Half-finished plumbing job. Plumber won't return to complete job.

preilly79

My parents hired a plumber to do some work in their house. It wasn't completed satisfactorily and he returned a few times to try and correct an issue, without success. He has since decided to no longer answer his phone and has not returned to fix the issue.

What would be the best way to deal with this? Is the small claims court a viable option, and if so, what's the best way to go about it?

Cuddlesworth

preilly79 wrote: »

My parents hired a plumber to do some work in their house. It wasn't completed satisfactorily and he returned a few times to try and correct an issue, without success. He has since decided to no longer answer his phone and has not returned to fix the issue.

What would be the best way to deal with this? Is the small claims court a viable option, and if so, what's the best way to go about it?

Did your parents pay him the full amount? Never pay a tradesman until you are fully satisfied with the work.

preilly79

Yes, I'm afraid they did pay him the full amount. They're far too trusting.

mad m

If you know where he lives, send out a registered letter about the defects and tell him in letter in a nice professional way that if these defects are not corrected within a certain date, then you will be filling a complaint against him through the small claims court.

jor el

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/justice/courts_system/small_claims_court.html

It's a simple enough process, and they should go after him for the full amount they paid. That should get him to answer his phone.

dudara

Did they pay by cash or cheque? Did they receive a full VAT receipt?

santechnik

Send him a solicitor letter.Should help

_Whimsical_

If the work cost your parents less that €2000 they can take a case with the small claims court for poor workmanship. That will only cost them €15 even if it goes all the way to court and they won't need to employ the services of a solicitor.

However first send a letter to the plumber outlining the sequence of events leading up to him abandoning the job and the poor state he left the situation in.Tell him that if you don't hear from him with 10 working days that he'll be hearing from the Small Claims Court.

He'll know you've nothing to lose in pursuing the matter, you'll pay 15 quid in costs, however if it goes ahead he'll have to get legal representation etc and it will cost him a great deal of money even if you were to lose the case. It should be enough to make him see sense.

These are the legal conditions he should fullfil as a service provider/trades person :

Under the 'Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act, 1980' if a consumer has a contract with a service supplier the consumer can expect that:
The supplier has the necessary skill to provide the service
The service will be provided with proper care and diligence
The materials used will be sound and that goods supplied with the service will be of merchantable quality
That the service paid for work efficiently and safely.

Make sure you reference those points clearly in your letter so he will understand you mean business and know what you're talking about.

viclemronny

mad m wrote: »

If you know where he lives, send out a registered letter about the defects and tell him in letter in a nice professional way that if these defects are not corrected within a certain date, then you will be filling a complaint against him through the small claims court.

This is actually a great way to show someone that you mean business without spending more than a few euro. It demonstrates that you are starting a paper trail and unless someone genuinely believes they are in the right, they will usually drop things here.

preilly79

My apologies for the late reply to your very helpful responses.

dudara wrote: »

Did they pay by cash or cheque? Did they receive a full VAT receipt?

Hi Dudara, they paid by cash, in full. No receipt was given.

_Whimsical_ wrote: »

If the work cost your parents less that €2000 they can take a case with the small claims court for poor workmanship. That will only cost them €15 even if it goes all the way to court and they won't need to employ the services of a solicitor...

Hi Whimsical, my parents have decided not to pursue the matter through the small claims court and just chalk it up to experience. They don't believe the system works. In the words of my dad; "fine, he goes to court but nothing's forcing him to heed the decision made by the judge". I know the sheriff then becomes involved.

I've done some of my own detective work and he's already been brought to court over a €30k outstanding debt to his suppliers.