• FOI requests to UK councils show the areas which receive most plumber complaints to Trading Standards

• South East regions dominate the list with Hertfordshire, Essex and Kent County councils all reporting hundreds of complaints to Trading Standards

• Consumers looking for plumbers are being urged to use qualified and approved plumbers

Surrey and Buckinghamshire counties have topped a list of the councils to receive the most complaints about plumbers in the UK. The nation’s richest county reported a whopping 313 complaints were received by the councils’ Trading Standards department about plumbing work or products.

The Water Regulation Advisory Scheme (WRAS) submitted Freedom of Information requests to every council  the UK with a Trading Standards authority, to determine the areas where most complaints were lodged about plumbing tradesmen.

In fact, the South East of England dominated the list with hundreds of complaints across Kent, Essex and Hertfordshire, which all made the top ten, whilst South Lanarkshire had the most complaints in Scotland.

Julie Spinks, managing director of WRAS, 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 worrying that so many have felt the need to.”

Despite there being more than 7,000 complaints lodged to UK councils in the last two years, only 12 fines were issued.

“I’d urge anyone looking for a plumber to always go through an approved scheme, such as WaterSafe or through their water company, which vets them to check they are suitably qualified and insured to carry out domestic work and ensure your work complies with water fittings regulations.”

The councils which reported the most complaints about plumbing tradesmen were:  

• Surrey County & Buckinghamshire - 313
• Essex County - 305
• Kent County - 298
• South Lanarkshire - 270
• Norfolk County
• Devon County
• Stoke City - 174
• Hertfordshire County - 167
• Durham County - 144
• Gloucestershire - 140

Press contact: For more information please contact the WRAS press office on 0161 2362277 or email WRASpr@havas.com