We’ve all heard nightmare stories about cowboy plumbers and builders. While they may be cheaper to hire, they don’t know what they are doing, and sometimes they end up causing significant amounts of damage.
Sometimes they are not actually dishonest, but they don’t have the right skills and experience. Perhaps they do a bit of plumbing as a hobby.
In either case, it’s always best to avoid hiring anyone who is not a professional plumber. Here are seven reasons why to avoid the cowboys.
1. Bad Quality Work
The most obvious problem with a cowboy plumber is that they will do a bad job. We’ve seen a lot of bad jobs in our time when we have been called out to fix the mess that other plumbers have left behind.
Here’s just one example:
Cowboy plumbers often cut corners so they can do the work quicker or for less. The results can be expensive for you – and even dangerous.
And don’t expect a guarantee. If the work suddenly leads to problems a week after the plumber has gone, you’ll have to pay someone else to fix it.
2. Damage to Property
One of the more serious problems with hiring a cowboy plumber is that they can cause significant damage to your property.
You hire a plumber because you want them to fix something. But if the work they do leads to more problems, this can be frustrating and expensive.
3. Unfinished Work
When you hire an outright scammer, they may not even finish the job. Some cowboys will charge you for the work and then disappear before it is finished. It’s a very distressing situation, but it happens.
Then you’ll have to pay a professional plumber to come and finish the job, costing you more overall.
4. Disruption
Plumbing work can cause disruption to your routine, and this is often unavoidable. But a professional plumber will reduce the amount of disruption as much as possible.
A cowboy plumber, on the other hand, may cause significant disruption that lasts much longer, and this can be very stressful for you and your family. Normally it takes only a few days to install a new boiler and a professional will never leave you without hot water and heating for anything longer than a day. But some unreputable companies may leave you freezing for days as they just don’t know what they are doing.
5. More Expensive
Cowboy plumbers are often uninsured or have inadequate insurance. If they are injured while working on your property, you could be liable. Find a plumber with liability insurance and you won’t have to worry about this.
6. More Expensive
People often hire cowboy plumbers because they are surprisingly cheap, but the real costs could be a lot greater.
If they cause further damage, you could end up paying a professional plumber to sort out the original problem as well as fix the mess left behind by the other plumber.
It’s often a lot cheaper to simply hire a qualified plumber the first time around.
7. Unprofessional
Many cowboy plumbers are simply unprofessional to work with, and they may make the whole experience uncomfortable. Customer service is not at the top of their list of priorities, after all.
A professional plumber, however, will make the experience a positive one. They will respect your home and your property and make sure you feel comfortable while they carry out their work.
Hire a Professional Plumber Instead
As you can see, hiring a cowboy plumber, or a plumber without the right experience and skills, is a very bad idea. Too much can go wrong, leaving you with potentially expensive bills to pay and a complete mess to fix.
Always hire a professional plumber instead. The plumbers at Scott Findlay are experienced, and qualified and have the skills you need to do a great job the first time and at a fair price. So contact us today and let us know what you need.
