Devon plumbers top list of most complained about plumbers in the country

• FOI request shows the councils that receive the most complaints about faulty or inadequate plumbing installations and the tradesmen that fit them.

• The South West region dominates the list with Devon, Wiltshire, and Dorset County councils all reporting high numbers of complaints about plumbing tradesmen.

• Consumers are urged to use qualified and approved plumbers when getting work done in their home or at their business.

The South West alone received over 700 complaints about plumbers in 2020/21. Devon becomes that single county council with the most complaints in the UK, with a whopping 315 complaints about plumbing tradesmen in 2021 up from 217 in 2020.

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

Across the board there has been a 9% increase of complaints about plumbing tradesmen, 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 tradesman 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.”

Councils with the highest number of complaints made about plumbing tradesmen in 2020 and 2021