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Please help - have i been ripped off?

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Discuss Please help - have i been ripped off? in the Plumbing Jobs | The Job-board area at Plumbers Forums

Water cylinder photo attached ...
Its on the right side of the boiler, but lower down.

water_cylinder.jpg
 
I did think I may have been a bit unkind to the OP earlier, don't get me wrong I am dead against those people who take advantage of customers however some people need to look at themselves before they turn to others for help.

The part that you have had replaced Miss F is a cold water combination valve set, it has absolutely nothing to do with the boiler that you say has now stoped working. It is installed on the mains cold water supply to the unvented cylinder next to the boiler.

Now I understand that you are not a Plumber / Heating engineer, in the same way that I am not an accountant but when I have to use their services I did my research, got there prices but most importantly of all when they did work for me I paid attention to what was done & said as it may have implications for me.

If you have no interest in Plumbing problems that is fine you pay a professional to come & make them go away, unfortunately what you can't then do is complain about a poorly done / overcharged jobs as you have no idea what was actually done & paid for.
 
PS.
to replace that valve set would mean draining down the hot water cylinder completely altering the pipework has they did not have a direct replacement all because it as not installed in correctly in the first place as per manufacturers instructions & Building / Water Regulations.
 
So, we have a boiler and an unvented (high pressure hot water) cylinder which is heated by the boiler.

The part replaced, reduces the incoming water pressure into the cylinder. Part of that is a safety device called a pressure relief valve (PRV). The flexible hose that is twisted that comes from the red topped PRV should be mounted higher so that any discharge from it goes through the 'tundish' which is the open sided plastic thing.
chris watkins said:
PS.
to replace that valve set would mean draining down the hot water cylinder completely altering the pipework has they did not have a direct replacement all because it as not installed in correctly in the first place as per manufacturers instructions & Building / Water Regulations.
Click to expand...

That is why I have asked for more pictures. I want to deliver a definitive answer she can use.
 
Still presuming its a female the lady has paid (not over charged) for for a incorrect repair. If a repair is carried out to a system in any condition we always price to bring it to a standard that is correct. Thats obviously not the case in this instance.
 
quality said:
Still presuming its a female the lady has paid (not over charged) for for a incorrect repair. If a repair is carried out to a system in any condition we always price to bring it to a standard that is correct. Thats obviously not the case in this instance.
Click to expand...
Read that 3 times and not crystal clear what you are trying to say.
 
missfrances said:
Thanks for your comments. The original plumbing company sent someone back today, but they sent a different plumber. I'm told the part changed back in December was called a 'Pressure Reducing Valve' (see image attached). I explained to today's plumber that I was charged £500, and he pulled a face ie) wide eyes, look of shock! I laughed, and told him I also pulled the same face when I was charged £500. He then looked a bit awkward, and tried to suggest the first plumber changed another part as well (although he couldn't tell me what), but that's not what I remember being told back in December. In December, surprised at the cost, I requested a breakdown of costs, and a receipt, but nothing was emailed to me. Today I again asked for the breakdown, but I'm now being told by the office manager that the company has just 'changed owners' and they have no invoices.
Click to expand...
Search of companies house records might reveal if there is any truth in that.
 
Yes, I'm a lady, a landlady. But before you decide I must be evil, with a giant property empire, I only moved out of our house when a problem neighbour moved in next door, and caused chaos. Without going into too much detail, we had to move out, and quickly! Anyway, it means keeping track of the work done by tradepeople is that bit harder, although I always try to do as much research as I can. The plumbing company in question are on trustatrader.com, with 458 reviews and an average score of 4.92. I trusted them and what they told me. I also got another opinion before I used them. RPM - thank you - I plan to look at the companies house records to check out the mysterious change of ownership story. Will post some better photos tomorrow.
 
missfrances said:
Yes, I'm a lady, a landlady. But ... I must be evil, with a giant property empire...
Click to expand...

We'll believe you this time :D

The more information we have the more we can help you. You will find that most here hate idiots (plenty on both sides of the cheque book) who would bring our industry into disrepute or gratuitously knock what we do and how we do it. So, help us help you and you'll win in all manner of ways ;)

There is also a section on this site where you can post a job for someone on here to price it for you. The only caveat to those seeking to work for you is that personally I'd look at what they have posted. You will soon be able to determine their ethos and values.

:)
 
chris watkins said:
If you have no interest in Plumbing problems that is fine you pay a professional to come & make them go away, unfortunately what you can't then do is complain about a poorly done / overcharged jobs as you have no idea what was actually done & paid for.
Click to expand...
But if the OP asked for a breakdown of costs and hasn't had it, that is not her fault. To use an analogy, if I get my van repaired and don't understand what has been changed, it would seem reasonable to me to have a brief description of the work carried out even if I am not personally able to understand that description.
 
Ric2013 said:
But if the OP asked for a breakdown of costs and hasn't had it, that is not her fault. To use an analogy, if I get my van repaired and don't understand what has been changed, it would seem reasonable to me to have a brief description of the work carried out even if I am not personally able to understand that description.
Click to expand...
great point Ric one which has been missed, so by not being provided with one the op might think more has been done than in reality ....it is a factor of modern society to leave out the detail, but as you state v. necessary ....regards Rob Foster
aka centralheatking
 
Ric2013 said:
But if the OP asked for a breakdown of costs and hasn't had it, that is not her fault. To use an analogy, if I get my van repaired and don't understand what has been changed, it would seem reasonable to me to have a brief description of the work carried out even if I am not personally able to understand that description.
Click to expand...
I would agree you have every right to receive a receipt which details the work carried out, most of us do that as a matter of course.
More to the point would you book your van in for repair without asking what was likely wrong & the likely costs? Again my repairer calls me with an update on what is required to seek my agreement before carrying out the work.

Maybe I am being a bit disingenuous to Vic but given that the post began with talk about a gas boiler not working, when the original problem was with an un-vented cylinder & it ended with -
missfrances said:
So my second question is, can I make the plumber come back again and fix it? Thank you. Vic
Click to expand...
I hope you & she can understand my scepticism which is born out of Landlords/ladies not wishing to take an interest in their properties or tenants, or at least only when a large bill arrives.

And yes the work carried out is of a poor standard, existing nut left on pipe, wrong valve installed (IMHO) & installation defects not corrected etc. If they spent a bit more time (& in some cases money) in the first place finding a quality repair company who had the G3 we would all be the happier.
"caveat emptor"

Perhaps the more important point is that the cowboys would not be getting our work!!!!
 
You'll see from my thread in 'heating engineers wanted' that finding good tradesmen is difficult. Often I find recommendations tend to find you morally decent people who are cheap, but not necessarily any good at what they do.
 
chris watkins said:
Perhaps the more important point is that the cowboys would not be getting our work!!!!
Click to expand...

Your point is well made Chris. However I'm not yet convinced that a 'cheap job' was sought. Truth is, you & I will never know. However what we can be sure of is demonstrating, via our supportive actions on here, that our trade is essentially honest and it's worth cultivating a relationship based on mutual trust with 'your' plumber.
 
Thanks for all your feedback. I've taken some more photos today. It was a bit tricky to take decent snaps, as the boiler & water tank are situated inside a cupboard, with lots of pipework, and the cupboard is in a small utility room. Anyway, hopefully these images will help in some way. Will split over a few posts, so I don't crash the system ...

IMG_1932_large.jpg


IMG_1933.jpg


IMG_1954.jpg
 
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