I am unreasonable but I'm just frustrated

[DaniFar]

We're away for the night and my mum is watching kids (not on holiday or anything fun)

Pipe has burst under the sink and was literally like a running tap, could turn water off but have disabled DC with bowel problems and a 7 month old so MIL went round and called emergency plumber.

The person on the phone said the call out fee was £70 and that's it, that's all they said so they agreed to send a plumber out.

Plumber came out and went into the kitchen and said did they tell you the price and MIL said no so plumber said it'll be £200-£300 which we can't afford so MIL called the emergency plumbing service again and they said they'd send someone else out in the morning but we still need to pay the call out fee which is fair enough.

MIL apologised to plumber and explained and he simply said no, I've not come out just for £70, bent down and put whatever was needed on the pipe and said right fixed, that'll be £200 which obviously my MIL paid as they were lone women in the property.

I can honestly see it from both sides but just pissed off because we really can't afford it and I'm just venting because there's nothing we can do. Obviously the plumber needs to make a living but hopefully next time something happens I'm home to google it

You know what @saltinesandcoffeecups I'm sorry I was actually taking my frustration out on you and that's not cool.

I'm just very stressed apparently the stop clock isn't turning the water off either so it's literally just pissing through so that's always fun.

Don’t pay him any more!!! You paid him to fix it, that was the price for fixing it- he can’t coerce you into hiring him and then charge you twice.

Don't pay him twice for coming out! It's the same job which hasn't been sorted satisfactorily.

Yes but when she found out how expensive it was going to be to fix she had every right to say no. That’s the point of a call out fee- it’s the min that makes it worth their while to come out, in recognition that they might not be able/ be hired to do anything further.

No worries… I’m sure I wasn’t a barrel of laughs when my furnace went out on Christmas Eve 5 hours before my guests were due to arrive.

Now that callout was painful!

You need to ring the people who sent him and tell them what happened, explain how they felt intimidating into paying

Don't let him back in the house and if he starts harassing outside then call the police

Your mother may have misunderstood? The £70 was the fee for an emergency visit, it doesn’t include any kind of repair or work. It is just the fee to drop everything and come to your place without an appointment, basically. Once they are there they assess the issue, fix it, and bill you for the work as well. The £70 doesn’t count towards any of the work done.

They probably didn’t specifically say that on the phone because an emergency call out fee is pretty standard for services like this and they didn’t realize that they needed to explain.

I’m sorry to hear that the leak has started again. I hope you can get it fixed so you don’t have to stress about it anymore while you’re away.

@Ellie450 I think that might have been what happened but when they realised they were very apologetic to the plumber and asked him not to do the work (as it was stopping at the time with the stop clock) but he just did it anyway and I think that's the bit I'm annoyed about because I wonder if he would have ignored them completely if a man was there? Maybe, it's done now.

The neighbour very kindly came round and the plumber FaceTimed him and the neighbour has managed to temporarily fix it and plumber said if it's still an issue he will come out tomorrow free of charge.

What an eventful night.

If you're metered you can generally turn the water offset the meter if the stop cock is broken, but also to really ought to get that fixed too when you can afford it.

Totally this!!
He has NOT fixed it from the first 200 you paid so do not give him another penny. I'd maybe call the company and confirm as job was not done satisfactorily then no payment will be due!

@Georgeandzippyzoo

In fairness, the guy has offered to come back out and fix for no added cost.

This^

I think it was more the fact when they realised their mistake they asked him not to carry out the work but he did anyway and was quite intimidating.

However he has said any further issues he will return tomorrow at no further cost so it is what it is.

I think it was just the tipping point for me but I've calmed down now and like PP said it's the joys of owning a house. I doubt it'll be the last time but hopefully next time I'm here.