"Botch job by plumber, invoice over one year later" Topic

Last year our boiler wasn't working properly so we hired a local Corgi registered heating engineer to fix the problem. First he told us that our system needed flushing – he duly did this but boiler still didn't work. He then said we needed a new thermostat which he fitted. Boiler still didn't work. Lastly, he said we needed new controllers which he fitted. Boiler still didn't work. At this point we lost the will to live and called in a Baxi engineer who said the casing was loose, fixed it and boiler worked; he also said that we didn't need any of the other work that had been carried out. We heard nothing more from first engineer although we asked for an invoice. Today, 13 months later, an invoice for almost £1,200.00 GBP has turned up. Are we obliged to pay? We had no written quote and engineer failed to fix boiler. Any help hugely appreciated.

report him to the British equivalent of the Better Business Bureau.
I'm not a Lawyer but it seems you should probably pay for the parts but tell him to piss up a rope for any labo(u)r charges

Make an offer to pay for the parts stating your reasons above. Do not pay unless he accepts that offer. Do all of the above in writing and keep copies.

He'll probably accept, and let's face it, the majority of that bill will be labour given how plumbers work in the UK. He gets a chunk of labour he can write off as a loss to tax (he's invoiced this late because he's got an accountant nipping at his heels about a job sheet not tying up with invoices). To recover the full amount (if you refuse to pay) he'll have to go through the Small Claims court, and in light of what you've said, he'll not get the lot anyway, and you'll both incur expenses.

Internet legal advice is awesome.
And FREE !