Plumber

justwantedtosay

When I booked  local plumber - a long established firm, not a bloke with a mobile - to make my loo flush again I made it clear [in writing] that I wanted a cheap replacement syphon and had no need for anything fancy, and also that I was an OAP. When they did the job the plumber came with a fancy compete kit; syphon, inlet valve (float), even a new handle. I gave the go-ahead as I guessed the alternative was for him to have to make another visit, presumably at extra cost. Anyway, it was fitted, apart from the handle, but later found to be leaking. I emailed them and got a very terse reply with absolutely no hint of an apology which made me angrier than the fact it was it leaking so I raised the fitting of unnecessary and expensive parts and was told they only came as a set, which is simply untrue. When I pointed this out the reply was even bolshier, still with no hint of an apology or retraction of the lie. It's like getting a new tyre for your car and finding they've also fitted a new exhaust when the old one was fine - the two parts are not interdependent.
Should I pay for labour, for the initial visit, plus the cost of what I actually asked for or am I stuck paying for parts I didn't need? 

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

In terms of extra parts you are going down the road of prohibited misleading actions which is broad and non-specific. 

As the agreement for the parts was made verbally at your home it’s a he said, she said thing which doesn’t help.

However I wouldn’t be paying until the leak is actually fixed.

sheramber

justwantedtosay said:

When I booked  local plumber - a long established firm, not a bloke with a mobile - to make my loo flush again I made it clear [in writing] that I wanted a cheap replacement syphon and had no need for anything fancy, and also that I was an OAP. When they did the job the plumber came with a fancy compete kit; syphon, inlet valve (float), even a new handle. I gave the go-ahead as I guessed the alternative was for him to have to make another visit, presumably at extra cost. Anyway, it was fitted, apart from the handle, but later found to be leaking. I emailed them and got a very terse reply with absolutely no hint of an apology which made me angrier than the fact it was it leaking so I raised the fitting of unnecessary and expensive parts and was told they only came as a set, which is simply untrue. When I pointed this out the reply was even bolshier, still with no hint of an apology or retraction of the lie. It's like getting a new tyre for your car and finding they've also fitted a new exhaust when the old one was fine - the two parts are not interdependent.
Should I pay for labour, for the initial visit, plus the cost of what I actually asked for or am I stuck paying for parts I didn't need? 

Did you not challenge him when he arrived with the complete system?

justwantedtosay

sheramber said:

Did you not challenge him when he arrived with the complete system?

Yes, but I feared sending him away to get the part I wanted would add to the labour cost and delay the fix.

pramsay13

As a customer I wouldn't ask for cheap parts, and as a tradesman I wouldn't use them because in 3 or 6 months when they fail you will expect the plumber to replace them free of charge. 
In this instance your only valid complaint is that it leaks so get them to fix that and then pay them. 

eskbanker

justwantedtosay said:

I made it clear [in writing] that I wanted a cheap replacement syphon and had no need for anything fancy, and also that I was an OAP.

Why did you believe your age to be relevant?

Alderbank

eskbanker said:

justwantedtosay said:

I made it clear [in writing] that I wanted a cheap replacement syphon and had no need for anything fancy, and also that I was an OAP.

Why did you believe your age to be relevant?

Some tradesmen advertise 'Special rates for pensioners'.

The ASA says it is still legal to do that provided the advertised rates are genuinely lower for pensioners and that the claim doesn't exclude or unfairly target other age groups. 

eskbanker

Alderbank said:

eskbanker said:

justwantedtosay said:

I made it clear [in writing] that I wanted a cheap replacement syphon and had no need for anything fancy, and also that I was an OAP.

Why did you believe your age to be relevant?

Some tradesmen advertise 'Special rates for pensioners'.

The ASA says it is still legal to do that provided the advertised rates are genuinely lower for pensioners and that the claim doesn't exclude or unfairly target other age groups. 

Yes, but if OP was simply claiming an advertised discount, that's not really relevant to a dispute about choice of parts, faulty workmanship, etc.

sheramber

You sound quite capable of saying that is not what I asked for and I am not paying extra for you to go and ge it.

Of course he may have replied that he did not fit these parts and leave you to contact another plumber to get what you wanted.

HHarry

I’ve fitted a few syphons and would always allow for a new inlet valve.  Getting a plastic shanked valve to reseal, particularly in rigid pipework can be tricky.

I’m really struggling to understand why you’re making a big deal about the parts after the job is done when you specifically agreed to those parts before work commenced.  I can see why the Plumber is being ‘terse’.

ElefantEd

justwantedtosay said:

Why wouldn't they load the van with the parts that was required for the day's work at the start of that day?

Because you don't always know which bits you'll actually need? Certainly from my experience of DIY plumbing, half the time you discover that the actual problem is something other than what you thought once you start disassembling things. The other is that it is often easier and quicker (and therefore cheaper in labour costs) and probably more likely to result in a good repair to fit an entire new set of components than to only replace a specific part. Which may be an indictment of the wasteful nature of today's society but isn't a criticism you could fairly make of the plumber.

They should certainly come back and mend the leak though. These things (again in my experience as a decidedly non-professional) rarely work perfectly first time. Though I would expect proper plumbers to get it right more often than not, I wouldn't expect 100% success rate.