- Thread starter Cumbria Handyma
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Welcome to the forum. Although you can post in any forum, the USA forum is here in case of local regs or laws
B
benjibilly
Mine could well be tomorrow morning - a bricky called me earlier panicking because he's fitted some new rads or something and is begging me to fix it before the homeowners return. I'll have the camera phone ready just in case.
Strangest call out to date for me though was to get someone's ladder back down from their roof. He'd let a roofer use his set as a cat ladder but he left them up there before packing his own away and going home.
Strangest call out to date for me though was to get someone's ladder back down from their roof. He'd let a roofer use his set as a cat ladder but he left them up there before packing his own away and going home.
Reminds me, looked at a slow draining sink in sheltered accommodation where two fellas lived together and found a digestive wrapper and fully intact scourer sponge in the plug hole. They both denied any knowledge of how they must have got in there.
V
vern
Faulty Vokera, only it wasn't strangely working perfect, and un be known to me only 3 days old.........his wife hated the size and the "look" of it, could I quote for a new boiler whilst I was there.....
they got a call out charge alright lol
I once serviced a boiler and took the cover off and a gay pron magazine fell off the top.
Both of the male "friends" that lived there denied all knowledge that it was theirs.
K
kay-jay
Get used to weird calls stan mate. I worked in Kettering/Northampton for 1 year for BG and met some of the strangest people going. Had some weird call outs and nonsense calls. Made earning money easy though 🙂
had one from my aunt and uncle few months ago got back from their hols and phoned me saying heating not working .I turn up and first thing i see no power to boiler switched it on and it worked fine .
Uncle just looked at me and said suppose it helps if i turn it on lol
Uncle just looked at me and said suppose it helps if i turn it on lol
W
Whyme
when i was doin the social housing circ got a call saying "every now and then my fire makes a low buz like humming noise" the lady had left her pager (bet the younguns dont remember those) on top of the fire. it was behind an ornament and kept vibrating...social housings the best for stories i'll try and remember a few
I did my apprenticeship on social housing and working in it for 4 years and would hate to go back to it now.
I work in the private houses now and love it. Housing association work makes me cringe looking back now. I reckon atleast 95% of tenants live in squalor and 100% want a new boiler.
I used to be on call out for 7 days every 5 weeks and I hated it, the amount of calls we went to where it was made out to be worse or a tenant had lied was unreal. We used to get between 30-50 calls a week on call and I reckon only about 4 maybe 5 where actually emergencies. Makes me sick :-(
W
Whyme
social housing puts hair on yer chest, id recommend all new lads to have a stint working in it just so they can see everything else is better and stop moaning...
R
RPG 80
do quite a lot on social housing, changing tap inserts because it dripped last Shrove Tuesday just to keep the tenant happy
Whenever I'm at work now and I hear a direct bloke having a moan, I tell them, to work in social housing for a week and you'll be begging to come back 🙂
Im a stubborn git with people like this though, I wouldn't do it. If anything in close the tap so tight that they couldn't turn it back on 🙂
R
RPG 80
some older people have a lot of time on their hands and if they think their taps dripping, its up there with breathing oxygen on their priories, id rather change the insert and get paid than get a call back two days later on the same work order.
M
mountainman
I don't mind social housing TBH, after thirty odd years in that sector I could only pinpoint a handful of scumbags.
I've come across many more patronising idiots with less humanity in the private sector.
I've come across many more patronising idiots with less humanity in the private sector.
W
Whyme
i hate it. i was only doing it for five years on the local council and saw kids playing with needles, rats under baths, having to work with a council escort cos the people your dealing with have done terrible things . drugs, scum and filth. thats only my midlands experiance though...Is there a therapy thread lol.
HA are all the same every where ..... I love the HA work , bring me on some and I/WE will smash 5 a week again
J
julesverne
N
negas
recovered a 11 week old kitten from behind a class 2 inset on thursday pulled it out and it ran behind dish washer got paid and left them to fish out
i work on social housing, showers not working (forgot to turn the isolator on , or turned it off thinking it was the light and left it off) ,heating not working ( stat turned down by kids playing about) , radiators ripped off walls, "leaking toilets" because of bad aiming! just to name a few! and the things ive found behind rads ect i couldent mention here!!!
