Men Tips

posted by dominicdonaldson on Mar 4

It’s not particularly difficult to find a plumber London based, but how do you know that any of them are going to do a good job and not rip you off?

Thankfully, most tradesmen are honest and carry out the work they say they will, but of course, as with any trade, you get the odd few who spoil it for the rest and give the trade a bad name.

Sarah Cooper was looking for a plumber London based last year and was unlucky enough to fall foul of a dishonest one. “The boiler wasn’t working properly, and so I called out a plumber London based that advertised a ‘free consultation’ and so I assumed this meant they would come out and have a quick look at the problem without me having to pay anything initially,” she says.

“I was wrong however, as the man that turned up spent about five minutes poking around with his spanner and then charged me 60 pounds! Turns out the ‘free’ consultation’s only free if they don’t take the boiler apart to see what the problem is!”

Sarah then unfortunately found herself in a no-win situation; either use the plumber’s services or send him away having lost 60 pounds and gained nothing.
“The man informed me I’d have to pay 70 pounds per hour for repair, but the work shouldn’t take much more than an hour,” she explains. “And so I agreed, just to get it over with.”

The work took 2 hours 30 minutes, Sarah was charged for three hours, plus the costs of parts.”

Sarah was very unlucky in this instance, and this is by no means a common occurrence with tradesmen here in the UK. There are, however, some steps you can follow to protect yourself from scammers.

Firstly, ask around friends and family to see if they have anyone they can recommend to you that they have used before. It’s best to do this as standard before you even need a plumber, so that you have a number to call should an emergency strike.

If this is fruitless, have a look on the web to see if any plumber London based in your area comes highly recommended.

Once you hire a tradesman, be sure to get a written estimate before any work is carried out. Make sure you are given a final bill on completion, too.

Many plumbing emergencies are unavoidable, but it’s best not to leave any suspected problems until they cause an emergency because some plumbers London based charge a huge emergency call out fee. If an emergency does occur, it’s best to try to find one that charges flat rates for work done, rather than hefty call out fees.

It’s often best to let the plumber buy his own parts if parts are needed; he will be afforded a professional discount, and if you purchase your own parts there’s a chance the plumber won’t warranty his work.

Finally, you must check over all work done. Check new valves work, look out for leaks and check water pressure. Keep a look out for any damage done to property; for example wallpaper that’s been scraped by tools.

Hopefully you won’t need a plumber London based in an emergency, but if you do, exercising caution should mean that you are unlikely to get ripped off!

Dominic Donaldson is a heating industry expert. Find out more about Plumber London and get help from the experts.

Distributed by Content Crooner