Pimlico Plumbers
Reviews and Complaints

Pimlico Plumbers charged me over 100% above retail price on a new boiler!
They never quoted me a price on the boiler before installing but I trusted them as a reputable merchant. They presented me with a bill over £8000 for all the work and boiler. I asked for a written invoice/breakdown of this large cost and they had none and couldn't provide one. Though I really wanted a breakdown they threatened to take out the boiler if I didn't pay - at 6:30pm on a cold January night when my children and I (a single mother) had been without heating or hot baths for days already.
They sat down at my table and scribbled made up numbers to reach that amount.
They charged me £2500 + VAT £500 £3000 for the boiler.
The same boiler is available on line for £1400 to retail customers.
They charged me £1600 above the retail cost!
In addition to thousands in labour costs.
Over a 100% markup above the retail price. And I still haven't received the promised 7 year warrantee document.
This is disgraceful and fraudulent how they take advantage of their customers.

I consider Pimlico unreliable.
The visits were delayed thrice. Each time they scheduled I took a day off at my work because I urgently needed their help. As the money was paid ahead and I had no extra time for dealing with refunding, I couldn't just cancel it, so that's why I had to follow their rules. But what they did was absolutely disrespectful. Three times they let me down. Three times they called me and said that they had to reschedule. Yesterday they didn't show up again and I lost my patience. I requested a refund and I hope they understand why. It's inappropriate!

I am providing one star, as it is not possible to provide a lower review. Firstly, a general note, while they do provide a fast service, Pimlico plumbers are very expensive compared to the competition in London. Secondly, in terms of my direct experience, Pimlico organised for an engineer who was insufficiently qualified to assess my boiler (pulsacoil), which had stopped working, even though I had been guaranteed over the phone in advance the engineer would have knowledge of my boiler type. The engineer found a number of faults and recommended that even if he attempted to fix the faults, he could not guarantee that the boiler would work, recommending a replacement - to the cost of £1, 200-2500. This seemed incorrect to me, so I organised for an assessment by an alternative company. It turned out that the only problem with the boiler was a faulty timer, and since this has been replaced I have not had issue with the boiler. Pimlico have refused to provide a refund.

I asked for an estimate of plumbing work required at my house.
I was told i may have to pay for an hour's work for this estimate which surprised me as the website suggested an estimate was only deducted from the cost of the work if accepted.
The person who turned up was not any of the official estimate team advertised who normally give estimates.
He then charged me over £200 for an estimate which i could never accept, it was quite ridiculous and he quite obviously did not want the work.
I have been a regular client of Pimlico Plumbers for 30 years owning properties in Pimlico but i will certainly warn all my fellow owners of properties never to use them again.
On their website they state the following:
"Estimates are generally non-chargeable. However some estimates may incur a charge depending on the nature of the work, the area and the time of the appointment. Any charge made will be deducted from the final invoice if and when estimated works are carried out"
Please order Pimlico Plumbers to remove this from their website it is dishonest and does not reflect the truth, they make extortionate charges for estimates even when they are not acceptable.
Charlie Mullins, Pimlico Plumbers founder, complains that people should not be allowed to make complaints about companies like his, suggesting the complaints are fictitious. It seems more probable that the complaints he sees on social media are true and Mr Mullins should look again at the operations of his company and the behaviour of his employees.
Mrs M Lloyd
Invoice DE1018603 November 6th 2017

We had a very poor experience with Pimlico and would definitely recommend to stay away from them. We have had problems with our underfloor heating for some time and decided to go to Pimlico knowing that they would be more expensive than a usual plumber, but hoped that they would at least get to a solution eventually. The experience is that they company will attempt to drag out and extend the repairs for as long as possible to increase the hours charged. On the first visit, the engineer charged 2 hours simply to open up the vent on the boiler and “watch” air vent out of the system. He then suggested changing a pump. On the second visit they installed a pump at a cost of £477 for the pump only, I later looked on line for the cost of this pump and ranges between £220/£250. Furthermore, the engineer took 3 hours to install the pump (maybe 30 minutes?), followed by 2.5 hrs of watching. Total cost charged for the two visits was £1, 450, and despite the cost, the problem was not solved in any way as the pump was not the problem. They then suggested a power flush of the system quoting £2, 100! We've had a power flush done before and the cost was around £350. Thus, £1450 down and the problem is not any different. This company essentially runs on racking up hours and escalating the repairs to incredible levels, and in our case not solving the problem. Furthermore, charging double for a pump than a normal retail price is simply unjustifiable.

