Plumbing consumer rights

neocon · 14 Mar 2021 at 14:20

If I had a job set up to do some plumbing work and I cancelled before the work is done, can the plumber charge me a handling fee?

Long story, I need a cylinder replacing and the plumber says it's a special order. He sent me the quote but he wants £1000 before the work commences as a deposit. I can't do this and I want to pay the invoice at the end. So I told him to cancel, then he started saying there's a handling fee for the cylinder.

neocon · 14 Mar 2021 at 14:33

I think he's going to send it back, it's a dual coil cylinder, so it's specific to the job. So he might have a return fee. Not sure it's actually been delivered though. He only sent me the quote/invoice on Saturday where it stated he needed £1000 upfront.

I asked quite few plumbers but they weren't interested due to the solar nature of the plumbing.

I could understand a return fee. But he must have right to return himself, no?

neocon · 14 Mar 2021 at 14:35

robj20 said:
Unless you accepted the quote, tell them to jog on.
I refuse to use any places that wasn't money up front, it's not how a trusted place does business.

What constitutes accepting it, I never replied to the email with the quote on it.

The whole issue arose when he said I have to pay upfront. I can't do that because it's kind of an insurance job, so someone else pays the invoice.

neocon · 14 Mar 2021 at 15:12

dLockers said:
It isn't the plumbers problem to wait for your 'kind of an insurance job' to pay him regardless so sounds like you both need a talking to about how to agree a job

But the people paying for the job will only pay the plumber directly, so he needs to raise his invoice with them.

neocon · 14 Mar 2021 at 15:53

Thanks for your replies

neocon · 14 Mar 2021 at 16:59

dLockers said:
Yeah... No. No plumber is going to wait around to get paid by Tom, Dick and Harry insurance co. unless it is spelled out upfront. Clearly it wasn't otherwise he wouldn't be asking you to pay him. Can't he just raise the deposit invoice for the presumably non refundable part to insurance co?

He's agreed that if I state in writing that I will pay if said company fails to pay the invoice then he'll do it with no deposit. Seems fair to me.

It's actually the company that made the cylinder that's burst a leak that'll be paying since it should have lasted 25 years and has failed within 8 years.