The accidental landlord: how to avoid being ripped off by a rogue trader

When a tenant phones during a bank holiday weekend to complain that the loo is broken, what are you going to do — tell them to cross their legs until Tuesday, or fork out bank holiday rates to get it fixed?

Any decent landlord would deal with the problem at once, regardless of the cost, because you can’t leave tenants overnight without basic facilities. But be warned. There are companies just waiting for the opportunity to rip off desperate landlords.

I got my fingers singed by one of these shark outfits over the last bank holiday weekend when my tenants reported that the lavatory flush had broken and was gushing water everywhere. They managed to turn off the supply and mop up the mess themselves, but they needed a plumber to fix the flush.

Now, if this had occurred in my own house, there is no way I’d have called out a plumber on a Sunday as I am far to mean to pay emergency rates.

Instead, I would have insisted everyone use a bucket of water as a temporary flush. But for my tenants, I called a property maintenance company that claims to provide a 24-hour “award-winning service” in London and the home counties.

KEEP YOUR EYE ON COSTINGS

They offered to provide a “toilet engineer” at a charge of £125 an hour. I asked if they could just send a plumber instead but the hourly rate was the same. I went to the flat myself to make sure the “toilet engineer” didn’t stand around chatting with the tenants while the clock was running because I knew that if he went one or two minutes over the hour, the bill would double.

He finished the job in 57 minutes, including the 20 minutes or so he spent buying a new flush, and told me I would be billed for one hour plus the price of the part. As he had developed amnesia and couldn’t remember how much this cost, I insisted he went to his van and fetched the receipt, which I photographed.

Four days later, the company deducted more than double the cost of the part from my credit card. I called to point out their error and emailed them the photo I’d taken of the receipt but they ignored me. And then I just got tired of fighting them.

CHECK REVIEW SITES FIRST

If I had checked this company’s reviews on Trustpilot, I would have given them a wide berth. It has given them a “poor” two-star rating and although there are some positive comments from users, there are dozens more from unhappy customers alleging rip-off charges and appalling service.

It can be hard to avoid rogue traders when you have an out-of-hours emergency and you can’t get hold of your usual tradesmen. Learn from my mistake and check the reviews of any firm you use on Trustpilot or Feefo — but not on the company’s own website, which could be made up or selective.

Always pay with a credit or Visa debit card so that you can request a chargeback from your card issuer if you’re ripped off. And if you do come across a rogue trader, please report them to trading standards via the Citizens Advice consumer line on 03454 04 05 06 to stop others getting ripped off, too.

Victoria Whitlock lets four properties in south London. To contact her with your ideas and views, tweet @vicwhitlock.