2. Are you a competent and qualified Plumber?

When you have a plumbing emergency, you might be tempted to hire any plumber so you can deal with it right away. Some people might even be tempted to ring around for the cheapest plumber possible, however, this is one of the worst mistakes you can make. 

You could be tempted to hire an incompetent and unqualified plumber because they’re cheaper, but that could have costly consequences if they fail to fix the problem or give yourself additional problems.

At present plumbers in the UK are not licensed, only gas engineers are required to hold a license.  So how do we check out our plumber?  When you’re looking for emergency plumbers check to see if they are members of any associations like CIPHR or Gas Safe.  Read their online reviews here is ours.  Speak to a plumber, if you are booking in any plumbing or heating job we always let you speak to any member of our team.  If a plumber is any good, they should have no problems answering any questions you have and putting you at ease.

4. How Do Your Fees and Payment Work

If you’re in the process of hiring an emergency plumber, you need to ask any potential candidates questions about the cost. Calling an emergency plumber out can be daunting.

First of all most emergency plumbers tend to offer their customers either an estimate or hourly rate on the phone based on the customer’s description of the problem. Please do note here estimates are not fixed and can change extremely important!

What happens when the plumber shows up and the work seems more complex than what you described. Will they charge more money? Will they make the emergency situation safe and return during normal working hours when the cost of work is less.

It’s important you clear such issues upfront before any type of work begins. 

You can also ask the plumber for a worst-case scenario estimate if you want to get an idea but remember an estimate is an estimate.

Contractors work differently, some of them operate on a flat or hourly rate. If you’re expected to pay a flat rate, you will know what that hourly charge is. 

Most emergency plumbers will charge you a call-out fee on top of an hourly rate as well, so if this is the case ask what it is.

However, if the plumber charges by the hour, be wary that some jobs might run longer and you could be stuck paying a slightly large bill.

Finally, you have to ask the plumber how they want payment.  You have to be fair with your chosen contractor here so choose wisely as in point 2 and 3 above.  An emergency plumber has likely not worked for you before so if you are calling him out at 3 am in the morning you are highly likely to have to pay a minimum fee before they attend. Always remember that trust is a two-way street and speaking from experience we have had clients refuse to open their front door after been called out. 

In short, you need to find out everything regarding cost and payment before they begin the work. Please see briefly how we charge for emergency work as a comparison.

• No call out fees ever for either domestic and commercial clients.

• Charged per half hour, not by the hour.

• Deposit is taken, a minimum of half-hour if we have not worked for you before.    

• Emergency repairs only, longer repairs carried out during normal working hours, therefore, reducing clients costs.

6. Do You Have Insurance?

Although insurance requirements vary from place to place, you want to ensure the plumber working on your property has the proper insurance.

If something goes wrong in your home while the plumber is completing the work, you want to have the peace of mind the plumber is insured. If they are doing gas related work always ensure they are members of Gas Safe, check their license to ensure it is valid and they are licensed to work on your emergency issue.

8. Do You Clean Up After the Work Is Completed

Let’s face it, some emergency plumbing jobs can be messy by there very nature and an emergency plumber is often dealing with awkward situations of which they have very little choice or control.  

When you talk to an emergency plumber, you need to ask if cleaning up is part of the job.  Dependant on whether you are dealing with clean or foul water it might be included as part of the work.  An emergency plumber normally always has the equipment to deal with flooded properties.

The last thing you want after dealing with a stressful emergency is having to clean up the waste after the plumber is done fixing the problem. 

If you want to save a few pounds, you can ask the plumber to leave the cleaning to you, however, it is always worth checking your home or business insurance as most insurance companies in the UK will cover the damage the leak has caused, which, often means cleaning.  It is an important point to note when dealing with foul water always leave the cleaning to a qualified professional for health and safety reasons.