A guy called me out saying the heating wasn't coming on properly and some rooms were getting cold. He had a radio controlled thermostat and he had put it on the mantlepiece in the living room. Of course when the stove was on, the heating went off.
Phone call from some dizzy lass late one evening asking if there was some kind of white paint I could use on her avocado bathroom suite to change the colour. I'm not sure if this was a wind-up from a mate who had but his missus up to calling me as I can't believe anyone would be so clueless. Do worry for her though if it was genuine. Just had mental images of a coat of white Dulux on the bog.
Old dear once called me out saying boiler wasn't working. Found it wasn't switched on at the wall.
A friend who works as a piano tuner once found a massive stash of mucky mags in the bottom of an upright piano.
Phone call from some dizzy lass late one evening asking if there was some kind of white paint I could use on her avocado bathroom suite to change the colour. I'm not sure if this was a wind-up from a mate who had but his missus up to calling me as I can't believe anyone would be so clueless. Do worry for her though if it was genuine. Just had mental images of a coat of white Dulux on the bog.
Old dear once called me out saying boiler wasn't working. Found it wasn't switched on at the wall.
A friend who works as a piano tuner once found a massive stash of mucky mags in the bottom of an upright piano.
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I was once called out to a no heating no hot water job to find the boiler had no PCB, fan, gas valve or pump. Boiler stat etc were glued to the front!!! The owner had just bought the building which were offices. I quoted for a new boiler......
didn't get the job and didn't bill for my time. Won't make that mistake again.
didn't get the job and didn't bill for my time. Won't make that mistake again.
N
nowucit
K
kay-jay
Customers are brilliant aren't they 🙂
i have a fair few people call Worcesters winchesters. It always makes me laugh.
Ive been taken to the airing cupboard a fair few times to be shown the "boiler"
You should tell those customers that their problems are due to accumulation of Dihydrogen monoxide
this happens to me everyday.
Just goes to prove how poor a job gas safe have made of their attempt to be our governors.
O
on31ll
you cheeky git thats my dvd you said you didnt have it and here you are passing it round !
S
stoker122
Do vauxhall do them then??? bet they'r breaking down all over the place then ??? haha
got a call yestedray "blocked wc" i was the 3rd plumber to go there to sort it, flushed the toilet as you do to see water rising to the top then used a plunger, water went down ok , blockage sorted me thinks , put some loo roll in and flush , water goes down but loo roll doesent, remove pan connector at back , everything clear . so get gloves and put hand up the toilet swan neck to find a old pair of ladys underwear , a toilet soap holder or whatever they are called that clip on the pan and 7 pence!! Now thats what you called dirty money!! ( now in the piggybank to get a new drill 😛 )
G
gizmolang
had one the other day boiler cut off because co alarm going off its a shame no one read SMOKE ALARM written on it nice easy one also the guy that called be out because his combi came on every time he turned on his hot tap it took a lot of explaining and also had one where he thought the gas meter engineer might have been a spy I work on alot of social housing and come across alot interesting character's:stuart:
My experiences with encounters with the opposite sex. when I was a apprentice I was working at a collage I walk in to a room and there was this lady being painted with no clothes on at that time in my life I did not no this kind of thing went on I stood there in shock then turned rounded and walked out red faced.
My next one was a lady Aboat the same age as me and she just sat there with her dressing gown open winking.i just ignored her and carried on working.
Then there where two of us on this one very attractive lady walking from her bed room to bathroom several times doors open all the time and talking to us at first did not no where to look but then I thought if she is happy talking to us with no clothes on fine so we where talking to her.she then managed to get dressed in to a bikini to do some sun bathing out side ( no sun and not good weather) but stayed in this little bikini the rest of the day.
The most recent one was a little strange I had just turned up and was working in the airing cupboard one of those doors half and half the top half was open. the next thing I see is a naked girl Aboat 18 walk past with just a short t shirt on at this point I think she does not no I am hear so I shout down to her dad I will be down in a minute to turn it off no reply from the dad but the girl heard me with out a doubt.the next thing this girl is in front of me in the bathroom stroking her pet cat concerned that the cat may hurt its self on my tools.i reassured her that her cat should be ok and she just carried on talking to me for a while (I was a bit worried if her parents came up but how do you tell someone to leave a room in there own house).she eventually went in to her bed room but left her door open bang opposite where I was working tried not to pay much attention got the job finished.the strangest thing was when I went to the Kitchin to give the owners the invoice the girl was sitting opposite her mum still with just a short t shirt on.i just assume the family was in to some kind of naturism.but does give us some interesting story's .on all occasions I have told the wife as you never no.
