We get calls from customers after they’ve already had someone else carry out plumbing work.
Sometimes they want a second opinion on what they’ve been charged. Sometimes they want to know whether the work that’s been done is actually right. It happens regularly; around once a week.
Over time, those jobs have taught our team something important: there isn’t one simple way to spot a rogue plumber.
A cheap quote isn’t proof that someone is unreliable. A high price isn’t proof of quality either. What matters is the relationship between the work, the price, the person’s experience and what happens when something goes wrong.
The Jobs We Get Called In To Fix
One job particularly sticks with us.
We were due to start work on a Monday when a landlord had brought someone else in beforehand to get started. We believe it was a handyman who stripped out the floor and then left.
There was rubbish everywhere, a hole in the floor and the toilet couldn’t be put back. The tenants were left without a toilet, and we then had to come out and deal with what had been left behind.
That’s very different from simply looking at a finished job and deciding whether it looks tidy.
When another person has to take over, we’re not just looking at the original plumbing problem. We’re also dealing with whatever has been started, changed or left incomplete.
And this isn’t limited to larger jobs.
We’ve seen customers use DIY people or handymen for plumbing work because they’re cheaper than a plumber. The difficulty is that the work isn’t necessarily carried out to a plumbing standard.
That’s an important distinction.
Not every handyman is a rogue trader. But being willing to take on plumbing work doesn’t necessarily mean having the experience to carry it out to the standard the job requires.
When a Job Looks Fine Until You Know What You’re Looking At
One example makes this particularly clear.
We’ve seen photographs of shower enclosures fitted by a local handyman. They looked like good jobs in the photographs and had received positive reactions from people viewing them.
But when we looked at them as plumbers, we could see that the enclosures had actually been fitted inside out. The problem only became clear to the customer when one of them leaked.
That’s difficult for a homeowner to spot. If you don’t work in plumbing, you can reasonably look at a finished installation and assume it’s been done correctly.
That’s why a job looking good isn’t necessarily enough. What matters is whether it has been fitted correctly in the first place.
When choosing a plumber, it’s worth looking beyond how the finished job looks and considering whether the person carrying it out has the right experience for the work.
When the Price Doesn’t Match the Work
Customers quite often call us to ask whether what they’ve been charged is reasonable or whether the work they’ve paid for makes sense.
We’ve seen jobs where the workmanship is poor but the customer has been undercharged, as well as jobs where the workmanship is fairly standard but the customer has been massively overcharged.
So “cheap equals rogue” isn’t a useful rule — a low price doesn’t necessarily mean poor workmanship, just as a high price doesn’t necessarily mean better workmanship.
The more useful question is whether the price makes sense when you look at the work that was actually carried out.
That’s something we can often help customers sense-check when they come to us after the work has been done.
The Signs of a Rogue Plumber We Actually Notice
From the jobs we’ve seen, the warning signs tend to become clearer when you look at the work, the price and what happens afterwards.
The workmanship doesn’t meet a plumbing standard
The shower enclosure fitted inside out is a good example.
It wasn’t necessarily obvious to someone viewing the finished installation, but it was obvious from a plumber’s perspective.
The floor job was another.
The problem wasn’t simply that the work wasn’t finished. The property had been left with a hole in the floor, rubbish and a toilet that couldn’t be put back.
The price and the work don’t seem to belong together
This is where experience becomes useful.
When customers tell us what they were quoted or charged, we can often form a view from the combination of the price and the work itself.
That doesn’t mean we automatically assume somebody has been ripped off.
It means the work gives us context for the price.
The person who did the work doesn’t come back
This is the part that frustrates our team most.
We’ve had customers tell us that they had a toilet fitted two weeks earlier and it was still leaking, but the person who fitted it wasn’t coming back.
If we’ve had an issue with something we’ve done, we go straight back. Customers shouldn’t be left wondering why the original plumber isn’t returning to deal with the problem.
That’s not a claim that every job will be perfect.
Things can go wrong.
The difference is what happens afterwards.
What We Tell People When They’re Choosing a Plumber
Our advice isn’t complicated.
When we’re asked what someone should look for when choosing a plumber, our first recommendation is to find someone with good reviews.
That’s particularly useful when you know very little about plumbing yourself.
You can’t necessarily judge whether a pipe has been installed correctly or whether a fitting has been used appropriately.
You can, however, investigate the company you’re considering.
Look at:
- Genuine customer reviews, rather than relying on a handful of testimonials.
- The type of work customers mention, particularly if it’s similar to yours.
- The company’s local presence and reputation.
- What the business says about its plumbers and services.
- What happens if there is a problem after the work.
None of these makes a plumber automatically trustworthy. But they give you more information than choosing someone simply because they can start tomorrow or have offered the lowest price.
How to Avoid Rogue Traders Without Assuming Everyone Is One
Ask yourself:
- Does the person’s experience match the work they’re taking on?
- Can they clearly explain what work is needed and why?
- Does the price make sense alongside the work?
- Can you find genuine reviews from previous customers?
- If something goes wrong, will they come back?
These questions won’t eliminate every risk.
They can, however, help you make a more informed decision when choosing a plumber.
What This Experience Has Taught Our Team
The biggest thing these jobs have taught us is that the work doesn’t end when we leave the property.
We’ve seen what happens when a customer is left with a leaking toilet, unfinished work or an installation that needs correcting. The immediate plumbing problem is one thing; the uncertainty about who is going to put it right can be just as frustrating.
We’ve had customers come to us after paying someone else, trying to work out what was done, what needs correcting and whether the original plumber is going to come back.
Seeing that has reinforced something for our team: we have to take responsibility for the work we carry out.
If we’ve had an issue with something we’ve done, we go back and address it. That’s not an extra service we talk about as a selling point; it’s simply how we believe the job should be handled.
Who Our Service Is Best Suited To
Our service is best suited to homeowners who want to know their plumbing is in capable hands.
People who want the problem properly understood, the work carried out carefully and the person doing it to take responsibility for the job.
They aren’t necessarily looking for the most expensive option. They simply want good workmanship, clear communication and confidence in the team working in their home.
If that’s what you value when choosing a plumber, we’d be pleased to help.
If you have a plumbing problem in Bromley or the surrounding area, contact our team to discuss the issue and find out what needs to be done.
