What Happens When You Hire an Unlicensed Plumber

Plumbers are expensive and when you are short on money, looking for low-cost repair(s) seems like the right decision for your financial budget.

Word of mouth, or putting an advertisement on Craig’s List or elsewhere, is likely to get you a flurry of calls. In our economy today, many businesses have gone under, but people still need to pay bills and put food on their table.

It is easy just to speak to a few people who do plumbing, set a price, get an estimate of the time it will take to do your repair(s) and the start date.

In theory, you can get great service at a much lower cost, the person you choose sounds respectable, honest, knowledgeable and can plumb anything. Please bear with me, as I am having a giggling fit as I write.

Let me give you an example of a true experience. My friend Mark is not, nor ever has been handy with tools or household maintenance. He was smart enough to know he needed a plumber.

Reluctant to pay the cost of licensed plumbers, he decided to hire a person he slightly knew who proclaimed he knew everything about plumbing and would do the job for a $100 total.

Mark’s result cost him over $5,000. The plumber had no idea what he was doing and removed one toilet along with the piping. The main water line was not shut off, so Mark’s house was totally flooded, and he needed his floors and walls repaired, a new toilet and furniture replaced.

When he complained, the plumber told him the job was too involved and the man left. Mark immediately called his insurance company who told him since he did not hire a licensed professional plumber, they would not pay for any damages.

If Mark had hired a licensed plumber, he would have been protected. The plumber by law would have insurance should anything go amiss. There would have been a contract which would have stated the work that needed to be done and the cost factor.

Had something else occurred such as needing floors and walls fixed, or furniture replaced, then his homeowner insurance would have covered the expenses due to water damage.

Mark later found out if he had hired someone with a license, his total cost would have been $200.