Insult from plumber

[Casey]

Hi
My mothers been having problems with her central heating &hot water and the plumber said she needed
To change her room thermostat
she has just received an email and in it was the plumbers work sheet and the plumber said that he changed it to a more idiot proof one
i think this is extremely insulting my mother is 70
but is far from an idiot
after reading this she was very upset
i was just wondering if this is with complaining to the company about
hope you can help thanks

[ostell]

Re: Insult from plumber

I think the plumber was being very helpful and working to supply an easier to use thermostat. Idiot proof is just a turn of phrase meaning something easier to use.

[charitynjw]

Re: Insult from plumber

I agree with @ostell

The term generally means virtually impossible to mess up or misuse, or simple to use, & is normally encompassing the population as a whole, not directed at a particular person.

[Casey]

Re: Insult from plumber

Hi thanks for your reply
the problem im having believing that this wasnt ment as an insult was because my mother had to call them out six times to solve the problem with the heating which after changing the pcb board in the boiler the port valve box twice the battery’s in the original room stat then finally the room stat its self as none of these things fixed the problem with the heating
after getting in a different company it turned out to be the programer under the boiler
I personally think because he couldn’t solve the issue
He resorted to insults
what im wondering is should I complain to the ombudsman
do i have a case
thanks for your help

[wales01man]

Re: Insult from plumber

Have to agree with Ostell may I ask which company he worked for? and what would you expect the Ombudsman to do in this case, An apology from the company should be sought I think

[charitynjw]

Re: Insult from plumber

Does the company participate in the Ombudsman scheme?
Even if it did you would need to exhaust the firm's complaints process first.

[Onestepatatime]

Re: Insult from plumber

Can you not just simply forward a copy of his email to his company explaining your upset?

[charitynjw]

Re: Insult from plumber

Maybe try
https://www.resolver.co.uk/

[seduraed]

Re: Insult from plumber

I would simply write to the company involved. Point out putting the term "idiot proof" on an invoicentre is both unprofessional and potentially insulting. Ask for an apology and an assurance that it won't happen again. Lay the letter out labelled "formal complaint". Then have a nice cup of tea with a biscuit and let the matter drop . Oh and don't use that firm of plumbers again.

[Diana M]

Re: Insult from plumber

my mother had to call them out six times to solve the problem with the heating which after changing the pcb board in the boiler the port valve box twice the battery’s in the original room stat then finally the room stat its self as none of these things fixed the problem with the heating
after getting in a different company it turned out to be the programer under the boiler
I personally think because he couldn’t solve the issue
He resorted to insults
what im wondering is should I complain to the ombudsman

Unless I've misunderstood, the perceived insult came from the first plumber who failed to solve the boiler problem after six attempts. Perhaps he's the "idiot" in this saga.

Did your Mum pay the first plumber for all those call-outs and the parts? If so she may want to get her money back, and maybe a bit more on top for 'stress and inconvenience'.

Or was the heating system covered by a breakdown policy or something similar?

There will be different complaint routes to take (for escalation and/or third party redress) depending on your answer.

Your Mum may need to get the second plumber to give her written proof of the work he carried out which eventually resolved the issue.

Di

[Casey]

Re: Insult from plumber

Hi thanks for your reply
my mums boiler cover was through her house insurance
I called them to complain about how long this took
even though it was six visits its actually taken two months for this to be sorted and there response wasn’t good
so i think i will take it to the complaints department
thanks for your help

[Diana M]

Re: Insult from plumber

my mums boiler cover was through her house insurance
I called them to complain about how long this took
even though it was six visits its actually taken two months for this to be sorted

Then I would think she may have a complaint against the Insurance Provider who will (or should) have a formal complaints procedure which she can escalate to the FOS (assuming the insurer is authorised and regulated by the FCA).

Who is it? They will probably have outsourced the job to a management company who gives the job to a sub-contractor but the buck stops with the insurer since she's paying them for her cover.

Two months without heating and hot water isn't funny!

Di

[Casey]

Re: Insult from plumber

Hi
her insurance company is churchill and they use a company called mitie
is it churchill or mitie i should report or both or the plumbers them selfs or all three
thanks

[Diana M]

Re: Insult from plumber

her insurance company is churchill and they use a company called mitie
is it churchill or mitie i should report or both or the plumbers them selfs or all three

Your Mum should make the complaint to Churchill Insurance and let them do the work.

She can call the Home Emergency Team on 0345 301 6238 (ask for 'existing claims') to get the ball rolling.

If they don't resolve her complaint to her satisfaction within eight weeks she can then refer it to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

Here's some info on Churchill's Complaints Procedure > https://www.churchill.com/contact-us/complaints

I would suggest the complaint is about 'shoddy workmanship' (the six visits to get it fixed) and add the insulting remark into the bit about seeking compensation for inconvenience and stress.

I'm sorry your Mum was upset by that insensitive remark. I would be too (your Mum and I are almost the same age) although in my case it would be entirely accurate since I'm hopeless with technology!

Her feelings have been hurt, and hurt is subjective. Hopefully making a formal complaint and receiving a full apology will help to put that right.

Di

[Casey]

Re: Insult from plumber

Hi thankyou so much for your help
im going to contact churchill and see if i can get this resolved
hopefully i will talk to someone a bit more understanding
if not i will take it to the ombudsman
thankyou again for all your help&advice