Cowboy plumbers tried to overcharge elderly couple by £7,000 for four-hour job
Cowboy plumbers tried to overcharge an elderly couple by more than £7,000 for work on a leak in their home.
Grandparents Ray, 76, and Kau Lau, 72, were quoted an inflated price of £8,650 for the work and were threatened with bailiffs if they did not pay, their daughter-in-law has said.
They had called out a nearby plumbing firm when they discovered a leak at their home in Gillingham, Kent, on the morning of Friday Sept 13.
Two engineers worked on the problem between 5pm and 9pm and eventually fixed the leak but when it came to payment, the couple said the cost for the job “just kept going up and up”.
They were given a final invoice of £8,650, which included £3,200 for labour and £3,400 to find the cause of the problem.
However, Sarah Lau, 42, told them not to pay.
The plumbers used “scare tactics”, their daughter-in-law said, telling them that their house would fall down if they didn’t have the work.
After seeking advice from Kent county council, mum-of-two Mrs Lau sought quotes from several independent plumbers for identical out-of-hours call-outs and received figures between £500-£800.
The couple cancelled their payment but the firm then threatened to send bailiffs to their home and said staff would also go to their house to get the money.
Mrs Lau told the company that she had received quotes at a lower rate for the job but did not divulge how much they had come to, which the company disputed.
The firm replied: “That isn’t fair. Every plumbing firm has its own prices.
“Yes, I understand some prices may be cheaper and some may be more expensive but it’s not fair to compare like that,” the message continued.
“The price also considers rapid response and the scale of the emergency.”
Told it was a ‘big job’
On Sept 25 Mrs Lau and her father met two men from the firm.
After failing to reach an agreement she told the men she would see them in court, at which point they “ran after her” and agreed to a sum of £765, she said.
The older Mrs Lau said: “First, he told me it would be £3,000 and then £6,000. It just kept going up and up.
“He was on the phone with somebody all the time asking what to do. At one point, he left for about an hour to get a pipe.”
Sarah said her in-laws’ first language was not English and they had “no concept of what needed doing”.
“They were told it was a ‘big’ job and unless something was done immediately their house would ‘fall down’ and they would be ‘left with nothing’,” she said.
“What they did to two vulnerable pensioners was cruel. They used threats of bailiffs and scare tactics. And who knows, they may have done this many times before.
“My advice would be to always shop around and get different written quotes. And if you are not sure, don’t be afraid to ask family and friends.
“My in-laws are still very anxious. I wouldn’t want to see this happen to anyone else.”