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View the thread, titled "Plumber ? ..... Cowboy ? ...... Con-man" which is posted in UK Plumbers Forums on UK Plumbers Forums.
This scenario doesnt just apply to the elderly i know younger families that have been stung ,my gran passed away in her 90's and she was astute as you get with money (scottish she was, so tight) .
BTW to the op british gas do this everyday
D
DustyM
The sad thing is, there's more of those rip off merchants out there. I've gained a hell of a lot of experience over the last couple of years and a customer base that grows based on my reliability and honesty. The amount of now customers who've been ripped off and suffered bad repairs was/is shocking. Strangely, a lot of the time they don't chase these individuals down and confront them, and are also reluctant to divulge their identities....
I think when people see past the "charisma" that they fell for in the first place many see the evil that was around them and are just thankful the damage wasn't worse, money can be replaced.
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Billy Bunter
Yes when circumstances permit
Dad died a few weeks ago .... I only found out about this guy and the £286 when I was going thru His papers
Mum, said that Dad tried to deal with things Himself, because I'd recently had cancer and a hip replacement ..... and he didn't want them to be the cause of more "problems and anxiety" to me ( His words )
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PlumbBobBob
sorry to hear about your dad.
L
lame plumber
not the best of things to find, I hope you can find some better memories to put this behind you.
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Billy Bunter
Having discovered this "rip-off" I decided to investigate the extent of work this cowboy had done for £286
I closed the 5 valves A,B,C,D,E
Slowly opened and disconnected the 2 old chrome compression nuts on the new 15mm brass gatevalve...... about a cup full of water drained out
then I removed the new 15mm brass gate valve
At this point the water is simply closed-down by the 5 valves
The above close-up photo clearly shows ..... OLD Tarnished Olives, OLD Tarnished pipe and OLD Bruised Chrome Compression nuts left from the original "leaking" chrome issolator valve
Clearly there is NO new pipework , NO new couplers, No new fittings
Conclusion ........ The guy charged £286 for fitting part of a new 15mm Brass gatevalve
Whats that cost £ 3.50
I closed the 5 valves A,B,C,D,E
Slowly opened and disconnected the 2 old chrome compression nuts on the new 15mm brass gatevalve...... about a cup full of water drained out
then I removed the new 15mm brass gate valve
At this point the water is simply closed-down by the 5 valves
The above close-up photo clearly shows ..... OLD Tarnished Olives, OLD Tarnished pipe and OLD Bruised Chrome Compression nuts left from the original "leaking" chrome issolator valve
Clearly there is NO new pipework , NO new couplers, No new fittings
Conclusion ........ The guy charged £286 for fitting part of a new 15mm Brass gatevalve
Whats that cost £ 3.50
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My condolences on the loss of your Dad.
You have every right to annoyed, looking at the above we are also annoyed that a person claiming to be a member of our trade has abused the trust placed in him, prices and hourly rates vary but even a surgeon holding a persons life in their hands would not charge that much for a few minutes work.
There are very few options open to you that may bring satisfaction, I know locally if such a thing is reported to the Police they can't do anything about what we consider criminal however they do tend to make the offending parties life very difficult in other ways.
All I can suggest is that any action you intend taking please keep it within the law, citisens advice or your Solicitor would be much better than me to advise you on any further action you might take.
You have every right to annoyed, looking at the above we are also annoyed that a person claiming to be a member of our trade has abused the trust placed in him, prices and hourly rates vary but even a surgeon holding a persons life in their hands would not charge that much for a few minutes work.
There are very few options open to you that may bring satisfaction, I know locally if such a thing is reported to the Police they can't do anything about what we consider criminal however they do tend to make the offending parties life very difficult in other ways.
All I can suggest is that any action you intend taking please keep it within the law, citisens advice or your Solicitor would be much better than me to advise you on any further action you might take.
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Gray0689
you need to dig out the invoice and see if any contact details of said plumber
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Billy Bunter
“Jessie James” has sent me a written response from Dodge City …… to the explain his rip-off £286 bill
He states he had to do the following work
He had to drain down the central heating system ??????
He had to Cut out the faulty valve and pipework ??????
He had to travel to a merchants to get materials he required for my Mum and Dad’s job…… He states and lists “inline gate valve “ , “couplers “ ? , “pipework” ? and “fittings” ?
He returned … and replaced the “ pipework “ ? and gate valve
He the refilled the central heating system and vented all radiators …. He removed all the air locks and made sure all radiators were hot.
He the had to rebalance the hot water system
He states that ……… All this was explained to your Father
Is he taking the P-ss ??????????
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PlumbBobBob
yes he is taking the proverbial. invite him back to show you where he put the new pipe and fittings, that aren't the gate valve, in the system.
T
TomLane
In a word YES!
If he did all that in 15 minutes then he should be in the Guinness book of World Records!
As you've seen first hand, with limited knowledge of plumbing (I assume, apologies if otherwise) you have managed to isolate all water & drain a small amount to be able to remove the valve! That at most took 5-10 minutes!
I'm sorry for your loss.
I hope you get this resolved quickly!!
If he did all that in 15 minutes then he should be in the Guinness book of World Records!
As you've seen first hand, with limited knowledge of plumbing (I assume, apologies if otherwise) you have managed to isolate all water & drain a small amount to be able to remove the valve! That at most took 5-10 minutes!
I'm sorry for your loss.
I hope you get this resolved quickly!!
G
Guest123
I've got 4 gate valves in the van, I could make an easy 1200 quid.
Get him back and get a refund. Look up the Sale of Goods Act especially the part about goods being "Fit for Purpose".
Get him back and get a refund. Look up the Sale of Goods Act especially the part about goods being "Fit for Purpose".
Did you manage to contact Jesse by email?
If yes that suggests he is computer savvy enough at least to look at this thread.
If he has a web site it would look very well on this thread (not for him, for you, our old friend Karma).
Save the reply I think that by lying to you he may have opened the door to allow you to at least get a hearing in the small claims court
presuming you are executor / administrator of your Father's estate.
These type of cases are usually hard to win because it's very often one persons word against another, Jesse appears to have given you
leverage by claiming to have carried out work that he clearly did not, in fact he may have opened the door for the Police because he may
have admitted to fraud.
Going these routes may mean employing a heating engineer to confirm what you already know.
I am not a Solicitor but I do think Jesse will have to show where he cut the pipework and the new parts he fitted
A
aligorgon
surprised he hasn't tried to charge for painting that new pipework he has supposedly fitted!
this guy wants a bullet..
this guy wants a bullet..
B
Billy Bunter
Jessie James :cowboy: said " He had to drain down the central heating system ?????? "
:cowboy::cowboy::cowboy::cowboy::cowboy::cowboy::cowboy::cowboy::cowboy: R A W H I D E Opening Theme - YouTube
:cowboy::cowboy::cowboy::cowboy::cowboy::cowboy::cowboy::cowboy::cowboy: R A W H I D E Opening Theme - YouTube
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PlumbBobBob
doesn't look like that drain has been used in years, looks like there's dust inside the spout.
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PlumbBobBob
i bloody hope not!
sorry for language but justified imho
sorry for language but justified imho
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Bunker
Someone needs to call Ewar Woowar, he'd sort him out.
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Billy Bunter
This is the hand written invoice that Jessie gave to my Dad
Materials = £31.50 +VAT for only part of a 15mm Gate Valve
The scribble written inside the RED line says ....... " inc OAP Discount "
Talk about rubbing your face in it :censored:
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Whl4852
What a scumbag
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PlumbBobBob
probably £70 an hour
£69 per hour !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Barry98
And they wonder why plumbers get a bad name
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