Bill from a plumber

did you have it serviced professionally every year?

I had to send for a plumber two weeks ago. I had a leak from the sink outlet, flooding the under-sink cupboard' also a dripping tap and the boiler needed servicing. The tap needed to be replaced at a cost of £156 which made me catch my breath, but the bill for all the jobs was £179 which made the servicing cost more than reasonable. The boiler is 17 years old and the same plumber told me previously that it was a waste of money to have it serviced annually, so I don't.

Pluck up your courage, phone and query this bill - why not? What have you got to lose?

I would still give them a call and query the bill, however he isn’t a plumber he is (should be) a Heating Engineer and should have the appropriate qualifications, I sincerely hope he isn’t a Plumber.
If he is a Plumber you should get the boiler checked immediately.

Oh god i really make a lot of mistakes yes sorry he is a heating engineer,just in my head he is a plumber.I will i think query the bill it is just the case of how do you start the conversation without sounding like i am complaining.

joanna12, - £850??? - that's way too much!

If you feel bad about complaining (you shouldn't though) you can 'start the conversation' by saying that somebody else has queried the amount. For instance, a relative offered to pay for the work but is now questioning the bill.

Don't just pay up when you've been ripped off. Start by taking a look at this:

www.which.co.uk/reviews/finding-a-tradesman/article/finding-a-tradesman/what-to-do-if-you-have-a-dispute-with-a-trader-abvYx9I8fHrV

Hetty58,thank you for the link.

Hi just to give you an update it is 3.50 am i cannot sleep worrying so have got up and decided to email the company,once it is out there i will just wait for the outcome,if they don't know my concerns they cant do anything about it i have decided.Thank you gransnet is so helpful it is amazing.

Oh dear*joanna12*, it’s a constant worry isn’t it, trying to get reliable honest tradesmen.
I am trying to get quotes for various bits of work on the house and it’s really hard getting recommendations.
We had our immersion heater tank replaced 5 years ago by a very highly recommended plumber, he charged £750, we had water coming through the ceiling that following night and he was completely dismissive of the damage it caused. So even following recommendations doesn’t necessarily help.
I do hope you get a satisfactory response, I do wonder if some think that older customers are an easy touch ☹️

*Heating engineer, not plumber ?

older customers. Yes absolutely bluebalou, some think we are a soft touch. Do research. prior to them coming for a first visit. Talk with knowledge and assertively about the problem. Don`t use a weak voice.

I can give you an example: I had a flu seal defect, it was major ie no external seal. I informed myself. The engineer`s apprentice came with a mastic gun. I sent him away and told him to do it with mortar, which was the only correct way. He did it properly in the end. I quoted the boiler flu regulation number and got treated with respect after that

Talk with knowledge and assertively about the problem

But that is the problem, most of the time! Problems with plumbing, the car, and so on. I don’t have the knowledge, which is why you have to trust the ‘professionals’. You can tell them what seems to be the trouble, i.e. the car won’t start, there is water leaking in the airing cupboard, the shower doesn’t come on, but then it’s over to them which is why they have been called in the first place.

Talk with knowledge how can you when you don’t know a sump from a dump karmalady
I would be very wary of someone who threatens to fine you if you haven’t paid up within so many days
Is it possible to speak to CAB they are very good at working on your behalf if you aren’t very sure of yourself
It sounds a horrendous amount for 2 hours work I think I d have fainted on the spot They should have given you an itemised priced estimate before work commenced and talked over any changes to it

joanna I recently had a new gas stove and the highly recommend engineer told me all my gas pipes were wrong (very old house) and I needed complete new piping which would necessitate (some concrete, some wooden) floors being taken up I was mortified and in a complete flurry however before he could continue, a leak was found (which turned out to be in the pipes outside my house and effecting other houses so I did the street a good turn) anyway I asked the engineer who came from the National company and he said that although new pipes would be an ideal conclusion I was more than safe to stay with the same piping in view of the fact I have no central heating
I could so easily have been in your situation

