To think this plumber is taking the piss and not know how to deal with it

[stripystars]

I will admit I went for the cheapest quote, but he had good reviews on MyBuilder and was not stupidly cheap.

He was to refit my ensuite. He said he could supply products if needed and sent me links to a well known plumbing website detailing the products he intended to use. I agreed them all. He said he needed the cash for the products upfront, which seemed fair enough to me. The amount he quoted matched exactly the total amount of all the items on the website.

He was a couple of days late starting the job as his previous one had overrun. Fine. I work f/t and the first day he was here (having been alone in the house all day) I heard him say on the phone (had just got in & he was upstairs) "I've fucked up big time mate. Even if the stuff gets here tomorrow..." He then shut a door and I heard no more, but when he spoke to me he said all was fine and I thought he may not necessarily have been talking about my job.

However, I wasn't that surprised to get a call from him the next day saying his van had broken down. It took about 5 days to get on the road again, then I didn't want him in the house over half-term so he restarted last week - I had been without an ensuite for about 3 weeks - no big deal but a bit draughty with the door off.

Spent last week doing the tiling (Tues - Fri) then told me Friday there was a problem with some of the items having been resold . I said, and emailed, that those were definitely the items I wanted and I would rather wait another few days than have alternatives. Today I have come home (he's already left) and the toilet is fitted and is fine, but the shower is not the one I asked for. Having googled, it doesn't have nearly as good reviews as the other one, is about £30 cheaper (none of it is top of the range tbf) and isn't as attractive imo.

I paid for this stuff about 3 weeks ago, so surely he should have had it all waiting. He had obviously not ordered it at the time, but why have I now ended up with a cheaper inferior one? I am also worried that the sink, taps and screen will turn out not to be the ones I asked for either.

I know I need to grow a pair and contact him but I hate confrontation and have never had to deal with anything like this before. I have now paid all the money apart from the last £150 and am starting to feel uneasy that he will not finish the job. Fuck. What do I do?

[gamerwidow]

Phone him you don't have to be confrontational but you do have a right to question why what you've got isn't what you've asked for. Hopefully he'll be able to put your mind at rest with regards to the other fittings but if not at least you're forewarned before they are actually installed and you've got a chance to change them. Be brave you're paying him for service.

[PJBanana]

Do you have anything confirmed in writing about what items you agreed to order? If so, I would go back and point out that the shower isn't the one you asked for. Even if you don't have it in writing, you do need to get back in touch, via email if you feel more comfortable.

Does he work for a company or himself? If he works for someone, take this higher up. You've paid for something that hasn't been provided.

I really hate to generalise, but you have my sympathy. We've used 2 different plumbers for a couple of jobs at our house. One was a 'friend', the other was more expensive and recommended by someone. And both were absolutely useless.