Plumber Issues

Habib2342

I agreed with him to perform maintenance to my existing water tank. Frustrated with continual delays and difficulty getting in contact with him, I chose yesterday to cancel the job and go elsewhere.

By asking him to perform maintenance this mean I gave him money to buy materials and perform services to do a job. I've since cancelled the job. Therefore I should be entitled at the very least refund for labour not performed. Regarding materials, I will ask him next week if he can drop them off and refund the labour. Or if he wants to keep them, he should refund me in full for both materials and labour. 

I can see a stressful interaction with him next week. He is annoyed by my constant phoning but that's only because Im trying to get him to do a job I paid him for. I've not phoned him today and will wait until Weds for a refund, in any form, to materialise.

If we can't get to an amicable solution, I may have to escalate matters with the bank and the money claims services/small claims court as per DE_612183's comments. 

Beeblebr0x

I'm not sure why you would pay for labour upfront as he should charge you when the job is completed to your satisfaction 

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Possible this is a distance contract so right to cancel the goods would apply but in any event he certainly can't keep the money and the goods. 

Appreciate you don't wat a dispute but I'd want all my money back and would then find another plumber  

Habib2342

Beeblebr0x said:

I'm not sure why you would pay for labour upfront as he should charge you when the job is completed to your satisfaction 

I know. At the most I should've paid for materials only. 

He said the refund from his supplier will take up to 7 days. I'm going to give him until the end of Wednesday next week to refund. If he doesn't. I'll call him on Thursday morning to find out what's going on. I'll say to him if the money is not in my account by midday Thursday, i'll escalate this to my bank and seek legal redress to get my money back.

born_again

Habib2342 said:

Beeblebr0x said:

I'm not sure why you would pay for labour upfront as he should charge you when the job is completed to your satisfaction 

I know. At the most I should've paid for materials only. 

He said the refund from his supplier will take up to 7 days. I'm going to give him until the end of Wednesday next week to refund. If he doesn't. I'll call him on Thursday morning to find out what's going on. I'll say to him if the money is not in my account by midday Thursday, i'll escalate this to my bank and seek legal redress to get my money back.

Guessing that you are paying via bank transfer. Then there is nothing your bank can do.

Habib2342

well i have his name, phone number,  home address, I'll have to seek legal redress in that case

DE_612183

If he's asking for money for materials already paid - have they been used in your property? If not I'd ask for those materials that your paying for.

Habib2342

DE_612183 said:

If he's asking for money for materials already paid - have they been used in your property? If not I'd ask for those materials that your paying for.

no but he did mention he already paid for some parts that are sitting in his van. 

Just spoke to CAB and they said to send him a formal complaint letter if the money is not refunded by Thursday, given him 7 days to respond. Ill do this by recorded delivery  If he doesn't respond or co-operate I'll contact CAB for next steps.  

DE_612183

Habib2342 said:

DE_612183 said:

If he's asking for money for materials already paid - have they been used in your property? If not I'd ask for those materials that your paying for.

no but he did mention he already paid for some parts that are sitting in his van. 

Just spoke to CAB and they said to send him a formal complaint letter if the money is not refunded by Thursday, given him 7 days to respond. Ill do this by recorded delivery  If he doesn't respond or co-operate I'll contact CAB for next steps.  

also if the stuff is sitting in his van and you paying for it - ask for it back - you may be able to sell on ebay or facebook market place for a few quid

Habib2342

I've sent him the following message:

Just to let you know I'm going to wait until Thursday lunchtime for a refund. If you are going to keep the materials you've bought, then please refund the full amount. Alternatively I can collect the materials from you and you can just refund the labour charges. I don't really want to escalate this and am sure both of us don't want to waste any more time on this matter further but I will seek legal redress if a suitable refund is not made by 12pm on the 21st August 2025. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Can't say any firmer or fairer that that i think..