I called Pimlico Plumbers because the heating was working intermittently therefore I knew that it could not be the boiler (6 years old Worcester Grecnstar) which was working albeit intermittently. The plumber called Anthony Staines (Invoice No: AS949417) found out that there was no signal between the thermostat and the receiver. He decided to switch off the receiver which took him few minutes. He also replaced the batteries in the thermostat with used (!) batteries. He advised that further investigation was necessary. To get the boiler to work properly with communication between the thermostat and the boiler, I called the plumber who installed the boiler for me. Without looking at it he knew immediately that it was the 2 AA batteries in the thermostat. Upon inspection, he found out that the Pimlico plumber had put in 2 very used batteries therefore there was still no communication between the thermostat and the receiver. So I had to pay £252.00 to Pimlico Plumbers for 2 USED AA batteries and £50 to the second plumber who diagnosed the problem properly and put in new batteries. Whole exercise thanks to Pimlico Plumbers cost me £300. If the owner has become a millionaire it is thanks to ripped off customers like me. Steer clear and avoid at all cost! You have been warned!

I called out Pimlico to clear and flush my gully and gutters. I explained to the gentleman that my ceiling was leaking as the gully was blocked so I needed the gully and the gutters to be unblocked to stop the leaking.

I as informed that a roofer called Elliott would attend my property between and hour to an hour and half. I was later called and informed that the roofer was running late and would be at my premises at 14.15.

The premise is a barbershop. I instructed my barber to call me as soon as the roofer arrived. I got a call at 14.22 to say the roofer had arrived.

When I met Elliott he informed me that he would need to do some flashing as the flashing was coming undone. When Elliott later realised that it was flushing that was required he retracted his initial comment and said actually my flashing was fine. This certainly caused me to question his integrity – was there actually anything wrong with my flashing or had Elliott exaggerated simply to create a job? He then later went onto say that he did not even have the correct equipment to complete flashing anyway! It is rather difficult to believe that a tradesman would attend a property without the tools required to complete the job. That is comparable to turning up to fix a screw without a screwdriver of any description. At this point, I as beginning to get flashbacks from the BBC programme ‘rogue traders’. But surely Pimlico plumbers could not be among the disreputable list of rogue trade!

Unfortunately the unsavoury and dishonest behaviour displayed by Elliott was set to continue. Elliott proceeded to get a bag from his van. I noted that the bag already had dirt inside. Elliott then proceeded to remove some debris from the gully. I asked him if he was not going to flush the gully, he informed me that he was told that it was flashing that was required. I told him that I did not require any flashing, what I had requested was flushing. Elliott said he would have to call the office to check as he had been informed that it was flashing that was required.

I informed Elliott that the job was incomplete as when water was poured down the gully, the water still backed up which very clearly showed that neither the gully or the gutter were unblocked and as it could not be disputed that this was what I had asked for - the job was still incomplete.

Elliott confirmed that the gully was not unblocked. In his opinion what was needed was a power flush. As my request was for my gully and gutter to be cleared to stop the leaking in the ceiling, if the gutter and gully was still blocked and my ceiling leaking, it is quite clear that the job was and is not completed.

Elliott advised me to call the office, the gentleman in the office advised me that they could send someone to come on Monday to do a power flush to complete the job. However he made me to be aware that I would have to pay an additional £170 plus VAT to complete the job that I had originally called Elliott out to do.

Elliott then proceeded to write me a receipt. I noticed straightway that he had falsified the time that he had arrived. He said that before he had come into the barbershop he had spent some time in his van putting on his shoes!

Its simply beyond a joke that Elliott felt that the right thing to do was to charge me for how long it took him to put on his shoes. Maybe it would have been best for him to arrive in his leisure clothes and then charge for the hour that it would have probably taken him to change to his work clothes! This is defiantly a case of rouge traders!

After much toing and froing, Elliott agreed to change the time to the real time he arrived in the shop. This was done very reluctantly and slowly. Elliott then wrote that he had spent one hour 20 minutes removing dirty from a gully that was still blocked! If he had actually done the job that was required I would have paid – but how can I be asked to pay for something that has not been done!

One of the points that make a complaint valid to be made to the trade standard via Citizen advice is if the job requested is not completed. As this is indeed the case, it seem clear that I have a valid complaint against Pimlico.

Further, according to section 2, 13 of the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982, implied term about care and skill, Elliott did not show reasonable skill when carrying out the job as it remains uncompleted. It would have been reasonable to expect the job to have been completed by a competent and skilled roofer - this means that Pimlico is in breach of the act and thereby any implied verbal contract is non-and void.

