Plumber broke shower doors. Should we pay?

[Thierryhenryneedisaymore]

We are having a shower replaced in our bathroom due to a leak. In a nutshell, the plumber quoted for work, we accepted and he started - removal of shower panels, fitting replacements using existing door and tray. He has now broken the doors and said they cannot be fixed. He did not explain this would be a risk beforehand but is saying he did not know until he started but the plastic rollers plus extra around the edges broken. Doesnt look fixable to me and he says its definitely now.

AIBU to be slightly pissed off that he expects us to pay, or is this a risk i should have known about even though he didn't mention?

Definitely not fixable

YABU, I wouldn't expect a plumber to pay for new shower doors; I might refuse to pay him the full price though given that he has caused damage.

He should be insured for this kind of eventuality, so ask for his insurance details.

how old is the shower, and how much did it cost?

He is liable. He needs to pay out, either via his insurer or from his own pocket. He has an obligation to carry out the work with due care and skill, which he appears not to have done. As such, he is liable to you under the Consumer Rights Act.

If he refuses, you can take him to the Small Claims Court. What might be worth looking into, is whether you have legal expenses cover as part of your home or contents insurance? If so, give their helpline a ring and they can run the claim for you.

It should come under his professional insurance I would have thought, ask for his insurers details.

Just to clarify - whilst you can certainly ask for his insurer's details - the onus is on HIM to sort the situation out, not for you to have to chase his insurers. I doubt, in any event, that they'd speak to you directly if he is their client. As such, keep the pressure up on HIM and ask how he plans to remedy the situation.

Did he actually break it? I couldn't tell from your post whether he broke it or whether he discovered it was broken when he removed it and saw the bits usually hidden.

He just left after i questioned it and said i could get someone else! I am pretty sure it is his fault. Didn't get a chance to ask about insurance. He said doors can break when being taken off but he didn't mention it when he quoted. I don't know him.
I dont have legal expenses cover. Im guessing i will be £200 minimum to replace and yes i probably shouldn't expect new for old replacement but i will be out of pocket so i would have expected him to offer to reduce his cost a little but he was adamant he could not do anything about it which annoyed me but i was not sure if it was a risk but then as he did not mention this beforehand i didn't expect it.
No idea what the shower doors cost but online replacements look to be 200 plus to replace.

He did say he broke it when removing

I thought you meant he shattered the glass by being careless. Plastic rollers snapping off while being removed sounds like old age and I’m not surprised he walked away. I can’t imagine asking someone to pay because my old door snapped off. Next time, remove them yourself.

Oh and he didn’t tell you because they’re not meant to snap off if they’re in good working order. Unless of course you’re now going to say the shower doors are 6 months old and I’m going to have to back pedal

Tha is outrageous! Of course YANBU - I would be livid.

Have you paid him and how old was the shower?

Has the actual door broke or the rollers?

My rollers have broke before and I have been able to replace them from eBay.

Do you owe him any money at the moment (ignoring the doors) if so don’t pay that, he caused damage no matter how old they are and therefore he should pay to fix them!