Advice needed re suspected 'con' by plumber

[Ellie78]

I'm not here to name names (and I didn't get in contact with him via the EDF)but it occurred to me that there might be people who have dealt with this on the EDF, as well as people who have encountered this difficulty with clients.

We asked a plumber to quote us for a shower installation. A few days before the toilet in the flat also went kaput - we were told the problem by the tenants and communicated this to the plumber. He said 'simple, easy job - it's just the ball valve, it'll be really easy and cheap to fix.' So I said 'could you just sort it out when you're there looking at the shower?' and he said yes.

So, he goes to quote for the shower..takes a couple of days to come back to me with quotes that were above what he'd initially mentioned, saying it was more complicated than he originally thought. Which it is, I'm sure - old flat etc.

When I expressed my slight surprise about the cost of the job he said 'oh and that's above what you already owe for the toilet, which is 195'

Now - I know I didn't ask for him to quote on the toilet I just asked him to fix it, but I feel that this I'm being completely conned. I told him that he'd said it was a cheap and easy job and he really needed to be in touch with me when money like that is involved. He apologised. I then told him to send an invoice including parts and labour to me so I could see where this had been spent. I've since had another plumber to look at it who is completely bemused how he can possibly have charged 195 for what he did and who questions how he solved the toilet problem.

I feel completely conned by the way he's gone about charging me and, now, am wondering about the quality of the work. I have yet to receive the invoice but when I do I am going to be asking for receipts of all parts he used and allocation of hours, which I will then double check with the tenant. I am also going to dispute the sum I'm paying on the basis that it wasn't run past me and the standard of work has been questioned, particularly if he can't give me receipts or if his hours don't match up.

I want to deal with this fairly and not cause bad feeling but, likewise, I am not parting with 200quid like that!

[HunterHtingSolutions]

Hi Ellie,

As a plumber you could of probably could of bought a basic toilet and had it installed for about that cost!

If it was just changing a ball valve I've never paid more than about ?25 and they have never taken longer than an hour to fit (that would be an extremely awkward one!) But without looking at the job it is quite hard to judge.

Hope you get the issue resolved!

Billy Hunter

07986296453

[Ellie78]

Thanks, Billy, for the info.

Of course, everything depends on exact circumstances of the job etc. But I think the practice of doing what he has done is pretty ridiculous.

[edcam]

Ellie, I don't think there is any excuse for the charge if all the info above is accurate.

[Dulwich1309]

Hi Ellie,

If the plumber told you it would be really easy and cheap to fix, if it was going to cost more than he expected he should have run it passed you first. If it was just the ball valve i was charged ?75 for parts and labour quite recently so i agree that you were over charged. Good luck resolving it :)