REVEALED: Britain’s most complained about plumbers

Devon has been revealed as the single county council with the most complaints in the UK, with a whopping 315 complaints about plumbing tradespeople in 2021 (up from 217 in 2020).

Water Regs UK received 36 responses to Freedom of Information requests from councils across the UK, helping to determine the areas where most complaints were lodged about plumbers.

Across the board there has been a 9% increase in complaints, with some councils seeing an increase of over 150 complaints.

Julie Spinks, Managing Director of Water Regs UK, said: “Consumers are experiencing problems with plumbers up and down the country. Whilst it’s encouraging to see that so many are using their right to complain about bad tradesmen, it’s disappointing that so many have felt the need to.”

Despite there being more than 2,800 complaints lodged to UK councils in the years 2020 and 2021, only two fines were issued, with seven taken to court. The only council to take a tradesperson to court in 2021 was Oxfordshire County Council.

“I’d urge anyone looking for a plumber to always go through an approved scheme, such as WaterSafe which is supported by water companies. The scheme vets them to check they are suitably qualified and insured to carry out plumbing work. They can also be audited against the water fittings regulations.”