Since Homeserve started we took it out. And I continued after my husband died and move it to my new home. Every year a boiler service is included in the monthly payment. The boiler service was £84 but I had paid for that in my payments. They cover all my plumbing and heating. Over the years have saved thousands in repair bills. I pay a bit extra for no excess. In my old house the stop cock broke it was behind my washing machine. An engineer can quickly as my kitchen was flooding . The water went through my wall into the living room and the plaster under lining paper crumbled. It was winter he was there for hours and he was soaked. I dread to think how much a plumber would have charged but it was all covered by my policy.

When I moved the sewer pipe broke on my property. They came twice with a camera to find the problem. A gang of 4 men worked on it . They had to dig up part of my drive and have a sewerage tanker come to clean out the gung as the men politely put it. They repaired the drive it was all done in one day. Last year had to have a new value fitted on a radiator. And my boiler made funny noises took 6 visits to find the problem need 2 new parts. Also had new thermostat fitted. All parts and labour cover by my policy. Unlimited call outs and all work guaranteed. I dread to thing how many times they have done work for us. Leaking taps they just replace the taps in my old house had 3 new mixed taps over the years I lived there. Plus all the other things I needed doing Well work the monthly DD for peace of mind. I recommend them to anyone.

Thank you all,email sent just waiting for a reply or a knock at the door.

Please don’t worry too much Joanna. Hope you get some satisfaction with this, it sometimes helps to have someone with you if you have a meeting with them,

I hope it does get reduced for you.

my flue seal was discovered to be incorrect ie missing, when I had my service done by the ariston recommended engineer, had to do this for the guarantee. This was year 3. Previous years I had the installing engineer, who never even did the gas pressure and flow, he never hooked it up to a machine but I didn`t know any better. Ariston immediately put ` do not use` sticker on the boiler. I took immediate action, informed the builder who came quickly as this would the same for all the new properties. That is when I did the research and felt empowered to turn the heating engineer apprentice away with his mastic gun

There are cowboys about, even those with the correct qualifications. I would now expect a fully itemised quote if any work had to be done and would also stay in the room and keep the removed part

Having said that, we live and learn. I would never ever miss a boiler service and safety check, not worth the risk to my life

It sounds a lot Joanna and I think you are right to query it. I also find it nerve wracking querying things like that so glad you have been brave!

There are cowboys and scammers every where. The moss on our roof needed removing, got some one to price it - it is difficult here to find workmen so no three different quotes. They arrived late, then came down 10 mins later to say it would take more than a day (should have started earlier), so want extra £ + £ to take away rubbish. Husband just said “no, pack up and go”.

It was done by someone else last week and the cost was about what the first person wanted but he was upfront about the price.

I’m afraid this may be a very expensive lesson never to engage any tradesperson or professional without a firm quote, not an estimate, upfront. If it transpires that some further unexpected work is needed, ditto before agreeing to it and be shown proof that it’s needed. It’s sometimes the case that a woman on her own is taken for a ride. It pays to have a male friend or relative around when the quote is given if possible.

Does he belong to check-a-trade? If so might be worth having a word with them. Does seem an awful lot of money to me

gosh that does seem a lot

Calendargirl

Our boiler, bought 2 years ago, has a 10 years parts and labour warranty, providing it is serviced annually.

If yours is only a year old, would expect it to have some sort of guarantee?

And mine… well mine is a 12 year warranty and it is nearly 2 years old it’s an “ideal”

annodomini

I had to send for a plumber two weeks ago. I had a leak from the sink outlet, flooding the under-sink cupboard' also a dripping tap and the boiler needed servicing. The tap needed to be replaced at a cost of £156 which made me catch my breath, but the bill for all the jobs was £179 which made the servicing cost more than reasonable. The boiler is 17 years old and the same plumber told me previously that it was a waste of money to have it serviced annually, so I don't.

The trouble with not having it serviced annually is it will invalidate your warranty…