It is for these reasons that I believe that it would be unreasonable for me to pay an invoice for work, which has not been done.

In conclusion no flashing or flushing was carried out, My gully still remains blocked!

It is unfair that you should try and use your might as a large company to bully a consumer, overcharge and carry out a sub standard job!

We had a blocked toilet so called out Pimlico Plumbers.

The first visit costed £150. We explained the plumbing system to him and why the problem happened. He could not fix without a drainage expert (Im not sure why a qualified draining expert isnt a plumber - several other companies have said they are all drainage experts.) He suggested getting one out at a further cost and wait.
Then their drainage engineer Max Donohoe attended that same evening but unfortunately was unable to resolve the issue without the removal of the pan which would require a plumber to assist. So thats one plumber, one expert - no resolve.

The following day Max Donohoe and Marc Herbert returned and removed the pan and started to core the blockage. I asked how long this would take. Their complaints division said 'If you speak with any drainage expert they will inform you that they cannot put a time frame on how long it will take to clear a blockage as it all depends on the severity of the blockage.' INCORRECT. After 2 hours and £650 later, I decided to end their time as they had not been able to get a camera to find blockage. The same blockage I had explained.

I called a local firm who quoted 2 hours and found problem and resolved it in 90 mins.

On complaining to Pimlico Plumbers I have not been issued a refund.

All three plumbers who attended the property started as Apprentices at Pimlico and it is my belief that they do not have enough experience on the job.

The local plumber who fixed the job advised me professionally to get a refund and supplied evidence in his findings yet they refuse to refund.

I am still taking this up online until Pimlico Plumbers issue a full refund.

They should not charge customers this vast amount when they cant resolve, cant estimate a time they can resolve and keep bringing round plumbers who can not resolve the issue.

Daylight robbery! Appalling customer service attitude towards a loyal customer. Charged £112 for a visit to fix an issue they caused - the guy was here two minutes. What was just a minor disagreement spiralled into an absolute customer services nightmare. I believe they are trained and told to be unhelpful. I will never use them again and advise others to avoid. Now going to court over it. Disgusting and appalling.

My boiler was not keep up pressure and as the end of the day was approaching on a cold November night, I called Pimlico plumbers to attend to it. Their engineers, polite and clean cut diagnosed the fault very quickly "found leak in ensuite bathroom radiator so made safe". He told us that we should consider a new towel rack (he provided a quote of £550+VAT) and also he said that he had not heard of our boiler brand before so we should consider changing the boiler at some point. When asked whether any of these repairs were urgent he said no. We paid £156 which we considered fair under the circumstances. Fast forward12 hours and the system has not pressure and we have no heat. These things happen of course, so Ii expected the nice man to come back and go over his work. Pimlico were quick to point out that their work was not guaranteed and a new visit by the engineer would be chargeable at £156/hour. When I pointed out that it had been less than 12 hours since the repair I was referred back to the invoice which said that the work was not guaranteed. I asked to speak to a manager, but I was told that the managers are busy and would not say anything different. I brought in a plumber for another company who quickly identified another leak in the system (pretty obvious as there was water under the radiator) and quickly fixed it. I emailed Pimlico again with this information and I was told that their engineer would not look for another leak once he found one (supposingly to save the customer money). Considering that there were only 5 radiators and one had water under it, I hardly think that much investigation was needed, especially since the engineer had bled the radiator and would have seen the leak. All in all, if you are considering using this company, beware that they do not stand behind their work even if their repair lasts less than 12 hours.

Appalling service from Pimlico Plumbers, I would never use them if I were you!
I booked an appointment for 9-2 to undertake emergency roof repairs. I had to take a day of leave from work. I rang them at 12.44 to check they were still coming out and they said yes and they'd still be in my appointment time. At 2.05 they called me to cancel.
I complained to the customer service manager Neeha Marahta and she said she'd get someone out at 3.30 pm. No one turned up so I rang at 15.46 to check. The roofer said he was on his way, but it would probably be too dark. He eventually arrives at 16.30. He takes one look at the roof and says 'there is nothing I can do as it's too high'.
I had explained how high it was on the phone (it's 2 storeys plus loft conversion) and yet they send someone who can't even look at the roof. They then say they need to send someone out on another day to quote for scaffolding and to quote for the work. I questioned why the guy couldn't do that today and they said he didn't have the skills.

They wasted an entire day of mine, and the customer service manager was rude on the phone, which made it even more stressful. So if you want to waste your time and feel very stressed then use them. But if you want a good service that's stress free then don't touch them with a barge pool!

L