Unnecessary damage caused by plumber in search of leak

[scottiejd]

Wondered if anyone could offer any advice. I called a plumber following a nasty leak in my kitchen. The plumber arrived and punched through a large hole where the leak was showing to find no sign of a leak. He then proceeded to punch several holes across the line of the pipe work and still found no leak. When he left, he charged me three hours of labour (£240) and had not found the leak. He left me with a 7ft x 7ft hole in my ceiling and 20+ rat holes throughout the rest of the ceiling but failed to find a leak. On the advice of my father (an engineer), I completed a simple pressure test on my push fittings. All I had to do was turn off the water, empty the pipes and turn the water back on again and sure enough, water came flying out of one of the push fittings which sat over the very first hole he made meaning the rest of the damage was completely unnceccessary. I did sign a waiver saying that they (the plumbers) were not liable for damages caused but surely if I, a girl without any plumbing experience, can force a leak to show itself, why couldn't he? Am I within my rights to ask them to refund my money so I can make good the damage they caused? I'm not asking them to fix the ceiling after all?
Any advice much appreciated

 

[gaswizzard]

The other side of the coin goes something like this...................................

I was called out to a job back in 2001 , boiler lost all pressure so asked the 'lady' where is the filling loop , she replied that she had no idea and where 'should' it be , I told her it would normally be underneath the boiler but EVERYTHING in the bathroom had been tiled over with no access panels , now I ask her where would she like me to punch the first hole through the tiles? , under the boiler or maybe the bath panel , she gave me the go ahead to cut the tiles beneath the boiler , after making a hole through the tiles/ply the filling loop was still not found , I then asked her should I go any further or just install a filling loop underneath the boiler where I had made the first hole , no she said cut the bath panel out and see if it is under the bath as I'm having a new bathroom fitted , ok I said , filling loop was found behind bath panel , re-pressurised system and she had heating/HW , 3 months later she takes me to court for wrecking her bathroom , I won the day including costs.

 

[scottiejd]

Fair point BUT you actually achieved something by eventually finding what you were looking for. He didn't and I would have thought that turning the water off would be a natural thing to do...I even ASKED him if he wanted me to turn it off and he said no and I was able to answer any questions he had correctly.

 

[Charnwood]

Am I within my rights to ask them to refund my money so I can make good the damage they caused?

You effectively gave them carte blanche to demolish your house if need be to find the leak by signing the waiver.

if I, a girl without any plumbing experience, can force a leak to show itself,

Err, you didn't, you sought advice from an engineer and acted on it.

 

[gaswizzard]

He left me with a 7ft x 7ft hole in my ceiling and 20+ rat holes throughout the rest of the ceiling but failed to find a leak. On the advice of my father (an engineer), I completed a simple pressure test on my push fittings. All I had to do was turn off the water, empty the pipes and turn the water back on again and sure enough, water came flying out of one of the push fittings which sat over the very first hole he made meaning the rest of the damage was completely unnceccessary.

So why didn't the 'plumber' find the leak as the water was obviously 'on' when cutting the holes? , something doesn't add up or maybe you have a short memory? , you say you TURNED THE WATER OFF which leads me to believe it was ON when the 'plumber' was 'wrecking' your house.

 

[Johnmelad]

He failed to find the leak you should not have paid him a penny. End of.

 

[gaswizzard]

He failed to find the leak you should not have paid him a penny. End of.

Go find somewhere else to post your drivel , you're not welcome here.

In fact carry on as you are on a last warning.

 

[Johnmelad]

Go find somewhere else to post your drivel , you're not welcome here.

Why should the lady pay for a job that was not done.

I have done plenty of damage looking for leaks in ceilings, but have always found and repaired them.

 

[gaswizzard]

As said , go find somewhere else to post your drivel , what is it that you don't understand?

 

[Johnmelad]

As said , go find somewhere else to post your drivel , what is it that you don't understand?

Where did you park your horse, you must be one.

Answer the question, why should she pay this plumber/cowboy who failed to find and fix the leak.

 

[gaswizzard]

As said , go find somewhere else to post your drivel , what is it that you don't understand?

Where did you park your horse, you must be one.

.

Well , if you had access to the combustion chamber then you would know where I 'park' my horse , considering you are NOT a qualified gas installer then you will never know.

 

[Hugh Jaleak]

Provided we have the correct version of events from the OP I dont she she should be obliged to pay when the 'Plumber' has not managed to fix the leak he was engaged to deal with. To charge for making holes in a ceiling without fixing the issue he made the said holes to attempt to find is wrong, but a female on her own may have been an easy target.

 

[Johnmelad]

Well , if you had access to the combustion chamber then you would know where I 'park' my horse , considering you are NOT a qualified gas installer then you will never know.

No I am not a gas installer, and what has that got to do with the question I asked you. Why should she have paid this plumber (if he was one) a single penny for not finding and repairing the leak. Come on Kemosahbee, answer the question.

 

[gaswizzard]

Why should she have paid this plumber (if he was one) a single penny for not finding and repairing the leak. Come on Kemosahbee, answer the question.

So the water remains ON when the 'plumber' cuts the openings in the fabric but he fails to spot a leak? , the OP then decides to turn the water OFF , and then ON to which she finds a joint leaking , hard to believe eh?

 

[picasso]

Ever heard the expression "caveat emptor" well this is a perfect example of this, most plumbers and gas engineers work on reputation but there are plenty that dont and its up to the customer to sort the good from the bad, I wont comment any further as we only have one side of the story.