If you find yourself in a situation where you need a Plumber, you might like to consider these helpful hints.

One thing to consider is if it is a real emergency. If it is then you will be looking for 24 hour plumbers if it is the middle of the night. There are various emergency plumbers numbers that you should write down and place near your telephone

Alternatively, if you just have a dripping tap then you can certainly wait a few hours and possibly a few days before a Plumber arrives.

If the water leak or problem is associated with your gas central heating then you should look for corgi registered plumbers. Corgi plumbers are certified to work on gas systems.

You want to avoid cowboy plumbers so a word of mouth recommendation is always good and far better than picking one at random from the large telephone directories. Do you have friend who has recently used a Plumber? If so this should be your first contact. See if the friend will recommend the Plumber.

Make sure that you have the Plumbers landline number rather than just a mobile number. Make sure you also have his address.

Ask if you can pay by credit card, this will give you additional protection.

Most reputable Plumbers will not ask for up front payments.

Do not use Plumbers who say that they will do the job cash-in-hand. This is probably an indication that they are not registered for VAT, this is an indication that the Plumber is not as professional as you should expect.

Try and agree a fixed price before the work is done.

Keep any ‘old’ parts that the Plumber claims are broken. This will give you some evidence if a low quality job is done.

Ask to see copies of any qualifications the Plumber has and make sure you verify the qualifications with the organisation. Copyright Clive Carlton