I would never use LEAKBUSTERS again (Plumbers)

Member Name: simonless

Product:	Plumbers
Date:	03/11/06 (1861 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Pick-up phone; turn-up

Disadvantages: Labour hours much higher than estimated; no fixed costs; £88 labour rate

I have used Leakbusters to repair a boiler, and would NOT use them again. They do NOT do fixed prices. I was invoiced a massively higher bill than had been orally estimated. I was threatened with being left without hot water or heating late on a Fri evening.

I was initially charged £88 (1 full hour's labour) for the 10 min it took to diagnose the problem (and which - straghtforward problem - could have been done over the phone). I was told that they could now order the parts, the plumber would call me to confirm a time for the work which could be as early as the next day (Tues). I said by Fri would be fine, and the plumber agreed this could be done. I got an (oral) estimate of 1 hour's labour plus parts.

I heard nothing by Wed, so called them. It took 3 further phone calls to fight to get an appointment which I could do on the agreed Fri. The work then took 6 hours in total, including two hours to replace a wrongly supplied part and about 30 min on the phone. The reason for the rest of the additional time was not clear - a lot I think because they failed to anticipate that a rubber seal might be old so would leak after changing the relevant part. So they wanted to charge me for 3.5 hours labour, despite the oral estimate. They said they didn't do fixed prices. I said I was prepared to pay 2 hours, at which point I was threatened with having the new parts removed, leaving me without hot water or heating. I had to agree 2.5 hours.

Summary: Leakbusters: Much higher bill than orally estimated. Threatened to leave no hot water if didn't pay