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Dispute after flooding

Posted by Morne Joubert, on
My property flooded due to a blockage in a toilet. The plumber said the ball-valve was stuck and therefore caused water to spill over the bowl. The blockage was cleared and the valve was repaired. The work description was as follows: Called to the property to find the ball valve constantly overflowing and blockage in WC. Cleared blockage and drained off cold, removed and replaced with new. Filled system and tested, all ok. Even though the tennant was not living in the house, 2 days later, the plumber was called out again by the letting agents and found another supposed blockage. The job description was as follows: Called to property to find blockage in underground pipes. Rodded drains externally but couldn't reach the blockage. Remove WC and rodded internally to clear the blockage. Re-installed WC including new seal. Filled system and tested, all ok. As this was deemed as emergencies, the invoiced price is £604. Asking for a second oppinion since I believe the letting agent is pocketing from these fees.
Andrew Spence

Andrew Spence

This seems very expensive cost of ball valve being changed is normally £60 plus materials £30 Topps Cost of removing toilet and cleaning toilet would depend on how long taken to clear blockage but would have thought up to full day £200 I have cleared lots of toilets over the last 20 years and can only think of couple of times had to remove toilet to clear but you may have been one of these unlucky cases. If both jobs had to be done out of hours then you would have a extra cost added. If the house was empty then no reason it could not have been done during normal hours
Ali Constant

Ali Constant

Sounds about right to me. Have to take into consideration that there would be 2 call out charges within that totalling to atleast £200 then parts and additional labour to account for. Although it may seem alot you must understand that Plumbers are not cheap by any means. @PlusDecor
James Reeder-Smith

James Reeder-Smith

That does sound vastly excessivce and yes a lot of lettin agents will be taking at leastt a 10% commission from the plumber and some i know have taken 20% - a practive i will not condone. Id be asking to see a complete breakdown invoice from the plumber to see what its for.

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