"Plumbing" the depts of poor service... what to do?

Fistycuffs

So a little over a year ago we had a new heating system fitted. Pulled all the old system out and had an overhaul that ran into several thousand. We got a top of the range condenser boiler fitted inside the house at the time and payed the plumber handsomely as he was supposed to be the best in the business.

Shortly after it was fitted we notice a drip coming from the pipes over the boiler that lead up our chimney, rang the plumber and he said it just needed a dab of silicon and he'd be in in a few days. He never arrived and several phone calls and promises later there was still no sign of him. For assorted reasons we didn't get to use the heating much last year so we had kind of forgotten about the drip until the cold set in this year. Now there looks to be a little rust forming where the water is dripping onto. An hour of having the heating on causes a leak that produces an overflowing bowl of water so short of sticking the sink bowl in there we are restricted in how long we can leave the heat on. We called the plumber back , he hammered and battered around in there for an hour and left guaranteeing the problem was fixed. However it seems it's now worse than ever.

Is this a common problem?

My question is that after paying so much for the install I'm loathe to get another plumber in to fix the problem unless it's relatively cheap. Money is pretty tight. I think the plumber who left it unfinished should fix it.
Is this generally how these things work? Does anyone know if I have a hope of getting any comeback on this ?

seensensee

"just needed a dab of silicon" :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes: is generally not a cure for leaking central heating.
It would be to your advantage to get the original plumber to return and show you where the system is leaking from, find out exactly where the problem lies... may be a connection could'nt be tightened in a restricted space ect, ect, ect.
Get him back so you know what the problem is and if he can't fix it at least you can show the next plumber what needs fixing.

(perish the thought that it could be a cockled push fit high up in a disused chimney)

Good Luck.

CBYR1983

Fistycuffs wrote: »

So a little over a year ago we had a new heating system fitted. Pulled all the old system out and had an overhaul that ran into several thousand. We got a top of the range condenser boiler fitted inside the house at the time and payed the plumber handsomely as he was supposed to be the best in the business.

Shortly after it was fitted we notice a drip coming from the pipes over the boiler that lead up our chimney, rang the plumber and he said it just needed a dab of silicon and he'd be in in a few days. He never arrived and several phone calls and promises later there was still no sign of him. For assorted reasons we didn't get to use the heating much last year so we had kind of forgotten about the drip until the cold set in this year. Now there looks to be a little rust forming where the water is dripping onto. An hour of having the heating on causes a leak that produces an overflowing bowl of water so short of sticking the sink bowl in there we are restricted in how long we can leave the heat on. We called the plumber back , he hammered and battered around in there for an hour and left guaranteeing the problem was fixed. However it seems it's now worse than ever.

Is this a common problem?

My question is that after paying so much for the install I'm loathe to get another plumber in to fix the problem unless it's relatively cheap. Money is pretty tight. I think the plumber who left it unfinished should fix it.
Is this generally how these things work? Does anyone know if I have a hope of getting any comeback on this ?

Sounds like par for the course I'm afraid. I had some radiators replaced and a new pump fitted and then I noticed a weep where the boiler met the pump.

Thankfully the plumber came back and fixed it - though of course he suggested (i) that the weep had been "nothing to worry about" and (ii) that it "wasn't coming from anywhere he had been".

Now what type of guy can suggest that a leak from a connection that didn't exist before he worked on it arose from something other than him working on it.

I think it could be a confidence thing. No plumber ever seems to accept that he makes mistakes, or that the problems arose from his work. It's almost like if he admitted it he would lose his air of invincibility.

They've no problem writing invoices or cashing cheques though....:)

Keep at him, but sometimes you just have to accept that once you've handed all the money over it's very hard to get anyone to work for free....and sometimes you're better off getting somebody else in if the original guy has no interest whatsoever and doesn't care about the value of your reference. Nightmare all the same, I can empathise.

CBYR1983

Love the comment on the silicone by the way - I've heard that one before!:D

kay 9

CBYR1983 wrote: »

Love the comment on the silicone by the way - I've heard that one before!:D

I've heard of cowboys using silicone for alot of things it's definitely a first for me to hear about it even suggested to repair a CH system:rolleyes: Fookin hell..DOn't know whether to laugh or cry in this game sometimes.

JohnnieK

CBYR1983 wrote: »

I think it could be a confidence thing. No plumber ever seems to accept that he makes mistakes, or that the problems arose from his work. It's almost like if he admitted it he would lose his air of invincibility.

I think you might want to rephrase that! We are not all like that.:mad:

Fistycuffs

Thanks a million everyone for the responses. I'm afraid I completely believed the line about a dab of silicone! After reading here that this was unlikely to be the solution I decided to ring another plumber and at least get a professional opinion off someone else so I know what I'm dealing with before I even try getting onto the initial plumber.

I have rang the plumber who did the job maybe 50 times this week and never had one pick up or call back in reply to my messages. Today I called on my mobile and got the same , dialled on a friends landline a minute later and he picked up immediately! Said he'd call me back immediately...no word since. So depressingly lax . I'd say I'll have a fight on my hands getting anywhere with him

CBYR1983

JohnnieK wrote: »

I think you might want to rephrase that! We are not all like that.:mad:

Ah don't take it personally Johnnie.

Just talking from my own experience - pardon the sterotype.

Of course there's good and bad in every profession. And in every line of work there is a wide spectrum of quality from tradesmen.

But there's always a niggling doubt - even if I have had work done by someone and it was ok, unless it was top class I am unlikely to make a recommendation to a friend in case it comes back on me.

yoshytoshy

I find people who whinge about plumbers all the time ,never actually get plumbers in to do the job.
They'll ring a mate of a mate who's a deadly plumber ,just out of the pub. And then tar plumbers with the same brush.

I'm replacing boilers in houses where I installed the old boiler over ten years ago. Most reputable plumbers work like that.

You pay pennies ,you get monkeys.