Bastard bathroom tap, any ideas?

[ReanimatedSGB]

It's been a bit of a pest for months: it was dripping, then it stopped dripping, and now it won;t fully turn off. I had a mate who is good at DIY/plumbing come and have a look and he reckoned that unfortunately the whole side of the bath would have to be removed to fix it properly. Then it did seem to settle itself down, and would barely drip at all if I was very butch about turning it off. Anyone else had this?

is it a mixer tap?

is it at the end of the bath or on the side by the wall?

Does it have capstans that screw up and down, or quarter-turn levers?

Mixer tap, at the end of the bath. Sorry but I have no idea what capstans even are.
It is one of these

The cross-shaped things that you turn are capstans.

Yours appears to be a traditional bath filler with washers in the taps.

Washers are easy to replace from above.

If the seats that the washers close against are eroded, it might be possible to resurface them (there is a plumbers tool for it).

Changing the washers is the first step.

If you need to put a new filler on, the bath panel will have to come off. It should be fixed with about six screws but some buffoons like to tile over them and seal them in. It's like trying to check the oil in your car and finding the bonnet welded shut.

BTW turning taps off with great force is what damages them and makes them drip.

Yeah, it feels like the part that is 'wrong' is in the capstan. I will get a plumber out on Monday and hopefully they will be able to deal with it. At least I know where in the pavement the water thingy is..

And thank you.

I have that exact same bastard tap. Not only is is ugly but it won't allow enough water through to use the shower attachment. Can't wait to get rid of it.