Did I get ripped off? - Shower mixer replacement by local plumber

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Did I get ripped off? - Shower mixer replacement by local plumber

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hsadat

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Hi guys my first post on this forum.

A plumber came in to replace our shower mixer as it lost water pressure over the year from limescale blockage I believe!

The plumber managed to install the new shower mixer however it looks extremely botched! Please have a look at the picture and tell me what you think.

He CHARGED me £120 for this replacement.

All he did was change the mixer without installing the new valves and cover plate which he said didn't fit.

What do you guys think?

Much thanks.

IMG_3558.jpg
 
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There's only a need to replace the broken part otherwise there would be a lot more cost for making good, but that does look a bit low for a wall mounted mixer shower. Normally at that height the hose comes out the top.
If you want to have the wall plate replaced too you could specify that but it wouldn't come in so cheap.
 
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You are right it is low, but the old shower mixer has been in that position for the past 15 years of living in this house. I thought paying £120 would at least include the valves, I mean it only took him an hour? Bare in mind our landlord ordered the parts to our house so all the plumber did was change the shower mixer.

I just expected him to at least cover the white sealant with shower mixer cap, which is the main thing that I'm annoyed about..
 
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Looks “ the pits “ , but if you asked for the valve replacing , well , thats what hes done.
To make the whole job look as it should , its a different job altogether and TBH would cost a shed load more.
 
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townfanjon said:
Looks “ the pits “ , but if you asked for the valve replacing , well , thats what hes done.
To make the whole job look as it should , its a different job altogether and TBH would cost a shed load more.
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I mean I'm not an expert at plumbing prices but surely adding these chrome plated valve caps would've done no harm? It was actually included with the shower head mixer!

Screenshot_20190407-165854_Chrome.jpg
 
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if the pipes are long enough we dont know why / what trouble hes had
 
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Whoa!
Fact is, the contract is plumber to landlord. As a tenant you have NO right to criticise the plumber because you were not party to the contract between them.
I fully agree the job is quite horrible, but your ONLY route is to complain to your landlord NOT on here when not one of us knows any other detail.
I'm sorry to be blunt, but as a reasonable person you will understand this perspective.
Speak to your landlord and explain how you are unhappy with what has been delivered. Personally, if your LL is tight then youll have no joy. All of us on here have extensive experience of landlords.
 
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YorkshireDave said:
Whoa!
Fact is, the contract is plumber to landlord. As a tenant you have NO right to criticise the plumber because you were not party to the contract between them.
I fully agree the job is quite horrible, but your ONLY route is to complain to your landlord NOT on here when not one of us knows any other detail.
I'm sorry to be blunt, but as a reasonable person you will understand this perspective.
Speak to your landlord and explain how you are unhappy with what has been delivered. Personally, if your LL is tight then youll have no joy. All of us on here have extensive experience of landlords.
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I totally agree with you however the landlord allowed me to find the plumber myself so it's all down to me and nothing to do with them or else I wouldn't be posting on here for advice. I will call him back and try to ask him to redo the job properly with the valve caps without trying to charge me extra.

I mean he already charged me £120 with spending only 40 minutes on the job?!! So he has no excuse.
 
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YorkshireDave said:
You've already been told cleaning up the mess will be more! This means you'll be trying to rip off a tradesperson. How can you justify that?
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He wouldn't have had to clean up the mess in the first place if he had done his job correctly so tell me how the hell am I trying to rip him off by asking to redo a job that he MESSED UP!

As you can see in the picture, the old mixer has the circular caps and the after doesn't. That's my only point. All I wanted was the sealant to be covered. Surely charging me £120 wouldn't have been an issue to install those caps in the first place??

Before and after.jpg
 
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different type of fixing thats why hes done what hes done else it means ripping the tiles off
 
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Riley said:
I think by fixing it they meant a lot more work was required, tiles off etc. Can’t expect that to be done for nowt. Not fixing the abortion he’s left there now. As has been said the shrouds may not fit what was there
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Fair enough mate but as far I know, we had a verbal contract that the job would be done for £120 which I assumed includes the circular caps. If anything extra was required then that's something he should've communicated instead of wasting time performing a half hearted job which I didn't ask for.

Anyways, I will contact him tomorrow and see what he says. Much appreciate everyone's help.
 
