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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Should we pay plumber?

97 replies

Dontjumptoconclusions · 06/05/2021 13:19

Plumber came to fix our shower which wasn't working.

After sorting what he thought was the issue, turns out, it wasn't the issue and its actually something else. We are getting another plumber, as we don't trust the first plumber anymore.

First Plumber wants to charge us for whatever work he did in attempt to solve the problem.

His reason being we pay for his time, he could have booked in another job etc.

Our issue is that he didn't solve the problem.... So what are we paying him for?!

AIBU? Should we pay for his call out charge and time taken to fix what wasn't broken?

(FYI, he was a highly rated plumber we found online so didn't expect this issue.)

OP posts:
idontlikealdi · 06/05/2021 13:22

You pay him for his time. Even if he was shit you pay for his time.

SilverOtter · 06/05/2021 13:23

You pay him🙄

UCOinanOCG · 06/05/2021 13:23

Of course you need to pay him for this. Just because he didn't solve the issue doesn't mean he was rubbish, he just didn't manage to work out the issue. That sometimes happens.

NeedATan · 06/05/2021 13:24

when he was doing the work, did he say he thought the fix would or would not work? Did he at any point say he was not sure he had identified the actual issue?

SatsumasOrClementines · 06/05/2021 13:26

I would pay.

After sorting what he thought was the issue, turns out, it wasn't the issue and its actually something else.
Can you give more info here. Did he find this out or someone else?

AhNowTed · 06/05/2021 13:26

Of course you pay him.

Diagnosing the problem through a process of elimination is not an exact science, and no one is always going to get it right first time.

iklboo · 06/05/2021 13:28

Of course you have to pay him.

Twickerhun · 06/05/2021 13:29

You pay him. Sometimes fixing things is a process of illumination until you find the real fault

Freddiefox · 06/05/2021 13:30

We had very similar, he ‘fixed’ the toilet and left knowing full well it was still leaking.

I’m
Gutted but I paid him

Chemenger · 06/05/2021 13:30

Of course you pay him.

PlanDeRaccordement · 06/05/2021 13:31

You pay him even though he was mistaken, he tried to fix the fault in good faith. Have you never made a mistake in your work? How would you feel if your employer refused to pay your wages because you made a mistake or needed help from a colleague to get something done?

InTheNightWeWillWish · 06/05/2021 13:35

Of course you pay him.

He gave a best estimate as to what the problem was, investigated the problem and found it was something else. If my spreadsheet at work breaks, I’ll investigate the formula that I assume is causing the problem. Sometimes, something else is broken and I need to investigate what the issue is or why it’s not working. If I still can’t get the spreadsheet then I resort to building it again. I would expect my employer to pay me throughout. Why would self employed be any different?

Thisseatisnotavailable · 06/05/2021 13:36

Of course pay him.

Was it working when he left? Why did you think it was fixed if it wasn't? Have you called him again to say it isn't working, I doubt he would charge a further call out fee if he came back to take another look.

audweb · 06/05/2021 13:37

He didn’t come to investigate the problem from the goodness of his heart. You got him in to work, you pay him for his time.

Palavah · 06/05/2021 13:37

Most trades charge a call out fee in any case, so you owe him that, surely?

Goingtogetflamed · 06/05/2021 13:39

Definitely pay the call out fee (but yes, just pay him).
I would probably have had a discussion about what didn’t work, what were next steps etc and not been so quick to find someone else. I would have expected some form of discount in the overall bill but if you’ve not worked with him through the whole job you’ve not given him the opportunity to show that goodwill.

Planttrees · 06/05/2021 13:40

I disagree. I pay someone to do a job and if they don't do it, they can't expect payment. Depends on what the problem was and whether a competent plumber should have known that. I would complain to the company and ask them to rectify it and not expect to be charged for another call out.

Planttrees · 06/05/2021 13:44

I am actually amazed at the number of people on here that are prepared to pay for shoddy work - not really surprising that standards are so low in some of the building trades. You are quite within your rights not to pay for work that is done poorly or not done regardless of hours spent:

gw.legal/articles/building-claims-how-to-challenge-shoddy-building-work

Tower134 · 06/05/2021 13:44

I disagree (possibly). I need more information to assess any loss. How do you now know the issue is something different?

drpet49 · 06/05/2021 13:50

* I disagree. I pay someone to do a job and if they don't do it, they can't expect payment.*

^I agree.

Lindy2 · 06/05/2021 13:53

Sometimes with plumbing you need to work through several potential faults to find the exact problem.

I can see both points of view. Are you sure what he fixed wasn't a contributing factor in the problem? How long did he spend working and what has he said about the fact the fault was actually a different issue?

andweallsingalong · 06/05/2021 13:54

I would have expected him to fix the actual problem for free labour to make up for his mistake in getting the first bit wrong. That's what most trades offer in my (limited) experience, but if you're not giving him the opportunity to put it right I'm not sure where you stand. He's diagnosed it now would probably have been cheaper to stick with him as he was already there.

snackmonster · 06/05/2021 14:30

Why don't you trust the first plumber?

And yes, of course you should pay him for his time. People can't just work for free. It might have been a particularly difficult job and it took him that long to diagnose the problem.

Original poster
Dontjumptoconclusions · 06/05/2021 15:26

So to answer a few questions...

When the problem wasn't fixed, he looked a bit confused and said it could actually be what we originally thought it was. But he didn't have the tools etc,and he's fully booked for the next week so can't come back for a while.

We said forget it, we can't be out of a working shower for so long. For all we know, he could be wrong again. Let's hire someone competent instead who might actually get it right the first time.

He's charging us for call out fee, plus additional time spent, plus parts. We are essentially being asked to pay for absolutely nothing which has benefited us. He came and left and the shower is the same.

I appreciate some of you are saying to pay. But the problem wasn't fixed. If I pay for a service, i expect to receive that service.

I appreciate mistakes happen at work, but that is a business expense.

If you received an incorrect meal at a restaurant, would you be expected to pay for it, since the chefs took their time to make it? If you bought tickets to a show which was cancelled, would you pay for the tickets since the cast took their time to rehearse for the show you didn't see?

Im just not convinced at this "paying for his time". I'm paying for a service.

OP posts:
Original poster
Dontjumptoconclusions · 06/05/2021 15:41

When I say "what we originally thought it was, we did some googling and tried to figure out the problem ourselves, and plumber said that couldn't be the problem... Now he says it could be... Is he guessing?

He's not an apprentice here to practice on our shower.

OP posts:
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