Thoughts please- unhappy with work and call out fee

[FayeT]

Hello. I would like some advice please about a problem I have had with a plumber. I'm not sure if I am overreacting/being unreasonable or what others would do.

Back in May I hired a local plumber for a variety of jobs including sorting out a persistent leak from the bottom of a tap into the side of the sink. I was told the tap needed replacing so bought some new taps from a reputable online supplier which he looked at before installing and said they looked fine. I paid the full amount for the work.

Following this the leak continued, slowly at first then getting back to how it was before. I let the plumber know and he agreed to have a look the following day. He did not mention anything about an additional charge for coming back, and lives very close by so has minimal travelling time/cost. He said on returning that it was nothing to do with him and must have been the taps I had bought (which seems odd to me as it was the same leak that had occurred with the previous tap).

After his visit I didn't hear anything from him for months, then randomly out of the blue I got an email from him that was very long and said I hadn't bought the correct brand of taps he would have used etc etc, and finished with saying I needed to transfer him a £20 fee for his time. (This was the first time any additional fee was mentioned).

Another plumber has had a look and said the leak is due to the way the sink has been installed and plumbed incorrectly and not related to the tap. He also commented that the tap itself was installed very poorly and not tightened properly (it rotates around 180 degrees on the faucet with minimal pressure!).

I replied to the original plumber and said I did not recall any mention of an extra fee, that the other plumber did not agree, and that actually as I was not satisfied with the work done I would have expected the offer of a small refund.

Again I heard nothing for over a month. All of a sudden this week I have had an even longer email than the original, ranting about how he takes a very dim view of anyone questioning him and that I owe him the money.

Now, I realise £20 is a small amount and may sound petty, but this is about the principle to me, not the money. It also seems odd that a plumber is willing to sacrifice his reputation locally for this sort of fee.
Should I just give in, pay up and forget about it? Or would anyone else do differently/agree with the plumber's point of view?

Many thanks for your thoughts.

 

[Last Plumber]

Hello. I would like some advice please about a problem I have had with a plumber. I'm not sure if I am overreacting/being unreasonable or what others would do.

Back in May I hired a local plumber for a variety of jobs including sorting out a persistent leak from the bottom of a tap into the side of the sink. I was told the tap needed replacing so bought some new taps from a reputable online supplier which he looked at before installing and said they looked fine. I paid the full amount for the work.

Following this the leak continued, slowly at first then getting back to how it was before. I let the plumber know and he agreed to have a look the following day. He did not mention anything about an additional charge for coming back, and lives very close by so has minimal travelling time/cost. He said on returning that it was nothing to do with him and must have been the taps I had bought (which seems odd to me as it was the same leak that had occurred with the previous tap).

After his visit I didn't hear anything from him for months, then randomly out of the blue I got an email from him that was very long and said I hadn't bought the correct brand of taps he would have used etc etc, and finished with saying I needed to transfer him a £20 fee for his time. (This was the first time any additional fee was mentioned).

Another plumber has had a look and said the leak is due to the way the sink has been installed and plumbed incorrectly and not related to the tap. He also commented that the tap itself was installed very poorly and not tightened properly (it rotates around 180 degrees on the faucet with minimal pressure!).

I replied to the original plumber and said I did not recall any mention of an extra fee, that the other plumber did not agree, and that actually as I was not satisfied with the work done I would have expected the offer of a small refund.

Again I heard nothing for over a month. All of a sudden this week I have had an even longer email than the original, ranting about how he takes a very dim view of anyone questioning him and that I owe him the money.

Now, I realise £20 is a small amount and may sound petty, but this is about the principle to me, not the money. It also seems odd that a plumber is willing to sacrifice his reputation locally for this sort of fee.
Should I just give in, pay up and forget about it? Or would anyone else do differently/agree with the plumber's point of view?

Many thanks for your thoughts.

I can see his point because you bought the taps yourself, so he is not responsible if they're poorly manufactured. If they're loose, that could be his fault but I have had a lot of taps recently where the plastic nut has split ( under relatively little pressure ) and I've replaced them with brass nuts before leaving the job. If that's why they became loose it's not really his fault. It would be difficult to say without seeing it.

It's a case of there being two sides to every story by the sound of it.
My advice would be to change your perspective on this if you can.

I cannot advise you financially but what price would you put on ending the situation ?

 

[SimonG]

He says, she says.

 

[steadyon]

If you hired him originally to fix the leak, then from your account he has not done so, no matter that he has fitted new taps, so its hard to see how the original payment should have been made, never mind any additional amount.

However, you would have been better advised to call him back immediately after fitting the taps, as the leak appears to have continued, albeit diminished for a while. This would have given him the opportunity to fix the original problem, and to charge additionally for his time if the original agreement was not fixed price.

If your original agreement was not for a specific aim (the fixing of the leak) but for more general "investigative and corrective actions", then he might be justified in charging a further fee at a much later date.

 

[newcastle phill]

Do what you feel is right.

 

[A1P]

SEEMINGLY he wasn't successful in finding the cause of the leak and fitted the taps,which he did not object to,badly.His return trip was not a success.You paid him for his first work and the second visit was to remedy issues remaining.You paid the second plumber ,so it has been more expensive than it should have been.In this situation I would not have asked to be paid.In your situation,you feel it has not been a positive situation,so in principle,like you ,I would not pay it.For the sake of £20 tell him briefly and politely ,you will not ask for a refund but will not be paying any more and that is the end of the matter, if you feel this is right.

 

[Radioman]

SEEMINGLY he wasn't successful in finding the cause of the leak and fitted the taps,which he did not object to,badly.His return trip was not a success.You paid him for his first work and the second visit was to remedy issues remaining.You paid the second plumber ,so it has been more expensive than it should have been.In this situation I would not have asked to be paid.In your situation,you feel it has not been a positive situation,so in principle,like you ,I would not pay it.For the sake of £20 tell him briefly and politely ,you will not ask for a refund but will not be paying any more and that is the end of the matter, if you feel this is right.

As above, he's not going anywhere with this, small claims would laugh at him, just make sure all your local fiends know he I a bully.

 

[BobbityBob]

I think a lot of us here would not have charged for the return visit as we would have been embarrassed for taking payment when the job was not to completed to a good standard. As Radioman says, tell all your friends. Word travels fast.

 

[WaterTight]

I have had a lot of taps recently where the plastic nut has split ( under relatively little pressure ) and I've replaced them with brass nuts before leaving the job. If that's why they became loose it's not really his fault.

If a plumber can't tighten a tap so it doesn't come loose (even if it means top hat washers, braces, swapping plastic for brass nuts) then he isn't much cop. I've had a few taps I've installed come loose. Invariably my fault for being in a rush, leaving something to luck.