£144 per hour for non emergency plumber

[mangos]

silentbrown said:

What's a plumber doing trying to diagnose damp in the first place? Absolutely DO NOT go anywhere near the "damp specialists" he's suggested.

See this. https://www.heritage-house.org/damp-and-condensati...

Indeed! I’m a fond reader of the heritage house website.
I didn’t ask plumber to do any damp testing so why he had his damp meter out was beyond me.

I have a strange patch on the wall which is below one of my enteral heating pipes so had hoped he would check for a leak on that but he didnt.

Instead he told me I had rising damp !!!

I’ve no idea how he does any business

[mangos]

Andehh said:

bad company said:

mangos said:

What’s the worst that can happen with this?

The very worst is that they decide to sue you in the Small Claims Court. That’s possible but very unlikely as they would be likely to lose and even if they won you would not have to pay their costs. The Court is very informal, nothing to be frightened of.

Without going to the Court and getting a (very unlikely) judgment they can’t do much except threaten.

very much this, either that or through Money Claim online. Again, all very informal.

They prepare their evidence pack, pay £120 (ish) and submit it. You then get a copy of it, and a chance to refute it. You put together your pack. Maybe offer to pay them for 30mins for their time as per their call out rate for the <30mins they spent using moisture detector.

Months later it goes in front of a local Judge (or equiv) and it is very Judge Judy like - you say & explain, they say & explain. Judge goes off balance of probabilities/fairness.

In this case here, you showing the charges, the fact they DID NOT use one of these £144/hour devices, but you were charged all the same. No tools (they acknowledged) then they quoted for the boiler (which says is free on their website) AND you paid the call out charge. I cant see them standing a chance.

bad company said:

eybic said:

That would be verging on Harassment which the Police would be interested in, if he does turn up. Politely suggest the he's intimidating you and ask him to leave, if not you will be calling the police.

This.

I strongly suspect that they are bullies and will back down when/if they realise that the op is no pushover.

yep, I would either not open the door, or do so but with a mobile in your hand and offer to call the police at the first sign of any duress.



I'm still of the belief it isn't worth their time. Had this been a boiler replacement & £1000s then yes, but for a couple £100, having already got some money out of you - I doubt it.

Just stay reasonable & factual via emails, including the list I gave you above and wait them out. THEN leave them suitable reviews on Social media!!

Edited by Andehh on Friday 15th June 08:08

I hadn’t been able to reply earlier due to lack of signal and travelling but wanted to say thanks to everyone and special mention to Andehh for helping to put my mind at rest a bit whilst I try to draft emails back.
I haven’t had a chance to sit down at the laptop yet but will keep the thread updated on anything that happens.



Thank you all so far...

[Sa Calobra]

Berkshire bred said:

To be honest it's a bit of a sticking point for me. Because I started with my boss when I was 18 and straight out of college I started on a low wage (£7 p/h), fair enough.

Since them I've been doing the job for close to 3 years and I am now to a standard where someone with 10 years experience wouldn't do a better job. Yet my pay has only increased in line with minimum wage. Because of the proximity (just me and him) it makes it a difficult subject.


Maybe I should take up plumbing

Time to contract or go it alone. He's taking the Mick out of you

[hairyben]

Sa Calobra said:

Berkshire bred said:

To be honest it's a bit of a sticking point for me. Because I started with my boss when I was 18 and straight out of college I started on a low wage (£7 p/h), fair enough.

Since them I've been doing the job for close to 3 years and I am now to a standard where someone with 10 years experience wouldn't do a better job. Yet my pay has only increased in line with minimum wage. Because of the proximity (just me and him) it makes it a difficult subject.


Maybe I should take up plumbing

Time to contract or go it alone. He's taking the Mick out of you

I dunno, is he a mate or a trainee, if so what training is he getting out of it, I spent 4 years as an apprentice (starting on £58pw) in the 90s, then one more year as an "improver", before picking up full rate. It was cr@p. It was worth it.

Oh and, it's only after you've done 10 or 20 years that you can really appreciate what 10 or 20 years experience means.

[mangos]

Latest update is that they have ignored my emails and have now sent me this -

[dickymint]

mangos said:

Latest update is that they have ignored my emails and have now sent me this -

Thought they would.

Now would be a good time to remove your “implied right of access”

[mangos]

dickymint said:

mangos said:

Latest update is that they have ignored my emails and have now sent me this -

Thought they would.

Now would be a good time to remove your “implied right of access”

Im meant to be remortgaging later this year. Bit worried this might affect my credit rating. Especially if baliffs are going to get involved.

