Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Money matters

Find financial and money-saving discussions including debt and pension chat on our Money forum. If you're looking for ways to make your money to go further, sign up to our Moneysaver emails here.

Original poster

Plumber is charging me for cancelling!

128 replies

Rajster · 08/01/2018 20:35

Our boiler broke on 2nd Jan and we had a guy come out to have a look at it. He recommended having a new one fitted but he couldn’t fit it for another week. A day later we asked him to go ahead. However, in the meantime another person was recommend to us and he could fit a boiler much sooner - within 2 days. We asked him to do it and it was fitted today and finally we have heating and hot water. We have 2 children under 4 so it was essential that a new boiler was installed as soon as possible. We cancelled the original guy today and now he’s trying to charge us £250 for cancelling even though this was never made clear up front and there is nothing in writing to say we agreed to such a charge. He is threatening legal action if we don’t pay.

Surely we don’t have to pay this? It was an emergency situation that needed resolving as soon as possible.

Please help!

OP posts:
StopCallingMeShirley · 08/01/2018 21:07

Crossed post with others. Slow typing on phone!

ShiftyMcGifty · 08/01/2018 21:10

He will need to show how he came up with £250 as his loss. If he can show you, he can show the court.

I would text that as you had not discussed nor agreed any cancellation charge policy, is he claiming £250 loss of income due to your reasonable notice of cancellation, of less than 1 business day? If so, could he please provide proof of the incurred costs in scans via email (as he would need to submit in small claims) ?

Mynametodaywillbe · 08/01/2018 21:11

By texting him to say you would go ahead you agreed in writing to the work, which is binding. I would be pissed off if I were him. You should have told him as soon as you decided to go with someone else at the very least.

retirednow · 08/01/2018 21:12

Did you agree to him buying you a new boiler

Serin · 08/01/2018 21:17

Sorry OP but I think that is really low of you.

StoorieHoose · 08/01/2018 21:18

I’d be worrried more about the plumber that can slot you in that quickly- he can’t be very good if he can fit you in that quick and not have jobs lined up already! A plumber/gas fitter who is not busy in the winter is one that isn’t that good I think

NoSquirrels · 08/01/2018 21:22

You weren’t honest with him - that’s poor of you. You agreed to go ahead in writing and then hedged your bets. I know it feels like an emergency when you’ve hit no hot water or heating in January but you should’ve been honest and told him on 6th you’d had a change of heart.

But - £250 is steep unless he can prove he’s lost money. So get him to prove it.

I don’t blame him for trying to charge you though.

blurredlines · 08/01/2018 21:23

Stoorie it can be done at short notice . Boiler breakdowns work on a quick turn around . Plumbers do not know what what one week will be till the next . My ex usually completed most breakdowns within a day or two and could nearly always accommodate a boiler change within 2-5 days . He's been going for years and is very reputable.

In regards to the plumber I do think he's trying it on . Most plumbers I know get boilers from local merchants and can easily return them if needs be.
It is frustrating when customers cancel but it's not worth the hassle of bad online reviews.

blurredlines · 08/01/2018 21:28

And you telling me he's going to drive round with a boiler in his van for 5 days or store it in his house until he completes the job ? Nah. Most engineers pick up the day before or the morning .

Original poster
Rajster · 08/01/2018 21:29

Just to add, we did pay Plumber 1 a £60 call out fee, so he didn’t get entirely nothing from his visit!

OP posts:
gillybeanz · 08/01/2018 21:29

YABU

He could have turned down other work and you let him down at the last minute.
You should have let him know straight away, he has the right to charge you.

ShellyBoobs · 08/01/2018 21:30

Did you sign anything, if not, then you only agreed verbally, not worth the paper it's written on. Like PP has said, ignore him, it will coast him much more to take you to court.

Why do you think a verbal contract isn’t as valid as a written one?

There are few types of contracts which must be in writing.

I’m not saying there was a contract in place in this particular scenario, OP, but don’t make the mistake of believing it would need to be a written one to be valid.

blurredlines · 08/01/2018 21:30

And she has the right to cancel and use who she wants . It's not op fault he couldn't do it sooner.

Original poster
Rajster · 08/01/2018 21:31

Blurredlines - that is exactly what plumber 2 did this morning. Went to the merchants at 7am, texted us at 7.06am to tell us he had got it and was on his way. If Plumber 2 is out all day on jobs, how’s the boiler going to get delivered? It doesn’t make sense. I will wait and see what his next move is.

OP posts:
Notreallyarsed · 08/01/2018 21:34

He's a business not a charity

You told him to go ahead two days ago, at which point he could easily have ordered the boiler and it could have been delivered today.
DP is self employed and there’s nothing more irritating than people who cancel last minute after him doing what they’ve asked like his time is worth nothing. You should have cancelled him as soon as you had plumber 2 in place.

Whether he can legally charge you or not I have no idea. Morally, you weren’t fair.

gillybeanz · 08/01/2018 21:35

blurredlines

Of course anyone can cancel anything whenever they want.
However, if you have agreed to take somebody's time up, you should be happy to pay a cancellation fee.
Gosh, we'd all be out of business if people could just cancel at the last minute.
You'd never make a living.

blurredlines · 08/01/2018 21:39

But most plumbers also do quotations for free ? They will come out free of charge . This is the risk they take in doing so.
I agree it's annoying but there's nothing he can do.
It's the same as wondering round a shop for an hour , asking for advice , taking up staff time then leaving without buying anything . Shit happens.

Dizzybacon · 08/01/2018 21:39

Retired boilers generally aren’t off the shelf.

ShiftyMcGifty · 08/01/2018 21:41

“However, if you have agreed to take somebody's time up, you should be happy to pay a cancellation fee”. that you have agreed to do beforehand.

As a business, you cannot tell a customer that they owe you £1,000 or £100 because they cancelled and that is your cancellation fee UNLESS the customer agreed to those terms first.

blurredlines · 08/01/2018 21:41

They are ! Honestly I've worked within this industry for years . There are so many local merchants and the big sellers where you can buy same or next day

Notreallyarsed · 08/01/2018 21:43

It's the same as wondering round a shop for an hour , asking for advice , taking up staff time then leaving without buying anything

Does that shop staff member not get paid because you wasted their time? No. It’s not the same.

blurredlines · 08/01/2018 21:44

It is if you own and run the shop.

blurredlines · 08/01/2018 21:45

Honestly I know loads of tradesmen in this area. He's pissed off and trying it on.

Notreallyarsed · 08/01/2018 21:48

Aye ok smarty pants.

It boils down to this.
Wasting people’s time and expecting them to be fine with a job you’ve requested them to carry out, order parts for and clear time for being cancelled last minute is just a shit thing to do. Justify it however you want. It’s a shit thing to do, it’s disrespectful, arrogant and shit.

TalkingSheds · 08/01/2018 21:48

Why do you think a verbal contract isn’t as valid as a written one?

Because it's not, it will end up being one persons word against another's. Unless T&C's are agreed and signed at the beginning of a transaction, ie a contract, then you're not really covered.