Leak in customer house.

[JKG]

I cannot believe nobody thought to turn the water off. I would want proof that I was responsible for the leak before going any further. Your insurance company will be asking for the same if you do decide to go down that route

 

[WC1]

I'd give him 350, smile and walk away, your reputation is worth more than 350. You need to learn (very quickly ) which jobs and customers to walk away from. Spend the time you're not on the tools doing the books, advertising, leafleting etc. Keep your chin up, keep doing good work at a reasonable price and it'll all come good.

 

[Stu-B]

That’s the wonderful world of the self employed, put it down to experience and get on with the rest of your jobs.
FWIW, if a customer reports a leak on a job I’ve done or am halfway through, I insist on going to look there and then.... next time though eh

 

[Dunlopplumbing]

Fortunately I have never had this sort of problem. I have had a few leaks in my 40 years, but managed to get back quickly enough to sort them out to the client's satisfaction.
This sounds to me like the client who is obviously upset about the situation, should not have gone ahead and made the repair himself, expecting to be paid for it. This sort of disagreement will never be solved to the satisfaction of all concerned.
In the end if it were to go to court, it would come down to the wonderful word "reasonable". You gave him the opportunity of a time to repair, you were also unwell, therefore unavailable later, is that unreasonable? Did the leak leave him without water in the house? if so, a judge would probably decide you did not attend soon enough, if on the other hand, he still had water elsewhere and was able to isolate the leak, then they would probably judge that you acted reasonably.
Even if you just couldn't attend because of other commitments, he would have needed to inform you that if you did not attend, that he would go elsewhere and invoice you for any reasonable charges made. I would go with the reasonable opportunity argument, and put it down to experience.
If you want to build-up a loyal customer base, you need to bend over backwards to keep clients happy. That said, there are some people out there, who no matter how well you do your job, will never be happy. It is difficult but you have to just suck it up sometimes and move on.

 

[WC1]

People who want it dirt cheap will always feel they overpaid. F (forget) them.

 

[Sharp Point]

Totally agree, no agree button yet and post has to be longer than 5 words.

Yep, I noticed that. If I’m grumpy, I maybe can’t be arsed to type five words. Another thing that needs to be addressed

 

[firemant]

Firstly, a punter wanting a job as cheap as chips is no surprise. I have never gone to a garage and said "fix my car, I don't care what yo bill me" !
Never let the punter dictate terms - to a CAC customer, just say that "I need to charge x amount, and that is my quotation. feel free to look around". don't let their problems become YOUR problem. That said, I would wager that most of us found this aspect tough when starting out.

Secondly, these days one would expect him to have some video evidence of the leak. And perhaps you should have suggested it?

Thirdly, don't leave an alleged leak for 2 days -that is madness, IMO

Fourthly, where did £350 com from? Is that HIS time, or did he get someone else in? And were you supposed to return for further work?

 

[Ryooo]

You offered to go back. Have been polite and he cancelled then got it fixed without giving you the chance to go back?

On the day he called to say there was a leak it was a Friday. I was scheduled to go back on the Tuesday. It was on the Wednesday I cancel.

 

[Ryooo]

You offered to go back. Have been polite and he cancelled then got it fixed without giving you the chance to go back?

Yeah I contacted him last night after last speaking on Wednesday. He said he's fixed it himself but now the showers pipes are too short. I can only imagine cut the soldered elbow off and most likely used compression.

 

[Ryooo]

How's one of his diy moments going to cause one of your soldered joints to leak? It's ok getting defensive because your being pursued for money but at the end of the day it is your fault. You arranged to go back a few days later, in that time did you advise the customer to turn off the water? What was the hold up in going back (prior to shingles diagnosis)? I don't know about others on here, but if I get a call saying I've got a leak, I go that day.

Yeah advised customer to turn off water. His damages are... In his words

Cabinet door £30
Cabinet £30
Gloss £22
Lino £182
Plwood £94

All damage is in kitchen.