First National Associates / Repairs-uk.co.uk
reviews and complaints

I do NOT recommend this plumbing company! They charged a ridiculously high fee for a simple job - and they also took as long as possible on the day so they could charge even more.

This is their website address http://www.firstnational-plc.co.uk/ Have since found similar complaints about this company on other sites - wish I'd have found these earlier but I didn't because they use different names to advertise, such as PLUMBERS4LESS and PlumbersForLess and maybe others as the owner has a few other companies listed on Companies House.

Here are the other sites I found with complaints about this company.

I am posting this review as I hope that other people find these and do not fall for this scam company.

https://www.yelp.com/biz/first-national-associates-london

https://www.complaintsboard.com/first-national-associates-repairs-ukcouk-b132729

https://www.complaintsboard.com/plumbers4less-damage-to-my-property-c750045

I called this firm to deal with a dripping tap. The plumber said he could not identify the make so he could not order the cartridge; his firm could search but that would cost another £55 and there was no guarantee of an outcome. He "cleaned" the connection (making the problem worse and converting the dripping to a trickle), charged us £132 and left. We then got a competent plumber who identified the part, went and bought it, installed it and checked everything was right - and charged less than FNA had charged to tell us that they couldn't do it.

I have a Chaffoteaux & Maury water heater, which broke down at the end of last week (11 August 2010). After asking the company who installed it, who said they did not do repairs, I looked on the net for companies that specialise in these appliances. I got a contact off the net (yes, I know, I should have done more homework - but I had no hot water and was desperate) and they said they would send someone round on Friday.

I didn't know that the company was to be First National Associates. I had not heard of them until I was presented with the invoice. The guy came and looked at the heater, then said the control panel was the problem and it would cost £300 to get a replacement. He took away the part, and also took my manual for the appliance.

For the following week, he has not turned up when he said he would - it's always been "oh, I'll be there tomorrow". I work and have people depending on me in the office, so being strung along like this is not ideal. On Friday I had a bit of a moan at the company, and got a snotty reply from the receptionist for my pains. They said they had had to order the part from France. True, the water heater is made by a French company - but they do have a base in this country too.

The engineer did turn up on Friday, and re-fitted the component (I am not sure whether this was a new part or actually the one he removed in the first place). He then said there was another part he needed, and he would be back later that day to sort it for me. He didn't come back that day, but said he would come round on Saturday - and guess what, he didn't come then either.

Now it is Monday - the engineer said he could come back today, but I said I couldn't manage this as I had to be in the office. I am supposed to be talking to him in a few minutes. I suspect I will get more of the same.

How do I institute a complaints procedure against this company?

I called First National Associates for replacing a kitchen taps. I was given a quote of 45 pounds per half hour. When the plumber came, he took 2 hours to replace the taps, and give me a bill of 385 at the rate of 75 pounds per half hour!

I searched the web and found the normal charge in london is around 40 pounds per half hour. They were dishonest to me, charged me twice as much as the normal price. I called other plumbers, the average quota for the whole job is just around 100 pounds.

I felt totally being ripped off. I will go through the complain procedures, and take the to the court if I can't get my refund. Thank Lucy for the information about how to complain.

Our boiler leaked on Thursday night and water was going everywhere. We managed to turn the water off and looked on yellow pages to get a plumber to fix this the next day. I was advised when I called that the labour was £65 for every half an hour. The engineer turned up and said he needed to change a part and will be back in 30-45 minutes. 2 hours later he returned with the part, brought mud into my flat and then decided another part was needed as the water had damaged the controller board. Not knowing much about plumbing I trusted the engineer. I took the faulty board away and brought a board back, not sure if this was the same board or a new one. He fitted the board and checked the boiler was working. He then went down to his van to write the invoice which came to a whopping £1290, £708 in parts. I signed trusting the company had completed the work and at a reasonable and fair price. After I began to think that this was alot and asked for a second opinion from another plumber. He advised that the parts at maximum would come to £280. I also investigated the parts on the internet and again these parts are available for £250. I felt completely ripped off and called the company on the Monday to ask for an explanation. A guy came on the call and said that you can't complain about the cost of parts after the work and compared it to buying a curry at one restaurant and getting a different price at another. He advised that the company doesn't pass on trade discount but at 200% mark up I feel that this is a complete liberty. The other plumber I asked to take a look quoted £650 for all the work including parts. When I asked for the engineers name and CORGI number the guy got very defensive and said you can't complain about the price of parts to this association. THIS COMPANY IS TAKING ADVANTAGE OF PEOPLE AND WOULD ADVISE PEOPLE TO AVOID USING THEM.

I called First National Associates in regard to a leak in my kitchen, the plumber said the pipe work was strange but he could rectify the situation, he also completed two other jobs for me. He quoted me £517 which I paid because I believed he would provide a good service, after completion I have to admit the leak had been stopped and everything seemed OK within the flat. The following morning I had a complaint from my downstairs neighbour who stated that he no longer had water in their kitchen and only had cold water in there bathroom. I called the plumbers First National Associates who took some details and said they'd look into the case for me. Not hearing anything I called them back after one hour. I was told that the plumber did not enter the flat below and that no responsibility would be taken, I then said that the flats were conversion flats and that by cutting the old lead pipe something had gone wrong. I was then told that I would have to pay more money for someone else to come out, I said I would pay if after the job was assessed it turned out that the plumber had not caused the problem, I was told that someone would only be sent out if 1 hrs work was paid at the door I said ok, the customer service rep then said this had turned into a dispute and that he was not interested and put the phone down. I then called back and he said he said he wasn't interested and put the phone down on me. I then had to call another plumber to rectify the problem. The new plumber said first plumber cut through one of the old supply pipes to flat downstairs. I am now taking the claim for the repair to the small claims court.