Recently the Sun newspaper covered a story in which a plumber had charged a stunned homeowner nearly £4,000 for a simple 80-minute job. CIPHE CEO Kevin Wellman swiftly got in touch with the newspaper advising on the preventative measures consumers could take to avoid being ripped off, many of which can be found in our dos and don’ts of employing a tradesperson blog.
The Sun article detailed how an alleged plumber ignored questions about how much the work was going to cost, to then hit the client with a huge £3862.80 bill. The work to ‘fix the burst main water pipe under the kitchen sink’ was an emergency call out, undertaken in the early hours of the morning, after the client found his kitchen flooded at 1am. It is still not clear whether the installer concerned is qualified or indeed whether his work complies with Water Regulations and industry standards.
Kevin said, “Sadly the CIPHE has seen a significant increase in complaints regarding rogue installers this year. As an educational charity, our prime aim is to promote plumbing and heating in the public interest and to ensure that best practice is maintained at all times. All individual members sign a Code of Professional Standards, which requires them to act professionally, competently and responsibly. In the event of a dispute, an impartial complaints process carries out an investigation. Sadly, we are unable to investigate complaints against non-members.
“It is vital that everyone, especially the vulnerable, protect themselves from becoming victims of rogue installers. In an emergency situation it can be easy to panic and make a snap decision. If you don’t have a regular plumbing or heating engineer, you need to protect yourself by compiling a list of reputable professionals for emergencies.”
If you need a list of tradespeople in your area, please contact the CIPHE directly, on 01708 472791 or by emailing info@ciphe.org.uk from 9am-5pm, Monday-Friday. Alternatively, you can find a professional 24/7 via our find a plumber online tool – try it now!
View the Sun article here