYI I didn’t pay £300 for the flexi pipe “fix”, but still a significant amount to me. In total it’s over £400 and I still have a leaking toilet. 

I’m at a loss as to what to do now as whatever it is, it’s going to cost more money that I don’t have. I’m just upset and feel defeated by it all. 

WIAWSNB

Darkangel said:

The plumber didn’t come via check a trade, I was desperate so googled Plumber and my area and found one that was about a mile away (not the first plumbing company that came up on Google but said they would be around within 3 hours). To be clear I didn’t tell them I was desperate over the phone, just that the inlet pipe under my toilet cistern was leaking and that I’d turned the water off. 

When I first noticed the leak I thought it was a simple job of replacing a worn out washer so I turned off the water isolation valve, undid the nut above it to see if I could get the washer out to take to Screwfix. There was very little gap between the thread (this bit, and it was originally plastic) and the isolator so I tried to do it back up.

but the nut must have slipped because when I turned the water back on water was gushing everywhere. I turned it off and tried a couple more times to unscrew and tighten but it wasn’t any better which is when I called the plumber. 

He told me the thread had gone the plastic and that he would need to replace this part in the cistern. The photo above is of the new, non plastic fitting I have now and photo below is of the new part. 

He then told me not to use the toilet for a few hours etc, which is where I started this forum post, so that’s pretty much the full back story up to where I am now. 

I live in a block of flats (not ground floor) and have decent water pressure. 

FYI I didn’t pay £300 for the flexi pipe “fix”, but still a significant amount to me. In total it’s over £400 and I still have a leaking toilet. 

I’m at a loss as to what to do now as whatever it is, it’s going to cost more money that I don’t have. 

Ok, so you have a grasp on what's going on, and you tried a fix yourself. The absolutely correct move was to turn the isolating valve, and place a container to catch any drip.
Yes, these plastic threaded inlet valves are prone to being cross-threaded, and that appears to be what happened when you did it up again. The new inlet valve is brass, so far superior.
That's all fine.
Could you explain the 'don't use for a few hours' but? And, 'it may drip for a while - that is normal'?
And, could you explain the billing? I have to say I assumed it was an emergency call out from the £300 cost. An inlet valve is around £30, and to replace it a half-hour task. Ok, he may have had to go out for the part (but, seriously?), and the copper pipe may have been slightly offset, so making the doing-up more awkward. And, that plastic threaded part was most likely a different length to the new brass one.
But...but...but, is this guy a plumber or not? If he wants to stick in a flexi, then the labour cost should be commensurate. If he's a plumber and replaces in copper, then he can legitimately charge for an hour. 
Over £400 for this job is completely unreasonable.  It should be half that tops.
Could you clarify what their billing is based on, please?

Darkangel

WIAWSNB said:

Darkangel said:

The plumber didn’t come via check a trade, I was desperate so googled Plumber and my area and found one that was about a mile away (not the first plumbing company that came up on Google but said they would be around within 3 hours). To be clear I didn’t tell them I was desperate over the phone, just that the inlet pipe under my toilet cistern was leaking and that I’d turned the water off. 

When I first noticed the leak I thought it was a simple job of replacing a worn out washer so I turned off the water isolation valve, undid the nut above it to see if I could get the washer out to take to Screwfix. There was very little gap between the thread (this bit, and it was originally plastic) and the isolator so I tried to do it back up.

but the nut must have slipped because when I turned the water back on water was gushing everywhere. I turned it off and tried a couple more times to unscrew and tighten but it wasn’t any better which is when I called the plumber. 

He told me the thread had gone the plastic and that he would need to replace this part in the cistern. The photo above is of the new, non plastic fitting I have now and photo below is of the new part. 

He then told me not to use the toilet for a few hours etc, which is where I started this forum post, so that’s pretty much the full back story up to where I am now. 

I live in a block of flats (not ground floor) and have decent water pressure. 

FYI I didn’t pay £300 for the flexi pipe “fix”, but still a significant amount to me. In total it’s over £400 and I still have a leaking toilet. 

I’m at a loss as to what to do now as whatever it is, it’s going to cost more money that I don’t have. 

