Devon plumbers are the most complained about plumbers in the UK – that’s according to Water Regs UK, which received 36 responses to Freedom of Information requests from councils across the UK. This helped determine the areas where the most complaints were lodged about plumbing tradespeople.
Water Regs UK aimed to find the councils that receive the most complaints about faulty or inadequate plumbing installations and the tradespeople 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 tradespeople. The South West alone received over 700 complaints in 2020/21.
Devon came out as the single county council with the most complaints in the UK, with a whopping 315 in 2021 (up from 217 in 2020). Across the board there has been a 9% increase of complaints, with some councils seeing an increase of over 150.
| Councils with the highest number of complaints made about plumbing tradespeople in 2020 and 2021 | ||||
| COUNTY (council) | 2020 | 2021 | TOTAL | RANK |
| Devon | 217 | 315 | 532 | 1 |
| Norfolk | 166 | 163 | 329 | 2 |
| Lincolnshire | 84 | 94 | 178 | 3 |
| Hampshire | 85 | 86 | 171 | 4 |
| Durham | 73 | 83 | 156 | 5 |
| Kent | 60 | 85 | 145 | 6 |
| Wiltshire | 64 | 54 | 118 | 7 |
| Nottinghamshire | 50 | 56 | 106 | 8 |
| Buckinghamshire | 93 | 9 | ||
| Surrey | 93 | 10 | ||
Julie Spinks, managing director of Water Regs UK, says: “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 2800 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,” adds Julie. “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.”