My next one was a lady Aboat the same age as me and she just sat there with her dressing gown open winking.i just ignored her and carried on working.
Then there where two of us on this one very attractive lady walking from her bed room to bathroom several times doors open all the time and talking to us at first did not no where to look but then I thought if she is happy talking to us with no clothes on fine so we where talking to her.she then managed to get dressed in to a bikini to do some sun bathing out side ( no sun and not good weather) but stayed in this little bikini the rest of the day.
The most recent one was a little strange I had just turned up and was working in the airing cupboard one of those doors half and half the top half was open. the next thing I see is a naked girl Aboat 18 walk past with just a short t shirt on at this point I think she does not no I am hear so I shout down to her dad I will be down in a minute to turn it off no reply from the dad but the girl heard me with out a doubt.the next thing this girl is in front of me in the bathroom stroking her pet cat concerned that the cat may hurt its self on my tools.i reassured her that her cat should be ok and she just carried on talking to me for a while (I was a bit worried if her parents came up but how do you tell someone to leave a room in there own house).she eventually went in to her bed room but left her door open bang opposite where I was working tried not to pay much attention got the job finished.the strangest thing was when I went to the Kitchin to give the owners the invoice the girl was sitting opposite her mum still with just a short t shirt on.i just assume the family was in to some kind of naturism.but does give us some interesting story's .on all occasions I have told the wife as you never no.
S
stoker122
L
lame plumber
K
Kyle87
The wired stuff was what you did to entertain yourself when alone on a first fix...
K
Kyle87
K
Kyle87
Yes, I was actually trying to tell you you'd left your horse tied to the back. Poor thing was running like Seabiscuit.
R
R1CKY
That really bugs me! I phone Vaillants technical once and the guy answered "Vay-Lee-Unt Technical, Bob speaking, how can I help?" I felt like replying "Well you can start by pronouncing you're employers name correctly for one!"
I often repair Worcestershire Bosch boilers aswell!
K
Kyle87
K
Kyle87
The only leaks I like are the ones you eat I am sure you have had plenty of practice to fix your own.
T
Tea anbiscuits
Once got called out to an elderly gent who had installed an outside tap to help him wash his car. Apparently it didn't work very well and the boiler was constantly tripping out. He was pleasantly surprised that sometime the water was warm.
Answers on a post card ( oh yes, pressure was always dropping on his system as well. )
Answers on a post card ( oh yes, pressure was always dropping on his system as well. )
I tell you what I'm not enjoying at the moment, call outs from my neighbours.
I know that sounds miserable, but I like to know when I'm home that I can choose whether to pick up the phone.
I moved from a totally remote property with no neighbours at all, to a house in a little close. Everyone is really friendly and maybe I'm just being a git. But I keep getting asked to do work by neighbours, and I'm really not up for it at all.
I got nabbed this very morning on the way out to my van. What can you say! "sorry mate, get another plumber" makes me look like a right ****!
I did actually turn down a bathroom, as I felt ok saying I was too busy for that, but when someone wants their immersion heater changed, it’s quite tricky to say no!
I know that sounds miserable, but I like to know when I'm home that I can choose whether to pick up the phone.
I moved from a totally remote property with no neighbours at all, to a house in a little close. Everyone is really friendly and maybe I'm just being a git. But I keep getting asked to do work by neighbours, and I'm really not up for it at all.
I got nabbed this very morning on the way out to my van. What can you say! "sorry mate, get another plumber" makes me look like a right ****!
I did actually turn down a bathroom, as I felt ok saying I was too busy for that, but when someone wants their immersion heater changed, it’s quite tricky to say no!
Just tell them you have a policy of not working for neighbours, as your home is a no work area.
M
mitchellcook
Been there danny. I've done work for neighbours before. One of them thinks they don't have to pay me because i'm their 'friend', another one pays me with a few pots of ice cream that she gets from her work, and another one likes to knock on my door on sunday mornings for some diy advice.
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