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Finding a good plumber in the UK is often tempered by an argument with your own wallet and conscience. Although there are many different elements that should form the decision making, many home owners and businesses tend to compare quotes on price alone rather than gaining feedback on a Plumber’s trustworthiness or the ability to complete a job on time.
A Good Plumber Finds A Benchmark
Indeed, if we look at a project from a Plumber’s perspective initially, it is not a regulated market enforced by a Government body. Like many aspects of the UK’s entrepreneurial work force, individuals and businesses are able to join a representative trade body which is free of Government control and where oversight is simply applied through known law and local council guidance.
A plumber would join a trade group, such as the UK’s APHC or CIPHE for a variety of reasons and yes one of those is to gain a form of recommendation that such association can provide. However, in the main it is a symbiotic relationship. A member of such a plumbing trade body would help regulate their industry and members and the association ensures its members stick to their rules and guidelines. Without government interference, until persuasions are motioned, good plumbers club together to ensure their customer’s satisfaction.
Check for Trade Body Membership
A plumber also does not need qualifications to be able to set up shop and offer their services. They may have learned through a hobby site, from their Father or learned as part of another place of employ. Nationally recognised training courses do exist though, via NVQs and City & Guilds certification which can provide reassurance to customers.
Does The Plumber Have Qualifications?
It is important to not only focus on cost of delivery when having leaks halted or pipes replaced, but to ensure that any work paid for is of an acceptable standard. Trade body membership and qualifications go a long way to determining how the selection process begins and making it easier to find a good plumber in the UK.
Presentation of a quote and the understanding of a project is important too. If the person offering a quote does not seem confident or ensures the detailing of a project’s specifics, timing of delivery, payment schedules and guarantees are not clear or the customer is not truly understanding the situation, this could be cause for initial concern.
A competent plumber would offer a written statement detailing the work to be carried out, the time it may take, any disruption necessary and will ensure the customer understands fully. They may supply an itemised invoice which would indicate how much each part or a sub set amount of how much each part of the project would cost, a breakdown for comparison against other quotes.
These details and costs would all be wrapped up in a set of guarantees and a terms and conditions contract, that would also entail the shoring up of agreements with their national Plumber trade body, providing all necessary details should advise, checks or a complaint be necessary.
Has the Plumber provided a full understanding of the project at hand and offered a contractual obligation with a fully itemised invoice?
Background checks are a good place to start before hiring any UK plumber. One aspect a great many home / premises owners forget is that of home or business insurance. Is the work that is to be carried out insured by the client, the plumber and / or associates? Does your own home insurance policy have to sign off on the work first? Peace of mind is worth seeking out.
A Plumber in this day and age should have an internet presence and a website. In fact it is probably how you found their services in the first place. Check references and recommendations, ask if none are showing. Also find out how long the company has been trading, if the registered address is legit and how long the domain name has been in existence.
Do your own background checks about the plumber’s business
Whether the plumbing project is due to last an hour and a quick fix or the plumber requires much longer in your home or on your business premises, it is important to find middle ground. Are explanations about the work to be carried out easily understood? Did the Plumber and associates arrive on time? Is there evidence of quality tradesmanship and will the trade body offer reassurance too or better still, cover the work with other guarantees?
It is all too easy to focus on the cost of a plumbing project because it is an emergency or a big project that is going to cause massive upheaval if not completed in the quickest time possible. The downside of cheap could be less quality and delays. One last distinction to make, do not hire a plumber when you may actually require a heating engineer. One does not compensate for the other and the knowledge gap between fixing piping and supplying sound functioning home heating, is wide.
