7 Questions to Ask an Emergency Plumber on the Phone

1. What is your call-out charge, and what does it include?

Call-out charges mean different things at different firms. At some, the charge covers travel and the first hour of labour. At others it only gets someone to your door, and the clock starts on arrival. Some call it a "diagnosis fee" or "attendance fee" instead.

A good answer is a single figure and a sentence on what it covers. Ours, as an emergency plumber serving London, is the £60 call-out at any hour, with the repair price agreed on site before any work starts. A poor answer is "it depends" with no figure at all. Our guide to how call-out charges work explains the common models.

Tell them what you are facing at the same time: what is leaking or broken, whether you have managed to turn the water off, and for a boiler the make, model and any fault code on the display. A plumber who knows it is a Worcester Greenstar showing EA 227 can think about parts before they leave.

2. How is the rest of the job priced, and when will I know the total?

Emergency jobs are priced in one of three ways: a fixed price for the repair, an hourly rate, or labour by the half hour or hour plus parts at cost or with a mark-up. None of these is wrong, but you need to know which one applies.

Ask when you will be given the total. The answer you want is "before we start the repair, once the engineer has seen it". If they say they will only know at the end, ask for an hourly rate and a rough ceiling, and ask them to stop and check with you if the job goes past it. More on the different quoting styles in how plumbers quote.

3. Is there a different rate at night, weekends or bank holidays?

Many firms charge more for labour after 6pm, at weekends and on bank holidays, and some split the night into bands with a higher rate after midnight. Christmas and New Year often carry their own rates. The call-out may stay the same while labour doubles, so ask about both.

If the difference is large and the problem can be contained, it may be worth making it safe yourself and booking a daytime visit. Closing the stopcock and draining the taps will hold most leaks until morning. See what night and weekend plumbing costs for how the bands usually work.

4. Who is coming, and do they work for you?

You want to know whether the person arriving is employed by the firm you are speaking to or is a subcontractor they are passing the job to. If it is passed on, ask who you contact if something goes wrong afterwards.

For any gas appliance, such as a boiler, gas fire or cooker, ask for the engineer’s name so you can check them on the Gas Safe Register before they arrive. Gas work is carried out by Gas Safe registered engineers, and their photo ID card lists the types of appliance they can work on. For an unvented hot water cylinder, ask whether the engineer holds the G3 qualification.

If you can smell gas, stop the call. Open windows, turn the gas off at the meter if you can reach it safely, avoid switches, then leave and ring the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999. No plumber should be your first call.

5. When can you realistically be here?

Nobody can promise an exact time across London at night, so be wary of a precise arrival time given before they know where the nearest engineer is. A better answer is an honest window and a promise to ring or text when the engineer is on the way.

Ask what happens if they are delayed. If water is still coming through a ceiling you need to know whether to keep waiting or call someone else. Our page on how fast an emergency plumber should arrive covers what is reasonable.

6. Can you usually fix this on the first visit?

Engineers carry the common parts: compression fittings and push-fit couplings for split pipes, isolation valves, tap cartridges and washers, flush valve and fill valve spares, and for boilers a few generic items such as filling loop hoses. Boiler-specific parts, such as a diverter valve, fan, printed circuit board or, on many models, the pressure relief valve, often have to be ordered.

A fair answer separates the two: "we can make it safe tonight and, if it is the part we think it is, it may need ordering for a second visit". Ask whether a second visit carries another call-out.

7. How do I pay, and what will I get in writing?

Card payment on completion is the norm. Be cautious of cash-only terms or a request for money up front by bank transfer. Paying for a job costing between £100 and £30,000 by credit card also gives you section 75 protection under the Consumer Credit Act.

Ask for an invoice that shows labour and parts separately, and whether the repair carries a guarantee. If a gas appliance is found unsafe, you should be given a written warning notice explaining why. For a make-safe job, ask for a note of what is still needed so the next person can pick it up. If the plumber is fixing something in a rented home, see the landlord’s side of plumbing emergencies before you pay.

If all seven answers came back clear, ask the firm to text or email them to you. It takes them a minute and gives you a record. If you want a firm that states its call-out before anyone sets off, our 24-hour plumber page sets out the £60 call-out and how the repair is priced.