Complaints
What WIAPS does:
Maintains a register of competent, qualified plumbing contractors on behalf of 18 subscribing Water Undertakers.
Regularly audit the work of those registered with us through your local water undertaker’s regulations teams to ensure they are applying their competence appropriately.
Investigate reports and complaints about poor or unsafe plumbing work carried out by those registered with us.
Publish various information and guidance to inform and educate the public about the potential problems and dangers of using unregistered plumbers.
What WIAPS does not do:
It does not recommend a specific approved contractor over another. Customers are advised to use the WIAPS or Watersafe directories to find and commission an approved contractor to undertake their specific scope of works.
It does not employ the approved contractors.
It cannot adjudicate on matters outside of its remit, such as costs or contract disputes. WIAPS advises customers to obtain written quotes from three approved contractors for any work that is to be undertaken.
It does not have the authority to force a plumber to fix a problem, this remains at the discretion of the local water undertaker.
It does not perform criminal background checks on approved members. Any threats to property or a person are police matters, however WIAPS will always act appropriately if a member is found to behaving in this way.
What if something goes wrong? How do I complain?
Step one: Contact your WIAPS approved business
If you are unhappy with the work carried out by a WIAPS approved business, you should first raise your complaint with them to see if you can agree a way to resolve the problem.
All WIAPS approved businesses are expected to:
Make sure their plumbing work is carried out in accordance with all statutory requirements, including the Water Regulations and Byelaws.
Make sure their plumbing work is carried out by appropriately qualified professionals
Issue a ‘Certificate of Compliance’ for all the work carried out to their customer
Have adequate procedures to deal with customer complaints in a speedy and efficient way.
Step two: Contact WIAPS
If you’re not able to resolve the problem directly with the approved business, the next step is to contact WIAPS, provided that the business is registered with WIAPS and the complaint is within the scope of the scheme.
You can check a business is a member of WIAPS on our website
Look up the business on the search function using postcode or company name. Click on your contractors’ business name. You can check the business address and their approved employees.
WIAPS will investigate and aim to resolve the complaint in line with the customer redress process.
Please note that WIAPS can only investigate a dispute concerning compliance with the Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999 of the work carried out by a WIAPS Member, or the Member’s failure to comply with the WIAPS Terms and Conditions of membership, Code of Conduct or the WaterSafe Scheme rules. These are available on the website.
WIAPS cannot adjudicate on contractual issues, such as price, which should be pre-agreed between the Customer and the Member. WIAPS recommends that customers obtain three written quotes for any work. Any contractual issues must be resolved directly with your approved business.
As a minimum, WIAPS expect members to meet the requirements listed in Step One. WIAPS contact details can be found here.
What sanctions can WIAPS impose if a complaint is upheld?
If a complaint is upheld the scheme can impose sanctions against the member. Sanctions include verbal and written warning, suspensions and the ultimate sanction of being removed from the scheme.
If an audit of work was completed by WIAPS or the relevant water company and there are infringements of the water fittings regulations that must be remedied, the member will be asked to put this work right.
Whilst the scheme may require a member to attend site and put things right, WIAPS is unable to force a member to do this. Any member refusing to cooperate with the complaint process including putting work right will be removed from the scheme. In these cases, where a failed audit has been completed, WIAPS will provide a copy of the audit to the customer. This may assist customers seeking redress directly with a business.