plumber - poor job

[OscarP]

We recently had a new boiler and bathroom suite fitted and used a recommended plumber. Now that we have builders on site removing ceilings downstairs for other work, they have found a catalogue of disasters. This includes having the shower waste pipe going up over (yes up!) under the floorboards to the external wall, because he'd made the hole in the brickwork too high. He has since been back to sort this out.

We now have an electrician on site to first fix where we have doing building work downstairs. He has virtually comdemned our electrics as the plumber managed to seriously melt the main electric cable whilst trying to solder (sp?) a dodgy connection near to the incoming gas pipe.

Obviously I have no faith in the plumber effectively repairing the soldering he's done and would like to have this repaired by another plumber - who I also want to check over the rest of the work done. I'm assuming that I should be able to agree a cost for this with my original plumber for him to pay?

I also want the plumber to pay for us to sort out the electrical mess he has caused.

Do you think there's any chance of getting any cash back? And whats the best way to go about this?

Any advice appreciated !

 

[EliteHeat]

How is it 'dodgy soldering'? is it leaking? what?

You expect the original guy to pay the cost of somone else inspecting his work? what criteria are you using? what happens if no faults are found?

Why is the electrician making such a song and dance over replacing a bit of wiring? If he's onsite anyway, why is it such a big deal?

 

[twm.bwen]

How is it 'dodgy soldering'? is it leaking? what?

You're obviously a Plumber and I am not, but am I wrong in thinking that 'soldering' is the act as well as the joint it produces?

Therefore the fact that he did not follow good practice and take precautions to avoid damage the EVERYTHING around the intended joint (eg use one of those heat resistant mats) means that, by proffesional standards it is definately 'dodgy'.

 

[gcol]

You might be able to get him to pay for replacing the bit of damaged wiring (if he agrees it's his fault). If you ask him nicely he might even come back and amend his "errors" if he thinks it's necessary; but if you thing he's going to pay you money to have another plumber check his work then you've got another think coming.

 

[Agile]

I have no reason to think that there is any significant problem apart from having overheated a piece of 50p cable!

From your ideas of expecting HIM to pay for you to engage someone else to check his work then that just makes me think that you are a customer from hell who can never be satisfied!

If you have any concerns about his work then the only correct thing to do is to call him and explain the perceived problems to him and give him the opportunity of putting things right.

Last night I saw a boiler fitted by a genuine CORGI on a system which had not been cleaned in spite of his assertion it had been power flushed with chemicals. The water was so dirty that it looked like coffee and debris had blocked the pump within two days!

The gas supply pipe was seriously undersized and lost 2.5 mb instead of less than 1 mB. He had not filled the Benchmark or notified CORGI.

Tony

 

[Softus]

Obviously I have no faith in the plumber effectively repairing the soldering he's done and would like to have this repaired by another plumber - who I also want to check over the rest of the work done.

Then you have a bit of a problem.

I'm assuming that I should be able to agree a cost for this with my original plumber for him to pay?

I don't know where your assumption comes from, but the facts are thus:

The Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 requires a tradesman to carry out work with reasonable care and skill. The word "reasonable" is defined in each case by the appropriate court. You are expected to act reasonably, and to mitigate your outlay, which means giving the supplier of the service the opportunity to remedy any errors. You've already done this with the shower waste.

The first step is to take pictures of all the work that you consider unacceptable, and then write to the plumber and ask him to rectify the errors. If he fails a second time, or declines, then you're entitled to get the repairs done and charge the cost to him. It's not reasonable to expect him to pay for an inspection of all of his work.

I also want the plumber to pay for us to sort out the electrical mess he has caused.

This is simpler. Take pictures, get the wiring repaired, and send him the bill. It could be courteous to wrote to him first and give him the opportunity to inspect the damage.

Do you think there's any chance of getting any cash back?

Slim to middling. It's likely to be difficult, but if you don't hesitate and do all the right things, and the guy has an income, then one day you'll get some money. You have to ask yourself if it's worth it though.

And whats the best way to go about this?

Get it straight in your mind that you will have to go to court. This is necessary because it's a battle of wits, and the party in the wrong will often cave on the eve of the hearing. Put everything in writing. Be polite at all times. Don't get emotional or use emotive words. Keep the amount of your claim reasonable. Act promptly. Give time limits when you ask for things to happen.

 

[Softus]

Last night I saw a boiler fitted by a genuine CORGI on a system which had not been cleaned in spite of his assertion it had been power flushed with chemicals. The water was so dirty that it looked like coffee and debris had blocked the pump within two days!

The gas supply pipe was seriously undersized and lost 2.5 mb instead of less than 1 mB. He had not filled the Benchmark or notified CORGI.

Your point being what? Was this a "customer from hell"?

 

[namsag]

Always amazes me how these people who go to the trouble of sourcing a heating engineer and pay them good money to install there system phone Agile at the first sign of trouble and not the guy they have just payed thousands to.. As for notification not been done a whole 2 days afterwards shock horror how could anyone be so unprofessional.

 

[OscarP]

Calm down folks!

I was simply asking if we were within our rights to ask him to pay for the cost of someone else doing any repairs necessary. Clearly I can't expect him to pay for someone else to look over his work - something I want, not the plumber!

Having waited (without complaint) over 8 weeks for him to complete the bathroom fitting I'm certainly not the customer from hell - are you!

 

[Softus]

Calm down folks!

Tell you what - you calm down. And have a think about why you scatter your posts with words such as "obviously", "clearly", and "simply".

I was simply asking if we were within our rights to ask him to pay for the cost of someone else doing any repairs necessary.

No you weren't - you wrote this:

Obviously I have no faith in the plumber effectively repairing the soldering he's done and would like to have this repaired by another plumber - who I also want to check over the rest of the work done. I'm assuming that I should be able to agree a cost for this with my original plumber for him to pay?

If you can't write something clearly and unambiguously, then don't complain when you get advice based on what you've written.

 

[Spark123]

I have no reason to think that there is any significant problem apart from having overheated a piece of 50p cable!

What??? I'd have issues with the fact he damaged a cable and left it presumably live and walked away, I'd look upon it as a dangerous act. If a tradesman did that in your house would you really want to have him back?

 

[Softus]

We now have an electrician on site to first fix where we have doing building work downstairs. He has virtually comdemned our electrics as the plumber managed to seriously melt the main electric cable whilst trying to solder (sp?) a dodgy connection near to the incoming gas pipe.

I have no reason to think that there is any significant problem apart from having overheated a piece of 50p cable!

No reason at all, unless you actually read the OPs words.

 

[esra_ptrap]

The OP said that the plumber had melted the Main electric cable?
If he means the incoming tails it will be more than a 50p piece of cable and far more costly to remedy.