To expect my heating to be fixed by now ?

[Wonger]

My boiler packed in yesterday morning so I ring my usual guy, he will be here before noon. I wait... I call him at 2pm, he's delayed, he will be here by 4pm, I wait... I call him at 6pm, his phone is switched off... I ring other service engineers who are charging me either double weekend rates or not available. Original guy calls me back at 7pm, "Sorry love, forgot all about you, I'll be there at 8:30am tomorrow morning". We freeze the asses off ourselves last night knowing by the morning my heating will be back on.. It's now almost 10:30am and guess what ? I'm still waiting and his phone is ringing out... I've guests arriving this evening to stay the night and starting to panic..

Is it too much to ask that if you agree to call around and provide a service that I could have got someone else to do, that you actually provide the service !!!!

sadly the idea of keeping appointments, or even picking up the damn phone, or returning calls, seems to be old-fashioned with many tradesmen.

go buy some electric heaters, and warn your guests to give them the option of cancelling.

and if you have a 'usual guy' it sounds like it is time for a new boiler!

Same problem here with trying to get a plumber to a simple job(for a plumber, not us!)

One made an appointment to do work, checked day before he was coming but he backed out saying he had an emergency job on. Tried three more, two were two busy. One made an appointment to look at it the next night, didnt turn up, no phone call.

Went back to original plumber, he can do the following weekend. Turns up half an hour late saying somethings come up and he cant do job, might be free end of the week.

Emailed a different plumber as not answering phone. He eventually replied saying he could do job, asked for address and contact numbers which I sent with times we were available asking him to confirm either way if he could attend. No reply to email or phone call.

I give up. Tradesmen moan and they say their reputation for this is unwarranted but at the moment I've got no faith in any of them.

Well he eventually turned up at 11am, 25hrs after first called him.. Took a quick look and said he had to pop down the road to the suppliers to get the part. He called me at 11:12 (checked phone) to say he had the part, it was slightly more expensive than quoted, would he still get the part ? I said yes, so he says ok, see ya in a bit.. It's 3hrs later and no sign of him. His phone is ringing out and I'm stuck indoors for a 2nd day with no heating and very very frustrated... Can't cancel visitors as they are coming from other side of the country for an event tomorrow. Have managed to borrow a blow heater for bedroom and have a wee oil filled electric heater for downstairs.. We sat in the car in the driveway earlier just for the heat.. This is gone beyond ridiculous :(