ARCHIVED - Cowboy plumbers in London: PLUMB FORCE DIRECT

[easyt]

Re: Cowboy plumbers in London: PLUMB FORCE DIRECT

Buff and Wards summed it up. You want a guy to drive across London and fix your bog for under £40.00, I mean really who's going to do that? I wouldn't. As these guys have pointed out, just being a plumber is a huge expense. Just covering our overheads every year costs us a fortune. Cheapskates like this get my goat, and then they come on a plumbers forum and bad mouth a plumbing firm...do we really care?

Don't expect a guy to travel across London and fix a bog for £37.50. But if, as the OP stated, I was told the rate was £37.50 for half an hour and the guy was there for 15mins I would have paid £37.50. If I was told the minimum charge was anhour then fair enough, £75.

 

[Dannypipe]

Re: Cowboy plumbers in London: PLUMB FORCE DIRECT

We all charge minimum of an hour. That's standard. Either you charge a call out fee, or you charge for the first hour, whether you're there an hour or ten minutes. It takes you time to drive there and back, so it's only fair to do so.

Fair enough they should have been warned of this, I make it clear or people. However it was a little naive to expect any tradesman to turn up and work for half hour for £37. (In London) Obviously this doesn't apply in other areas. I charge £45 for the first hour, however I'm a sole trader so i discuss prices before I turn up.

 

[josh]

Re: Cowboy plumbers in London: PLUMB FORCE DIRECT

Just tone down your poo's aswell as your attitude and then you should be fine

 

[helpsy]

Re: Cowboy plumbers in London: PLUMB FORCE DIRECT

i am toying with the idea of purchasing one of these as everybody on here raves about them but are they really that good?

yes they're well worth the money,really useful, you'll probably wonder how you ever did without it!!.I got mine from wickes and I also bought a combined wet/dry filter for about £11 if I remember, saves you having to change filters for different tasks. I think I paid about £45 if I remember. Best £45 I've spent. No need to spend £200 on one.

 

[helpsy]

Re: Cowboy plumbers in London: PLUMB FORCE DIRECT

You only tip them into the bath until you drop one !

The customer dropped one the other day-whilst I had the cistern in my hands......what a stink!!!!!!LOL

 

[tackleburger]

Re: Cowboy plumbers in London: PLUMB FORCE DIRECT

I've made and replaced about half of the diaphrams I've come across. If the syphon is the wrong size I then repair. Never yet been called back. Trick is to find some reasonably thick plastic - luckily my merchants use thick bags for shopping bits.

On Boxing Day I didn't have any suitable plastic so a supermarket bag had to suffice (and is still working to the best of my knowledge).

If you don't have a decent piece of polythene use a rubber glove works a treat most housholders will give you one but don't charge for the part. Did it in my mum's house on Christamas Day 5 years ago still going strong.

 

[Avatar]

Re: Cowboy plumbers in London: PLUMB FORCE DIRECT

I see the point in that if you were told on the phone it would be £37.50 per half hour or the like, then they would have to stick to that. I would have refused to pay until i could speak to the office and sort it out, as this might just be a simple miscommunication.

As you can see we all feel quite strongly that you you should not be too quick to shout 'cowboy' as it can be quite unfair. I can think of hundreds of companies which could mis-sell you like this, so it does not make this company a bunch of cowboys.

Stilll you have got guts to that here - a bit like going into the black estates in america, to make racist remarks! See what a nice response you get though!

Everybody is too quick to shout cowboy these days, these day are a bodge job culture. The real guilty party in my mind are tight english people (who I am one of too!) who apparently want a good job, but dont really want to pay for it:

Hence the arrival of 'Bodge the Builder' who does not really know any trade skill, but will do a cheap job . . . .

 

[TJP]

Re: Cowboy plumbers in London: PLUMB FORCE DIRECT

These guys have a sponsored google link, a respectable website, even nice phone attendants, but be warned they are complete RIP-OFF merchants. I wanted a boiler service and two radiators repaired. I was told it would be £89+VAT for the service and £75 + VAT for the radiators. As this amount is nearly the same as an annual home care plan I said I'd go elsewhere. However, after speaking to the MD, the (then very nice) phone consultant agreed to the engineer would repair both the radiators and the boiler for the same price in order to get my business. What happens? The repair guy turns up, does the boiler service, says he won't repair the radiators and charges me the full £89+VAT. I agreed to pay (naively as it turns out) because I thought the phone consultant I spoke to had been so kind in getting me the discount that he'd sort out the misunderstanding and they would come back and honour the contract we agreed. Originally the phone consultant even told me not to go with the other company I mentioned as they said that company won't do what they say they'll do. The irony is hard to take. They have completely reneged on their contract and then denied they had said more than that the'd look at the radiators. When I asked them to provide me with a copy of our phone conversation/transcript of the call they refused. All they offered to do was to come back and fix the radiators for £89+ VAT per hour for 2-3 hours + £75 +vat for 2 radiator valves - a complete rip-off. The whole thing would have cost me £408 (including the initial £89+VAT) in total if they took just 2 hrs - £514 if they took 3 hours. It is outrageous that people behave like this (so nice an courteous before they take you for a ride) and I urge you in the strongest possible terms not to use their services as they will just rip you off. Don't say I didn't warn you.

 

[SafeGasInstall]

Re: Cowboy plumbers in London: PLUMB FORCE DIRECT

TJP - like we all here say

1-ask friends and family for a good local plumber/heating engineer
2- make a call to that person
3-be home on time for visit
4-pay as when job complete
5 - I can assure you next time you need him he will be there to help you out

This is simple method to keep you out of big company's hands who are after your £

 

[PlumbBobBob]

Re: Cowboy plumbers in London: PLUMB FORCE DIRECT

very good advice stan

 

[WaterTight]

Re: Cowboy plumbers in London: PLUMB FORCE DIRECT

I love those £75+ VAT rad valves, ultra reliable I find. But then they would be.

