Plumber Threatening Towards Me

[cj1984]

A plumber came to my house for a call out and became hostile towards me when it turned out his services were not required. I fully understand that a callout fee is required regardless and would have reluctantly paid it (still will no doubt have to). However, when I said I didn't have any money on my person he started swearing at me for wasting his time and his body language made me think he might attack me physically. I felt threatened and asked him to leave, fortunately he did. I'm still on edge from this though. How should I deal with this, if at all?

[cj1984]

Not really Jackdaw, in your analogy it would be them asking for payment and me asking if I can use my card instead of paying with cash, clearly an acceptable alternative

[Neveracrossword]

Cloverjo, I asked only the questions that most people would! The 'reluctantly' surprised me as call-out charges have been the norm for years. I was/am also surprised that the OP didn't seek information about costs, payment, beforehand.

[Peter Pedant]

// even though no solution was provided,//

well a solution WAS provided - [no action needed]
who provided the solution - you or him?

and a service was provided - he turned out

I expect to pay a call out at the time
none of this - "oh I pay at 60 d on submission of a duly certified invoice and fee notice ....and stop screaming your tots off, I am gonna pay for chrissakes only not now"

[Jackdaw33]

In which case why didn't you do that with the plumber?

[Peter Pedant]

// I can use my card instead of paying with cash, clearly an acceptable alternative//

no it wasnt ! that was why he was swearing at you you silly moo! that bit wasnt clear to him at all

[TonyV]

CloverHi I trying to help but not very much information comes to give good advice.

[ladybirder]

This post is reminiscent of others on here, new poster, spells out a situation, no answer satisfies him/her and it goes on forever with poster reviving it when it flags and we never get to hear the end result. I might be wrong of course but that's what I thought the minute I saw it and nothing since has changed my mind. So I won't bother answering the question as several of you have given perfectly good replies already.

[TonyV]

Ok Lady xx

[gness]

Cj..... you have told us you are reluctant to pay the call out fee but will if you have to. Of course you have to. It’s the agreement you entered in to. He gave you his time. That is not the way to deal with people you employ to work for you. It also tells us much about you.

[kvalidir]

You haven't said how you were threatened.

Did he say 'I'll smash yer face in you sl44444gggg'

or did he say 'If you don't pay me I might be forced to resort to further recourse, possibly via the courts sir! Good Day!'

There's a massive difference CJ and without you telling us exactly what was said and done verbatim we have no way of knowing if you had genuine reason to fear for your safety or if you're just a dramatic nervous Norbert who doesn't like being challenged when he hasn't behaved appropriately.
Just tell us what was said man.

[cj1984]

Thanks to those who gave genuine advice. Hard not to get on the defensive when half the people on here trying to make a joke about the situation or attaching significance to irrelevant aspects of it.

No I didn't say I was considering not paying, I said I was reluctant, ie I'm not happy about paying someone who got in my face looking like he wanted to fight but I obviously will.

You making light of someone's unpleasant experience says a lot about you too.

[gness]

I doubt the plumber found it a pleasant experience.

[sherrardk]

It’s the weekend, it’s days before Christmas and the plumber came out to you and you didn’t have the means to pay him - maybe take a step back and see it from his point of view.

[andy-hughes]

The way your post reads cj, you do appear to have been somewhat unreasonable, which is not for a moment to suggest that you deserve to be intimidated in your own home.

I think you should put this down to experience - any tradesperson operating in a field where call-out charges are a norm, can reasonably expect to receive their call-out charge at the time of the visit, and if not, then an apology and an assurance that an invoice will be settled on receipt.

[bednobs]

in answer to your question, i'm not sure there is anything you can or should do except pay the invoice when it arrives and forget the incident and move on.
I would NOT expect to pay a plumber with cash on the day, but would expect them to invoice me or accept a cheque. I would have ascertained this before they came out tho

[Canary42]

He asked you for a fee - you said NO
You asked him to leave - he said YES

I know which one I find offensive.

[New Judge]

Short of reporting him to any trade association he might belong to (for, perhaps, "unprofessional" conduct) there's little you can do. Unless you "apprehended immediate unlawful violence" (i.e you felt that you may immediately suffer physical violence) and that the perpetrator intentionally behaved to make you feel as such, it seems no criminal offence could be considered. Even if it could, proof may be somewhat difficult.

Best to put it behind you. For future reference whenever you call a trader, best to clarify whether they have a "call out" fee, and if they do,have the ability to pay them when they turn up.

[weecalf]

Did you check if he does free estimates if so give him some fuel money and don’t let it worry you because he im sure has moved on from the situation .

[Jackdaw33]

If I call out a tradesman I make sure I have the means to pay him; cash, cheque, card or, if you do online banking, BACS. I have no sympathy with the OP whatsoever.