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I wanted to get the opinion of the forum about something that happened today. I'm having some work done on my house, some of which is the installation of a new boiler. The plumber has removed a load of copper pipe and the old immersion heater. He left the immersion heater in the garden over the weekend so I put it in the skip. When I got home from work today I noticed that the immersion heater had gone so I asked him about it. Turns out he has sold it along with the copper pipe. I'm not too happy about that and told him so. He got very,very defensive and said that it was perfectly normal. So, am I over-reacting, or was I right to pull him up on it? And what should I do? |
The plumber sold my scrap metal
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Well as it was in your skip I believe it could be classified as theft by finding, without your permission he had no place taking it and selling it regardless of whether it was in the skip. -
brokenkey 11,128 posts
Seen 1 hour ago
Registered 20 years agoyou were right to pull him up on it - if a scrap metal merchant had seen it they'd have paid you cash. Ask him for half the money. -
Help yourself to a few things from his van.
Sounds like he thinks that sort of thing is cool.
Edited by PES_Fanboy at 22:14:39 14-04-2014 -
speedofthepuma 13,428 posts
Seen 1 year ago
Registered 16 years agoDeckard1 wrote:
Yeah, you wanted rid of it didn't you? More space in the lovely skip for other rubbish..
It's cheeky but if you put it in the skip I don't see it as a massive issue -
jonsaan 27,052 posts
Seen 9 months ago
Registered 15 years agoMy builder suggested keeping some double glazed windows and not skipping them. They have been kicking about my garden ever since and were smashed into a gazillionpieces in the stormy weather. I say he did you a favour. A cheeky one, but ho hum...
They are still in my garden too... -
jonsaan 27,052 posts
Seen 9 months ago
Registered 15 years agoPlus...if it wasn't him it would have been someone else. Probably a white van full of nefarious looking individuals who screech round neighbourhoods picking over rubbish and hanging out for scrap metal. -
Deckard1 wrote:
No it wasn't
It's cheeky -
Dirtbox 92,595 posts
Seen 18 hours ago
Registered 19 years ago -
neilka 24,021 posts
Seen 8 hours ago
Registered 16 years agoHow can you be sure that's the plumber in your bathroom and not an intruder?
/exaggerated wink -
I think part of the thing that really got me was how quickly defensive he got. Saying that it wasn't illegal which (as prawnking said) it is, and that he wasn't being underhanded, when all I did initially was ask him what happened to it. My spidey sense kicks in when someone it that quick to defend themselves. Maybe I'm being a bit of a big girls blouse. Maybe I'll nick his monkey wrench .gif)
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mrpon 37,366 posts
Seen 1 hour ago
Registered 15 years agoPerhaps he factored selling the copper into his quote? -
oceanmotion 17,358 posts
Seen 2 years ago
Registered 18 years agoTaking it out your skip is cheeky, straight from your house while doing the work is okay if you don't say otherwise.
I was sure the local council were in with the tinks when we renovated because the council did free uplifts for certain stuff and after letting them know, tinks appeared and took the good stuff, no way they could know it was there otherwise, not even driving by.
Edited by oceanmotion at 22:32:02 14-04-2014 -
shaymanjohn 10 posts
Seen 45 minutes ago
Registered 15 years ago@poohcorner Take my penknife my good man -
CosmicFuzz 32,632 posts
Seen 29 minutes ago
Registered 15 years agoYeah, if you threw it into the skip, I don't see why it's a problem. Beyond the fact that he shouldn't be taking it from your skip. But it's not quite the same as some random knicking it, he was the one who took it out etc.
Don't necessarily see why you should get a cut of it (not that you're saying you are). If it was going to be thrown out, it was going to be thrown out. Bit cheeky taking it from the skip, but that's about it. -
smoothpete 37,743 posts
Seen 4 hours ago
Registered 17 years agoAll plumbers do this, I expect the decent ones would ask first. They can make a bundle at the end of the year selling all their copper to scrap merchants. It's technically taxable but I highly doubt any of them declare it.
I only know this as we had some work done recently and a pikey came to the door to ask if he could have the metal out of the skip, and did we have any other metal to get rid of. I gave him the scrap copper pipes which were by the back door, which as it turns out were put to one side by the plumber for him to keep / sell. The plumber was a bit miffed but I was like a) they're my pipes, and b) if coming from the west midlands has taught me anything it's that you need to keep on the good side of pikeys
Edited by smoothpete at 09:49:31 15-04-2014 -
spindizzy 7,755 posts
Seen 4 weeks ago
Registered 17 years agoYeah, I think if you put anything into the skip it's a bit hard to get too upset if they get taken - all that would have happened is that the guys at the dump would have fished them out. But he also is technically in the wrong and probably knows it, which is why he got defensive. -
It was in the skip. If it hadn't of been him, it would of been taken by the scrap man without your permission just the same. -
askew 24,121 posts
Seen 5 days ago
Registered 16 years agoI'M THE SCRAP MAAAAANN BEEEE BAP DA BADDA BO -
Dougs 100,414 posts
Seen 17 hours ago
Registered 18 years agoMy old man used to be a plumber. Selling the scrap was how he got his beer money, all very normal. He was usually renovating entire blocks though, not individual properties. -
smoothpete 37,743 posts
Seen 4 hours ago
Registered 17 years agoThe one who did our bathroom said he makes between 1 and 2 grand a year on it, it's like his christmas bonus -
It's one of those ones that sits between being technically wrong, but in reality you'd be a bit of a dick to make a fuss imo. You had effectively thrown it away. If he'd have taken it out of your shed or something that would be different. -
ThrowingTuba 282 posts
Seen 3 hours ago
Registered 11 years agoTo be honest, he's probably done you a favour, unless you've got an 'in' selling scrap is probably not too profitable or easy. -
iancognito 2,476 posts
Seen 6 years ago
Registered 14 years agoA plumber changed some of my radiators once. He said he had a friend who'd collect the scrap but don't leave it out the front because someone would take them. It's a handy scrap metal tip - if you want to get rid of something just leave it out the front and it'll be gone in a few days. It's like the wild west out there when it comes to scrap metal. -
To be honest you can leave pretty much anything out the front of your house in London and it will get taken. People do it in my road all the time, and all the stuff goes no matter how shit - old broken kettles, kids toys, sofas etc.
I've never seen them but people must just scour the streets at night for this stuff. -
smoothpete 37,743 posts
Seen 4 hours ago
Registered 17 years agoBig money in scrap, so I'm told. -
Knowing it was worth something maybe he should've asked you first if you minded him taking it! However as skips are quite pricey he did u a bit of a favour as the space is quickly filled in them.
Have you paid him yet? If not and you are really annoyed, take a few quid off his bill 😀
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