[mangos]

should i be calling trading standards?

[fido]

mangos said:

should i be calling trading standards?

No harm in speaking to them - maybe the company is on their list of cowboy plumbers.
I would also reply to their threatening mail as well - "You did not respond to any of the points in my mail, other than threatening with debt collectors. I shall be passing this on to Trading Standards."

Edited by fido on Wednesday 20th June 09:33

[Zoon]

What about a collective barrage of bad reviews?

[mickk]

mangos said:

should i be calling trading standards?

I'd go straight to a solicitor.

[Efbe]

mangos said:

dickymint said:

mangos said:

Latest update is that they have ignored my emails and have now sent me this -

Thought they would.

Now would be a good time to remove your “implied right of access”

Im meant to be remortgaging later this year. Bit worried this might affect my credit rating. Especially if baliffs are going to get involved.

it say's "our debt collectors" I would imagine this is just suzie who works on the next desk over.

If they have sold it on, or employed a debt collection agency, then this agency will contact you shortly.

I don't think this situation would go on your credit rating file anyhow, as the plumbers do not have a credit agreement with you.

[mangos]

Efbe said:

mangos said:

dickymint said:

mangos said:

Latest update is that they have ignored my emails and have now sent me this -

Thought they would.

Now would be a good time to remove your “implied right of access”

Im meant to be remortgaging later this year. Bit worried this might affect my credit rating. Especially if baliffs are going to get involved.

it say's "our debt collectors" I would imagine this is just suzie who works on the next desk over.

If they have sold it on, or employed a debt collection agency, then this agency will contact you shortly.

I don't think this situation would go on your credit rating file anyhow, as the plumbers do not have a credit agreement with you.

Should I bother responding to them or wait for the debt collector ?

[Flibble]

They'd have to get a CCJ before it would affect your credit rating surely?

[Efbe]

i'm no expert in this, but they are trying pretty typical scare tactics.

If you have send that letter as suggested before detailing absolutely everything, then I would stick to my guns.

Or do the Donald Trump thing...
Get another plumber in to find the actual problem. Then charge this first company for not finding the fault and damage to the house because of this. Come back with a £5k bill for them to pay, with interest and a 24 hour late fee, then a debt collection fee

In fact this second route may not be too daft. If it does go to court, having another plumber having assessed your property will add huge weight to your argument. And pictures.

I have been to small claims a few times before (as litigant) and it's pretty good really. dress well, present clearly and suck up to the judge. They seem to have very good bullst detectors and have been more than fair when I have been there.

[dickymint]

Flibble said:

They'd have to get a CCJ before it would affect your credit rating surely?

And I doubt if your lender would give a toss for a re-mortgage as long as you haven’t missed payments to them in the past.

Of course you are right to consider it though.

[Efbe]

get this thread moved to NP&E or Finance and you may get some responses from more qualified people on this.

I personally don't think this could affect your credit rating though unless you lost in court.

[Zoon]

mangos said:

Should I bother responding to them or wait for the debt collector ?

It's just a scare tactic. When you present the facts to the debt collector (if they've even employed one) they should go back and say they cannot enforce the debt as they haven't actually carried out the work.

They are hoping you panic and pay up.

[Efbe]

Zoon said:

mangos said:

Should I bother responding to them or wait for the debt collector ?

It's just a scare tactic. When you present the facts to the debt collector (if they've even employed one) they should go back and say they cannot enforce the debt as they haven't actually carried out the work.

They are hoping you panic and pay up.

Especially when you show them the payment of the call out fee. clincher for me.

[Andehh]

I would once again reply detailing your previous emails reminding them they outline very specifically your concerns (detailing the time & date you sent each of them) and that you received no response to any of them. I would also request a copy of the contract/their T&Cs which detail these admin charges (inc VAT...?), the debt collection policy and their complaint handling process. [is it worth doing this Pistonheads?]

Might be worth pointing out that you paid for the service you received (a call out fee), and are disputing the fact you are being billed for work they did not do, with a tool they did not use, for time they did not spend.

I would explain having sought legal advice yourself, you are comfortable with your position, and have already prepared a report for Trading Standards and Action Fraud(??) and [who else might be worth bringing this to?) regarding their fraudulent work & dishonest billing practice.

Maintain an emotionless, fact based, approach to their emails just in case they do decide to try & pursue small claims court. Having a consistent, reasonable, level headed series of replies to their increasing heavy handed approach will heavily help your case.



Have you got legal cover with your home insurance?