Durham only Northeast County to land themselves in top 10 of most complained about plumbers in the country
· FOI request shows the councils that receive the most complaints about faulty or inadequate plumbing installations and the tradesmen that fit them
· Durham plumbers were fifth most complained about with a total of 156 complaints logged between 2020-2021
· Consumers are urged to use qualified and approved plumbers when getting work done in their home or at their business
Durham is the only county in the North East region to land themselves in the top ten ranking of most complained about plumbers in the country, with a whopping total of 156 complaints.
The county placing fifth on the table saw an increase of ten complaints in 2021 in comparison to 2020.
Water Regs UK received 36 responses to Freedom of Information requests from councils across the UK, this helped determine the areas where most complaints were lodged about plumbing tradesmen.
Across the board there has been a 9% increase of complaints about plumbing tradesmen, with some councils seeing an increase of over 150 complaints.
Julie Spinks, managing director of Water Regs UK, said: “Consumers are experiencing problems with plumbers up and down the country. Whilst it’s encouraging to see that so many are using their right to complain about bad tradesmen, it’s disappointing that so many have felt the need to.”
Despite there being more than 2,800 complaints lodged to UK councils in the years 2020 and 2021, only two fines were issued, with seven taken to court. The only council to take a tradesman to court in 2021 was Oxfordshire County Council.
“I’d urge anyone looking for a plumber to always go through an approved scheme, such as WaterSafe which is supported by water companies. The scheme vets them to check they are suitably qualified and insured to carry out plumbing work. They can also be audited against the water fittings regulations.”