 

[PlumbBobBob]

Re: Cowboy plumbers in London: PLUMB FORCE DIRECT

probably trying to emulate charlie mullins at pimlico plumbing

 

[Rickster123]

Re: Cowboy plumbers in London: PLUMB FORCE DIRECT

Many thanks for your comments ​Mr Plumbforce!

 

[PlumbBobBob]

Re: Cowboy plumbers in London: PLUMB FORCE DIRECT

Absolutely fantastic service from Plumbforce Direct. The ONLY plumbing service to call! My wife and I were very pleased with the quality of work Mr. Jones with Plumbforce direct performed and the time in which all repairs were completed. Best of all, the total charge for all work performed was VERY reasonable and significantly below what I expected. After arriving at exactly the time he said he would, he looked over our problems, gave my wife his quote, and even had her accompany him in selecting a new hot water heater and kitchen sink tap. We have also just had a new born baby. Mr Jones was very considerate with the noise levels when she was sleeping. I would recommend Plumbforce Direct, especially Mr. Jones, for any or all plumbing jobs. I should hope the need not arise again but if it did, I would call these guys again.

welcome along ​Mr Plumbforce

 

[Barry98]

Re: Cowboy plumbers in London: PLUMB FORCE DIRECT

welcome along ​Mr Plumbforce

do they think were all that dumb ?

 

[royston]

Re: Cowboy plumbers in London: PLUMB FORCE DIRECT

Wow Plumbforce are the best !!

 

[Rickster123]

Re: Cowboy plumbers in London: PLUMB FORCE DIRECT

Ha ha has his post gone?? I didnt get to say Merry Christmas Mr Plumbforce!

 

[Puddle]

Re: Cowboy plumbers in London: PLUMB FORCE DIRECT

Ha ha has his post gone?? I didnt get to say Merry Christmas Mr Plumbforce!

He did it himself,nothing to do with us,maybe to much of a christmas tale !!

 

[Barry98]

Re: Cowboy plumbers in London: PLUMB FORCE DIRECT

you cant beat a good jack an orrie at crimbo

 

[TJP]

Re: Cowboy plumbers in London: PLUMB FORCE DIRECT

I got my builder's plumber round to sort out the radiators - cannot believe I didn't get him first time round. It turns out the radiator valves were not broken at all, the system just needed rebalancing (which I had tried myself, but for some reason it didn't work). Total charge £25 for the one hour it took him + VAT. Good, honest, and I would recommend to anyone.

 

[SafeGasInstall]

Re: Cowboy plumbers in London: PLUMB FORCE DIRECT

I got my builder's plumber round to sort out the radiators - cannot believe I didn't get him first time round. It turns out the radiator valves were not broken at all, the system just needed rebalancing (which I had tried myself, but for some reason it didn't work). Total charge £25 for the one hour it took him + VAT. Good, honest, and I would recommend to anyone.

25 p/h +vat are you sure ?

 

[Barry98]

Re: Cowboy plumbers in London: PLUMB FORCE DIRECT

you wouldnt of got out of bed for that would ya stan ? lol

 

[TJP]

Re: Cowboy plumbers in London: PLUMB FORCE DIRECT

Yep, that's what he quoted and that's what the invoice said. £25/hr +VAT. He's done building work (but not plumbing, hence I didn't think to ask him) for me before and his guys turn up early, work hard, leave the place immaculately every day and he inspects their work at the end of the job. If it doesn't meet his standards he gets them back. If there's a problem he sorts it out. As a result everyone he does work for recommends him to others so he's always busy.

The contrast in attitude and work ethic with the con artists are Plumbforce direct could not be greater. As an ex Marine myself I fail to understand how someone could do anything to a low standard and be happy with it, less still knowingly and deliberately rip people off. Judging by all the reviews on Plumbforce on the internet, I'm clearly not the only one who got ripped off or the only one who feels so strongly about the way they were treated that they bother to write into forums such as this to warn other people.

 

[jase158]

Re: Cowboy plumbers in London: PLUMB FORCE DIRECT

price is fair, if he had actually fixed it.

 

[Lindi Raschke]

Re: Cowboy plumbers in London: PLUMB FORCE DIRECT

Do not use this company!!
Tradetek.co.uk

I am very disappointed with the service I received from Tradetrek.


On Saturday 3 November my tenant, telephoned me to inform me about a blocked toilet. In the afternoon, after having giving your company my credit cards details, a plumber came out and ' unblocked' the toilet.
I was charged the full fee for what my tenant described as- 'he used a plunger'.Less than 24 hours later the toilet blocked again! Not only that, a pipe was also leaking now that the plumber worked on, on Saturday. This pipe never caused any problems before then.


On calling your company on Monday, they denied ever coming out to do the job on Saturday. later though, my tenant called me to inform me that your company called her to say the cannot come out again, as I have not paid the previous bill!! Bearing in mind I gave my card details, this was unacceptable. I authorized payment again, and requested another call out to come fix the toilet. Another plumber came out, and informed us he doesn't have the correct equipment, I have to get someone else from another company???
This is not something I am happy with, especially bearing in mind someone came out and 'fixed' the toilet 2 days before and now suddenly he does not have the right equipment!




The new company came, fixed the toilet and the leaking pipe that the first company caused.

The charged me 190GBP for the call out. And I still had to get someone else to come and do the job correctly!
I made a formal complaint and low and behold, still awaiting a response.

Absolutely disgraceful, I will not recommend them to my worst enemy!!!