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Looks to me like there's a limited amount of male iron coming out from the tiles, a shroud wouldn't work there as the chrome nut is in the way and too close to the wall, so the part of the male iron that the shrouds screw on is buried.
I'm not saying I would have done it the same way he did, but I can see that it wouldn't have been(and still isn't) possible to just put a couple of shrouds on.
 
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YorkshireDave said:
You've already been told cleaning up the mess will be more! This means you'll be trying to rip off a tradesperson. How can you justify that?
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Firstly whoever did That is not a tradesman.

Secondly if you know it's going to look that pants you either 1) refuse to fit it or say you need to do extra work or arrange to get the identical tap. 2) get the customer to agree to it before you do it.
 
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Millsy 82 said:
Firstly whoever did That is not a tradesman.

Secondly if you know it's going to look that pants you either 1) refuse to fit it or say you need to do extra work or arrange to get the identical tap. 2) get the customer to agree to it before you do it.
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Frankly a niave reply. We have all had those whining, wittering unreasonable customers pleading poverty wanting as cheap a job as possible who then morph into absolute pains in the ar5se when a top class job. This feels to me like a perfect example of one of those.

None of us were there. None of us know the conv. So, frankly, hanging a colleague out to dry based on no evidence whatsoever I find shameful of you. On the otherhand, the op started this post with misinformation and the truth only emerged when pushed - hence my conclusion.
 
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YorkshireDave said:
Frankly a niave reply. We have all had those whining, wittering unreasonable customers pleading poverty wanting as cheap a job as possible who then morph into absolute pains in the ar5se when a top class job. This feels to me like a perfect example of one of those.

None of us were there. None of us know the conv. So, frankly, hanging a colleague out to dry based on no evidence whatsoever I find shameful of you. On the otherhand, the op started this post with misinformation and the truth only emerged when pushed - hence my conclusion.
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I wouldn't say naive. I learnt many years ago not to do a bodge job and if it was me I would say sorry but I can't do the job.

No none of us were there but we can see the end product and honestly if I employed so.eone and they did that under my name if the customer instructed them or not they would soon find themselves walking down the road with their tools. We are meant to be professional tradesmen and it is trades that do jobs like that and charge £120 for the pleasure of it that gives us all a bad name and makes our life harder.

We in my opinion should not try to make excuses for jobs like these it does not matter if the customer is the worst customer ever and if they were told this is what it is going to look like, instead we should be condoning absolute trash jobs like that.
 
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Millsy 82 said:
I wouldn't say naive. I learnt many years ago not to do a bodge job and if it was me I would say sorry but I can't do the job.

No none of us were there but we can see the end product and honestly if I employed so.eone and they did that under my name if the customer instructed them or not they would soon find themselves walking down the road with their tools. We are meant to be professional tradesmen and it is trades that do jobs like that and charge £120 for the pleasure of it that gives us all a bad name and makes our life harder.

We in my opinion should not try to make excuses for jobs like these it does not matter if the customer is the worst customer ever and if they were told this is what it is going to look like, instead we should be condoning absolute trash jobs like that.
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What you are I have is the courage to walk away, the courage of our convictions. Bear in mind many people who end up in our trade do so because there was nothing else. In my experience those people literally live from hand to mouth and do whatever people ask even though many know, in their heart of hearts, that what they are being asked to do is wrong. I would wager that going back to when you started you, just like me, did stuff you'd now be ashamed of...

I truly get where you come from, and 100% agree IF this were done knowingly and carelessly the individual should be ashamed. However, (from recall only as the OP has now blocked me :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes: so I can't see the original image) I felt the thing had been in use sometime. One has to ask, "Why didn't Mr Agrieved Tenant talk about it at the time?"

It just smells super fishy to me and without full knowledge of these circumstances we still cannot judge as that too brings our industry into disrepute. If I am wrong, then I'll sincerely apologise as I do when that happens.

Plumbing is seen today as the #1 trade to knock for all sorts of reasons. To me, we need to stand together more because customers can be bloomin awful sometimes.
 
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Two sides to every story and an abundance of customers who are economical with the truth, coming on forums looking for ammunition to have a go at somebody.

I wouldn't have left things like that, but who knows if the guy that did had said I need tiles off to do a proper job. Or was told I don't care just do what you can.

As for price, apparently he was there for 40 minutes, apparently, I just can't get away from thinking that **** tax was applied.

Bottom line is if op wasn't happy then why not say so at the time?
 
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