Plumber ghosting us, jeopardising house sale!

[IStillMissBlockbuster]

We have been waiting to exchange contracts on our house for aaages. We had to replace the water tank as part of the sale. All done, seems fine, but the plumber didn't complete the paperwork to certify that it complies with building regs. And now he's ghosting us! He won't call back, answer texts, anything!

DH asked the council whether we needed regs for a water tank, they said yes, and the solicitor said that as he did that, she not cannot get an indemnity against it. So i'm at panic stations. What can we do? Please help!

This screams out that he isn’t who he says he is. I bet he isn’t even accredited

Is there a plumber equivalent to Gas Safe? All DH's qualifications are listed under his engineer registration and it won't show any that have lapsed.

To get another engineer I'd ask on your local FB site - I'd outline that you've been let down and the house sale (not naming who). I know my DH would make an exception to his not commissioning others work rule.

Is there any way to feedback to checkatrader? DH isn't on those sites so I don't know how exactly they work.

I'd be tempted to leave a final message to the plumber saying you'll be forced to get another engineer and will seek the costs back from him. Worth a try..

There seems to be a complaint procedure on checkatrade which I will pursue but it says it will give the trades person 28 days to respond which is bob all use when we're trying to exchange this week.

Yeah I'll send a message tomorrow saying that

Deceased? (Benefit of the doubt and all that) 🤷🏼‍♀️

How can I be sure that the next person is appropriately qualified to sign it off?

If you are in the London area you could ask Pimlico Plumbers to check it and certify.

Ask to see confirmation of the qualification. DH has both certificates and ID cards - he always has the ID cards on him. If it's a Gas Safe engineer you can cross check on their register.

Here www.pimlicoplumbers.com/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI4M6i36bc3gIVjpTtCh19KwdEEAAYASAAEgLRmPD_BwE

Someone else has mentioned a gas safe engineer - really stupid question alert, but this is a water cylinder issue.....not gas? Is this a more general certificate or something?

A lot of gas fitters will be qualified for this as they will install them as part of heating systems.

But it is a specific qualification hence checking engineer has it and it's up to date. Can't advise on plumbers

Oh ok. Thank you.

Have you had any joy? I'm totally over-invested in this!

Hi, thanks for asking! It's really frustrating but I've arranged for someone else too certify it. It'll cost £150+VAT and I think they'll have to do done work to get it up to code which will cost extra again. Our solicitor now says that getting an indemnity is an option now and is cheaper so maybe I'll cancel.

I whatsapped the original plumber saying either he steps up or I'll get someone to do it and take him to small claims court. Short answer is that he's not doing it. I'm guessing he can't. DH wants to forget it and we are super stressed with the house sale and work stuff so I don't know if I will pursue it tbh. I'll be leaving an honest review on checkatrade either way.

Thanks for updating. I'm glad you've found a way to get it sorted, sorry the original plumber has been so awful though.

Totally understand when dealing with house move stress etc, going after the plumber isn't a high priority. I think Which? Have pre-action template letters if you do decide to persue him.

Hope the rest of the move goes as stress-free as possible.

There seems to be a complaint procedure on checkatrade which I will pursue but it says it will give the trades person 28 days to respond which is bob all use when we're trying to exchange this week.

Just one reason CheckaTrade isn't worth the electrons it uses. (Also, who do you think is paying to list the tradesmen ?????). See also "RatedPeople" and any other service where the trader pays for listing

I think I'd be contacting Trading Standards as well, he's misrepresenting what he's qualified to do.

Yeah, I might do, thanks.