Should I pay plumber???

Magic_x_uk · 16 Nov 2019 at 12:11

Hi, quick question I am unsure about

Found a plumber through recommendation (only through local village facebook page)

Boiler had a fault code pop up (Faulty DHW Thermistor)

He came out and then ordered part + Fitting etc = £125

He came out today and fitted it whilst I was at work, partner at home.

Somehow he has broken off a tap/valve thing whilst fitting the Thermistor, which is now slowly leaking meaning we have to have a container underneath. But also now means the Hot water supply cannot be isolated. CH & DHW is working fine now.

He has just been back round and installed and dosed the system with some 'Leak sealant' as the 'valve apparently' is £100+ Vat
Apparently this is a temporary fix

He is quoting £48 for the sealant supplied and fitted

total bill £173

I am a bit 'Annoyed' that I seem to be charged for something which 'just broke off' when he was fitting something

Any views on all this

sorry it is long

Terminal_Boy · 16 Nov 2019 at 12:22

Don’t pay him a penny towards the second bill. Things don’t not just “break off” - he broke carrying out the initial work = he eats the cost of fixing it.

Zefan · 16 Nov 2019 at 12:24

I'd pay the invoice for the initial job, and let him know that you have done so.

Then, in the future, use checkatrade/insertyourpreferredsitehere recommended people exclusively. I've been consistently let down by personal recommendations.

azazl187 · 16 Nov 2019 at 12:29

As a tradesman myself I can say that these things do happen.

Cough up and just don't use him again if that makes you feel better.

Magic_x_uk · 16 Nov 2019 at 12:29

This is what my gut feeling was leading too, just to be the initial cost, especially as the extra £48 is just a temp fix. If it stops it dripping great, i then remove container from underneath and forget about it. Till I suddenly notice water leaking from the ceiling several months down the line

Also a Plumber to be should be carrying leak sealer anyhow (just in case).

The boiler is 9-10 years old. Has always been fine. Just find it odd a valve / cut of tap suddenly snapped off

azazl187 · 16 Nov 2019 at 12:30

Zefan said:
I'd pay the invoice for the initial job, and let him know that you have done so.

Then, in the future, use checkatrade/insertyourpreferredsitehere recommended people exclusively. I've been consistently let down by personal recommendations.

I would say that if someone feels the need to use one of those sites for work they can't be that good in the first place.

A decent tradesman shouldn't even need to advertise

Zefan · 16 Nov 2019 at 14:08

azazl187 said:
A decent tradesman shouldn't even need to advertise

I didn't say anything about advertising. What I was saying is that he should join the realm of the modern consumer, the kind that uses a large, freely available data set in order to choose a service or product, rather than relying on a single personal recommendation.

Thebug · 16 Nov 2019 at 17:53

Take it its the plastic bit you turn on a quarter turn valve? On a ten year old boiler the plastic would be brittle especially on a hot pipe, and the valves do leak when they get disturbed when older.

Magic_x_uk · 16 Nov 2019 at 18:44

Thebug said:
Take it its the plastic bit you turn on a quarter turn valve? On a ten year old boiler the plastic would be brittle especially on a hot pipe, and the valves do leak when they get disturbed when older.

pretty much that. Yes.
He’s put some “sealer” in. Which may fix the drips. This could be temporary. Which of course. If it works. You then forget about over time till something bad happens for you to notice it again.

Nathan · 16 Nov 2019 at 20:29

Hmmm old parts do break especially mechanical parts. Need more information on what has broken.

I have damaged old mechanical parts when stripping down, especially on cars. Would be unfair to dump it on him.

The_One · 16 Nov 2019 at 21:34

hes obviously turned off the cold water iso valve to change the thermistor and its now broken/leaking

these things happen on an old boiler when the valve has sat in one position for many years and if it is indeed the cold mains supply then hes pulled a fast one quoting to add leak sealer as that's only going to seal any CH valves :rolleyes:

koolpc · 16 Nov 2019 at 21:47

Ask him to go 50/50 on cost of fixing the broken part..

silverblack · 16 Nov 2019 at 21:48

I broke the hot water supply valve which had sat undisturbed for around 15 years when fitting a new shower.All i did was turn the water off easily done.
Luckily had Homecare at the time and they fixed it.

