non paying customer

[Ted808]

plumb_know's story has a happy ending- how will mine end?
Well done mate you got your money!
I had a cust that rang me after almost a year saying: 'THE BOILERYOU INSTALLED is playing up!
Naturally I made an appointment went over and found he's had a new bathroom and several radiators replaced and upgraded. I'd spent ages balancing the system before, but ,now found all trv and lock shields on max!
I got on to trying to balance a hot system and he left me to it, sayin

 

[Atouchofgas]

Sayin what

 

[Best]

Sayin what

We will have to guess, for the moment.

The customer may have said, - I will pay you loads of money for getting it all working again,
or it could be, - I will pay you nothing because you are responsible and the boiler you installed wasn't working after one year, so it's your fault!
My bets on the last one.
Typical ignorant people

 

[Atouchofgas]

Or he's being held hostage and is now a gimp

 

[Ted808]

We will have to guess, for the moment.

The customer may have said, - I will pay you loads of money for getting it all working again,
or it could be, - I will pay you nothing because you are responsible and the boiler you installed wasn't working after one year, so it's your fault!
My bets on the last one.
Typical ignorant people

No idea what happened!?
Part 2...
So he left the me to it, but saying ”be gentle with the bill " as he left!
Grrr !!! Got my back up a little. But I pressed on. Balancing the system as best I could in limited time - bearing in mind to be gentle.
The system was hot and how long can I spend waiting for it to cool. 12rads now - 9 before.
Next day he rang miffed that all the TRV's weren't on max ! I tried to explain about balancing and that I could drop in on my way home and tweek it a bit more!
Later I got a tx- can I actually do this job? Well that was the last straw and I replied " better to get someone else" as he is doubting my ability, invoice will be sent for time spent.
Sent invoice.... Not a word since!
So I'm guessing win some loose some.
Like the plumb_know I felt pants about getting knocked ..

 

[jonnyswamp]

Go and knock on his door and have a face to face with him explaining what you have done for the money and don't leave without it
Personally I would have insisted on payment at the time
Don't let him get away with not paying you, doesn't matter whether it's £20 or £200, it's the principle
People like this make my blood boil

 

[Best]

With hindsight you probably should have initially told the customer when you discovered he had new rads & lockshields on max that some idiot has tampered with the system and you would have to sort it but chargeable as nothing to do with your new boiler original work.

Since the customer had the cheek to complain about you turning the TRVs below max etc, I would have retaliated by sending him an invoice together with a letter briefly explaining that TRVs should not be at max setting and that some idiot has been unbalancing his system.
Just to prove a point - send him a photocopy of TRV instructions, mentioning in your letter if he could read it to try to understand their operation.
My attitude as I get older is, if the customer is patronising, I will do same on them.

 

[Chalked]

The trv's should all be able to operate on max. The balancing should be done with the lockshield.
Hope you get paid tho

 

[gassafe]

I would have mode a point straightaway that 3 additional radiators have been added & the system altered to suit this, no way your fault. I would have said get the radiator installer back of the 3 new rads as its there problem!

As for getting paid it depends how far you want to go for whatever you charged? If it's just first hour is it worth it? I always think I'd turn off there gas on the meter (if external) if they don't pay but never had to yet

 

[Best]

The trv's should all be able to operate on max. The balancing should be done with the lockshield.
Hope you get paid tho

But he was right to turn the TRVs below max. Having a TRV on max setting lets a room get to about 29 degrees, which is far too much I think.
I find a lot of customers haven't a clue and keep them full up "because they turn off when room heats up". :smile:
I also turn TRVs down - living rooms about number 4 setting, bedrooms 3 or less.