Rip off plumber needs jailing

[Eccles]

Old dear and pensioner who is very old friend just been well ripped off by plumber. Apparently dual flush valve was doing the usual trick of not closing so water kept running. Well Wickes will charge you £13 for a new one and they take no more than 20 minutes to fit probably less. The thieving plumber who did it charged her £150! My bro who is a well qualified plumber says it should have been no more than £50

 

[Elsa TLC]

Was it a booked appointment or an urgent job?

 

[just pumps]

Old dear and pensioner who is very old friend just been well ripped off by plumber. Apparently dual flush valve was doing the usual trick of not closing so water kept running. Well Wickes will charge you £13 for a new one and they take no more than 20 minutes to fit probably less. The thieving plumber who did it charged her £150! My bro who is a well qualified plumber says it should have been no more than £50

Maybe, maybe not, all depends on the details of this story.

 

[HERTS P&D]

My bro who is a well qualified plumber says it should have been no more than £50

Why didn't your brother do it?

Andy

 

[Elsa TLC]

Old dear and pensioner who is very old friend just been well ripped off by plumber. Apparently dual flush valve was doing the usual trick of not closing so water kept running. Well Wickes will charge you £13 for a new one and they take no more than 20 minutes to fit probably less. The thieving plumber who did it charged her £150! My bro who is a well qualified plumber says it should have been no more than £50

What pumps says is true. What's the story?

 

[Elsa TLC]

Who says it takes 20 minutes to fit?
Has your brother seen the job?
Who's time was it travelling or ordering the part?

 

[SpecialK]

£150 is not a rip off.

 

[helplessowner]

As far as I know, there are quite a few different types of flush valves and settings.
Did the plumber happen to have the valve with him or did he have to (a) look to see what type of cistern/valve it was, (b) find somewhere that had a suitable replacement in stock, (c) go and get the replacement and (d) return and fit the replacement?

 

[Koolpc]

I cant see £150 being a rip off.

 

[opps]

£50 to turn up, identify the (£13?) flush valve, pick it up and then fit it sounds like more than a £37 job. How much does your brother charge per hour?

 

[Stivino]

I got two flush valve seals to repair two that were passing, I paid 1€ each for them in a local hardware store, in Tenerife.

 

[Notch7]

Old dear and pensioner who is very old friend just been well ripped off by plumber. Apparently dual flush valve was doing the usual trick of not closing so water kept running. Well Wickes will charge you £13 for a new one and they take no more than 20 minutes to fit probably less. The thieving plumber who did it charged her £150! My bro who is a well qualified plumber says it should have been no more than £50

Here is a guide from a plumbing company who have some guide pricing online (admittedly its London area so could be a bit dearer than your area)

"To replace the flush and fill valve on a toilet cistern, a plumber would typically charge between £80 and £120. The job should take 1-2 hours to complete."

So a quick google indicates its probably in the right ball park

Im not a plumber but I know plumbing is one of those things where an easy fix turns into a right mare........if it goes well a plumber might do it in 20 minutes...but he has to allow longer to cover for some issues...otherwise everyday his diary would be over booked and he would be working until 9.00pm every night

How much does a plumber cost to fix a toilet UK? [2023]

Moving ahead, you will see that Twickenham Plumbing had created this blog titled how much does a plumber cost to fix a toilet UK?

twickenham.plumbing

 

[flameport]

and they take no more than 20 minutes to fit probably less

Perhaps, on a brand new toilet which can be disassembled easily and quickly.
Even if that did happen, it's still a full hour of time charged.

Entirely different story where the bolts that hold the cistern to the pan and the cistern to the wall have rusted solid, and no one bothered to fit an isolator to the water supply, and the seized main stopcock has been concealed behind a fitted kitchen for the last 20 years .

 

[flameport]

My bro who is a well qualified plumber says it should have been no more than £50

That's barely minimum wage, even assuming Wickes was next door to the job location.

 

[Elsa TLC]

If his workmanship was shockingly bad I'd get your gripe.

At worse he may have been a tad overpriced. But that hardly warrants a jail term.