The_One · 16 Nov 2019 at 21:53

koolpc said:
Ask him to go 50/50 on cost of fixing the broken part..

I don't see why plumber should pay anything if its broken during course of the initial repair. The water has to go off to change the dhw thermistor

Would you tell a garage to pay for some wheel bolts if they snapped or something whilst changing a tyre?

Cleisthenes · 16 Nov 2019 at 21:56

Zefan said:
I didn't say anything about advertising. What I was saying is that he should join the realm of the modern consumer, the kind that uses a large, freely available data set in order to choose a service or product, rather than relying on a single personal recommendation.

The company/individual does have to pay to be a member though. If you're a sole trader you may not want to cough that up if you aren't struggling for work as it is.

koolpc · 16 Nov 2019 at 22:24

The_One said:
I don't see why plumber should pay anything if its broken during course of the initial repair. The water has to go off to change the dhw thermistor

Would you tell a garage to pay for some wheel bolts if they snapped or something whilst changing a tyre?

Yes

Zefan · 16 Nov 2019 at 23:38

Cleisthenes said:
The company/individual does have to pay to be a member though. If you're a sole trader you may not want to cough that up if you aren't struggling for work as it is.

I understand this (had long talks with both the last plumber and plasterer I've used), but it doesn't concern me, neither does it make any difference to my point. The point is, why not go with someone well reviewed when you have the option, especially with the alternative being a coin toss? If anything, tradespeople on these sites are more likely to not pull what's gone on in the OP, as they understand the impact bad feedback can have. I had a very similar situation, and I wasn't charged. I'm not saying it was because of the underlying possibility of bad feedback going on the site, but it has to be a factor.

Resident · 17 Nov 2019 at 07:42

The_One said:
I don't see why plumber should pay anything if its broken during course of the initial repair. The water has to go off to change the dhw thermistor

Would you tell a garage to pay for some wheel bolts if they snapped or something whilst changing a tyre?

Absolutely.

Back to the OP

I wouldn't pay a single penny until the part he broke was replaced at his expense. That part was in fine working order when he started so it should be when finished.

Had he expressed concerns that it may break and cost more to repair, giving you the opportunity to say yes/no to the work then that's different and on you. But he didn't.

mattyy · 17 Nov 2019 at 10:22

Resident said:
Absolutely.

Back to the OP

I wouldn't pay a single penny until the part he broke was replaced at his expense. That part was in fine working order when he started so it should be when finished.

Had he expressed concerns that it may break and cost more to repair, giving you the opportunity to say yes/no to the work then that's different and on you. But he didn't.

I think it is just about being realistic. Things break. You can look at this two ways - should the plumber be quoting extra on the off chance he may have to carry out a repair on the adjoining components? Now people will complain the cost is high and that he has quoted for a repair he may not have to of carried out depending on how 'lucky' he got - the guy will never get any work or you'll just end up with chancers doing it. The second is if he had listed all the parts that 'could' break and their associated costs, what would you do? Leave the boiler broken just in case a fix ends up costing more? I doubt it. Sounds like the plumber used his common sense and carried on, probably not expecting it to break but it did. He isolated the water to carry out his job.

It is just something that needs to be accepted on what is an old boiler. As for all those shouting to avoid the plumber, personally, I think the plumber should be avoiding you. If he had pushed your front door open and it came off the hinges would that be his fault as well which sounds like he had just as much involvement in that as he did isolation your water supply?

Such a blame culture we live in these days. High expectations and everything for nothing.

200sols · 17 Nov 2019 at 10:39

Resident said:
Absolutely.

Back to the OP

I wouldn't pay a single penny until the part he broke was replaced at his expense. That part was in fine working order when he started so it should be when finished.

Had he expressed concerns that it may break and cost more to repair, giving you the opportunity to say yes/no to the work then that's different and on you. But he didn't.

Actually it probably wasn’t in fine working order, whoever turned that valve would have broken it as it has become weak or degraded over time as happens on old equipment. If the valve was in fine working order it wouldn’t have started leaking when used for the first time in years :rolleyes: