advice needed please on central heating

[cmortishsha]

Hi, have just had central heating installed and combi boiler, Corgi registered guy has done the work. Originally told us 5 days for work is still on the job 11 days later, supposed to finish today.

Has now told us he needs to earth every every copper pipe which has had a plastic fitting connected to it. This sounds feasible at first but after talking to an electrician where i had to purchase the earthing cable, he told me if the combi has been earthed and a couple of other places, all that earthing did not need to be done he could not believe I needed to purchase 25 metres of cable..

. When I approached the gas fitter and asked if the earthing really needed to be done as combi is earthed etc he started going on about rules and regulations , health and safety, his assistant did not entirely agree with him, and then the corgi guy just changed the subject.

Does anyone know if all the pipes need to be earthed when changing from copper / plastic and back to copper, may I also add his price has gone up three times, and also doing work which i haven't asked him to do and telling me afterwards, please help

 

[namsag]

5 days is too long in first place what the F can he be doing to take eleven. Tell him to leave earthing alone and you will get a qualified sparky(who will tell you it doesn`t need doing) As for price give him what he originally quoted if he wanted to put price up this should have been discussed with you first. Throw him off job is what i would do..

 

[cmortishsha]

My thoughts exactly, but being a lone female its a bit hairey. Have just had a call from him saying he has finished, hasn't put the floorboards back either says I need to put chip board down instead as floorboards will be a wonky!!!!! Just want him and his sidekick out of the house now, should have got my brother in law to deal with them Arghhhhh

 

[JohnD]

he must think you're an easy touch

have you got his Corgi registration details?

you might need someone more assertive with you when you tell him to **** off.

tell him to send you an itemised invoice so that you can examine the additional charges which exceed his original price. We don't have enough information to know if they're justified or not.

say how sorry you are not to have any cash in the house and that although you had saved up enough to pay him (by cheque) the original price you had not budgeted for the extras and are not in a position to pay the rest today.

p.s. Eleven days? you must have got too many chocolate biscuits.

p.p.s. stand by for one of the plumbers to tell you that all Corgis are perfectly honest and you must be the customer from hell and that you have no right to weasel out of paying for the perfectly reasonable work done.

p.p.p.s. check your underwear drawer.

 

[namsag]

I would get someone round who would stand up to him also.
If we ever make a mistake and miss something then have to do extra work that is part of the original job we would never dream of charging and if it was something on show we would always tell the customer what is happening and why and talk it through with them.
And often do extra bits the customers asks for with no charge only the extra mats , well we are already there and providing its nothing really stupid why charge.

As for not being able to put boards back he must have butchered them to get them up so knock money off....
.
Repeat do not pay him for anything you did not agree to.

 

[bengasman]

The guy probably means supplementary bonding, but does not quite know what he is on about though. it is however compulsory and when not present, it is marked as a code 1. Having said that, the majority of registered sparkies do not know exactly the ins and outs of the whole bonding story, so how are plumbers supposed to know?

 

[lagunaglen]

Totally agree with namsag, you price the job, you miss something then its tough, never yet charged more than my original quote, if you know what your doing you know what to look for when quoting the job. Pay agreed price and ask for itemised list of extras,and why it was necessary,if your not in agreement then dont pay him, I work alone and never taken more than 5 steady days to convert from back boiler to loft sited combi so 11 days , no way.

 

[Waterworxsw]

Installed a Baxi in an airing cupboard once, flue had to go through the roof, forgot to put it no the quote so lost out big style

 

[gas4you]

p.p.p.s. check your underwear drawer.

Personal experience John?

 

[gas4you]

Sounds like a right cowboy to me, mixing copper and plastic where it suits him.

If he had done entire job in copper then it would all have been earthed under combi, end of.

11 DAYS, 2 MEN

Have you had about 30 rads fitted

Combi and up to 10-12 rads all new system I allow 5 days working on my own, 6 if I have to remove old boiler and rads.

Either he is charging you well over the odds or he is an idiot