Plumber Threatening Towards Me

[cj1984]

A plumber came to my house for a call out and became hostile towards me when it turned out his services were not required. I fully understand that a callout fee is required regardless and would have reluctantly paid it (still will no doubt have to). However, when I said I didn't have any money on my person he started swearing at me for wasting his time and his body language made me think he might attack me physically. I felt threatened and asked him to leave, fortunately he did. I'm still on edge from this though. How should I deal with this, if at all?

[gness]

You could be right, Cj......if your review says......Don't be surprised if this guy gets annoyed when you call him out......find you don't need him and then don't pay the call out fee... :-)

[TonyV]

Lol Gness xx

[Smowball]

Ok being neutral - what was fhe problem you called him out for and why did you then not need him?

[Jackdaw33]

1) You call out a plumber unnecessarily.
2) You don't have the means to pay him whether he did any work or not (cash/cheque/card).
3) You come on here moaning your tits off because he got annoyed.
If I were a tradesman I would give you a wide berth.

[Baldric]

Well said JD, some folks don't seem to understand how it works,

[ToraToraTora]

sounds like a piece of itinerant scum, ignore, they have no bottle anyway.

[Togo]

Lol.^^ :))

[cj1984]

1) You call out a plumber unnecessarily.
I called out an expert to assess what needed doing

2) You don't have the means to pay him whether he did any work or not (cash/cheque/card).
It's 2018 people most commonly pay digitally after receiving an invoice, which I fully intended to do regardless of the outcome of the visit.

3) You come on here moaning your tits off because he got annoyed.
If I were a tradesman I would give you a wide berth.
I'm sorry to have inconvenienced you, thanks for your valuable contribution.

Like I said I appreciate the responses but it's hard to respond to them all. The guy squared up to me and was swearing in my face. But sure it's all my fault for not having cash and not having a problem the guy could provide a solution to.

[shoota]

Or is this a law student asking a question regarding the Criminal Justice act, 1984?

[cj1984]

Correct me if I'm wrong but assault is causing someone to fear the infliction of immediate harm? But it's cool right because the guy is trying to get paid.

[Peter Pedant]

isnt this like getting into a taxi and then saying oops I cant pay ?

and expecting the driver to say - what-ho! merry christmas to you ma'am?

for a call out I had to pay £60 up front for the plumber to turn out (contact org) and then a further £100 for his attendance.

which of course I had ....

in Law clearly you have a civil contractual duty to pay his fee if submitted

and criminal liability of trademen who are told they arent gonna get paid - I dont think there is one to be honest.

[Peter Pedant]

yes no
you are right about the distinction between assault and battery

I really dont feel you are the wronged party ...

[Neveracrossword]

Cj1984, he became hostile towards you 'when it turned out his services were not required'. Did you tell him beforehand that you wanted him only to 'assess' things? Did you ask about charges, hourly rate, the call-out fee? Why would you have 'reluctantly' paid the last, it's totally normal?

[Peter Pedant]

// and he threatened someone in their own home.//

words used ?

I had a tenant: 'can I have some rent please?'
and the little birdie tweeted: I will see what I have left at the end of the month!
(kinda like you, I dont have the moolah but I will!)
she didnt last long

[cj1984]

No it's not like getting into a taxi and saying I can't pay. You're working on the assumption that I didn't intend to pay, which isn't the case. So how is the plumber the wronged party? If he punched me would you feel differently? Assault or battery I'm not the wronged party, how you figure?

[Jackdaw33]

Does the OP live in the real world?

You go into a store. You select an item/items. The assistant tells you the price. You reply that you have no means of payment and ask them to send you an invoice so you can pay digitally. And you think you can just walk out of the store with the goods?

[cj1984]

When I used the word reluctantly I just meant I'm paying even though no solution was provided, not ideal but yes normal and like I've said several times I had the intention to pay the callout, not sure why we're still going over that.

[TonyV]

cJ did he touch you?

[Peter Pedant]

about the whole of your post at 21 52
yes no - if you say to a taxi driver - hello I cant pay, he will drive off.... here you held out that you could....

and yes on different facts - he lurked outside with a machine gun and a wild dog - or smeared the lavatory handle with novichok, and yelled - ha! try going now!
yes the liability would be different - as ever

[Cloverjo]

Come on, guys. This is a new AB member asking how he should deal with a workman being aggressive in his own home. No need to descend on him like a pack of wolves.