A cowboy plumber charged me £82 for 15 mins work and didn't solve the problem, what do I do?

[thedaveformula]

I've already sent him the cheque, I don't want to complain cause he's built like a tank, looks like the kind of guy who'd go mad if I criticised him, and well he knows where I live obviously.

But now I'm stuck £80 down and still got a blocked sink.

[jackthehat]

You have 3 choices.
1. Call him and tell him that it hasn't worked and that you'd like him to come back and fix it;
2. Call out someone else and don't pay them until the sink is unblocked;
3. Do it yourself.

[bookbinder]

Put it down to experience, I suppose. Next time, enter "find me a plumber" into Google, and pick one that's a member of a recognised trade association. I did that, and I found a good one. Now, I don't bother asking round for quotes; I just phone him and ask him to come and do the job.

[LoftyLottie]

Sinks are pretty easy to unblock. Even I can unblock a sink!!

[ummmm]

Just because someone is built like a tank doesn't mean they'd be happy with a shoddy job. Phone him and say it hasn't worked.

I use to work for a plumber. A big black man with a massive scar on his face. I'm sure people jumped to conclusions. Anyway...if he was called back out he'd sort the problem out and be as nice as nice could be.

[Count-A-Strong]

Are you sure the water in the outlet pipe hasn't frozen?

[society]

Call him up and tell him the sink is not working. You've paid him what he'd asked for to do the job and still things are the same. Didn't he test it before leaving?

[The Builder]

mmmmmm ........ "call-out" charge for a blocked sink? This kind of thing winds me up .......... but that's not the point. As Jack says, call him to get his reaction. A decent tradesman would just come back and finish the job without further charge, assuming there's nothing more complicated with it.

Lotty's right ........... I can tell you how to do it if you like.
Failing that, do as Bookers says .......... ask around for recommendation.

[R1Geezer]

Call him up and tell him it's not resolved, guage the attuitude, stop the cheque if necessary, have someone else there videoing the whole thing when he next comes round. You may find he is horrified and believed the problem was solved so he may surprise you and fix it. Did he not demontrate that the sink was unblocked before he left?

[hc4361]

bookbinder - did you actually check that your plumber was a member of trade association? It is so easy for people to claim credentials they don't have.

As already said, phone him up.

[alavahalf]

What are credentials to do with it ... anyone can join the Guild of Master Craftsmen.. what does that prove. All it proves is he has paid the Guild to become a member, and then gets the stickers to stick on his van.

Surely you are aware that some plumbers have a reputation for surprising customers with large bills for what seems a small job.
£82 or not, why did'nt you ask his charge for a call out ... then there would have been no surprises..!

[NazNomad]

You're all saying £82 to unblock a sink when in fact it's £82 to NOT unblock a sink.

Just phone him, explain the situation, if he's any sort of decent tradesman he'll come back and rectify the problem that you've already paid him to fix.

[R1Geezer]

he will have an hourly rate, probaby minimum of 1 hour + call out so it's not £82 to unblock a sink, just call him you might be surprised.