Ok, so you have a grasp on what's going on, and you tried a fix yourself. The absolutely correct move was to turn the isolating valve, and place a container to catch any drip.
Yes, these plastic threaded inlet valves are prone to being cross-threaded, and that appears to be what happened when you did it up again. The new inlet valve is brass, so far superior.
That's all fine.
Could you explain the 'don't use for a few hours' but? And, 'it may drip for a while - that is normal'?
And, could you explain the billing? I have to say I assumed it was an emergency call out from the £300 cost. An inlet valve is around £30, and to replace it a half-hour task. Ok, he may have had to go out for the part (but, seriously?), and the copper pipe may have been slightly offset, so making the doing-up more awkward. And, that plastic threaded part was most likely a different length to the new brass one.
But...but...but, is this guy a plumber or not? If he wants to stick in a flexi, then the labour cost should be commensurate. If he's a plumber and replaces in copper, then he can legitimately charge for an hour. 
Over £400 for this job is completely unreasonable.  It should be half that tops.
Could you clarify what their billing is based on, please?

The initial, larger cost was for labour and parts (the part he replaced in the cistern). I can’t explain the don’t use the toilet for a few hours. Yes I thought it was suss to begin with but I’m not a plumber. 

They company has a website, says they do boilers, heating, drains etc. Not sure how I’m meant to or was supposed to check qualifications. 

Yes I’ve been done over and now feel incredibly sh*tty. 

WIAWSNB

Darkangel said:The initial, larger cost was for labour and parts (the part he replaced in the cistern). I can’t explain the don’t use the toilet for a few hours. Yes I thought it was suss to begin with but I’m not a plumber.

 They company has a website, says they do boilers, heating, drains etc. Not sure how I’m meant to or was supposed to check qualifications. 

Yes I’ve been done over and now feel incredibly sh*tty. 

You don't check qualifications (unless a GasSafe!). 

By not being a 'proper' plumber, I mean this fellow did not behave in the manner you'd expect a normally-skilled or time-served plumber to act. Put it this way - what he carried out was significantly worse than some DIYers on here, including me. 

And the bill for the work is excessive.

Could you show the invoices? 

Section62

Darkangel said:

WIAWSNB said:

Could you explain the 'don't use for a few hours' but? And, 'it may drip for a while - that is normal'?

The initial, larger cost was for labour and parts (the part he replaced in the cistern). I can’t explain the don’t use the toilet for a few hours. Yes I thought it was suss to begin with but I’m not a plumber. 

If he's used silicone sealant to fit the new inlet valve then it is a good idea to give it a couple of hours to set (if possible) before filling the cistern.  So did he tell you not to turn the water on for a couple of hours, or was the water on, but he told you not to use the flush?

On the other hand, "may drip for a while" is a bit more concerning.  If there's been a leak then there may well be some of the previously leaked water still on the pipe and joints (unless everything is thoroughly dried), and it wouldn't be out of the ordinary to see some of that water dripping off later.  For that reason it is hard to be sure the droplets of water seen in your picture are from a new/ongoing leak in that location, or if they have dripped there from somewhere else.

Give all the pipework and underside of the cistern a thorough dry using kitchen roll, then leave it for an hour or so to see if any fresh water appears.

Darkangel

WIAWSNB said:

Darkangel said:The initial, larger cost was for labour and parts (the part he replaced in the cistern). I can’t explain the don’t use the toilet for a few hours. Yes I thought it was suss to begin with but I’m not a plumber.

 They company has a website, says they do boilers, heating, drains etc. Not sure how I’m meant to or was supposed to check qualifications. 

Yes I’ve been done over and now feel incredibly sh*tty. 

You don't check qualifications (unless a GasSafe!). 

By not being a 'proper' plumber, I mean this fellow did not behave in the manner you'd expect a normally-skilled or time-served plumber to act. Put it this way - what he carried out was significantly worse than some DIYers on here, including me. 

And the bill for the work is excessive.

Could you show the invoices? 

This is the initial invoice. I’ve blanked out my address and their company details until it is resolved. 

The second invoice/receipt for the flexi pipe is a hard copy, fixed price for the replacement/installation. It’s has their company name, VAT and registration numbers on and my signature so don’t want to share that