Aqua Dash Plumbing Limited — Emergency Plumbing Services
1. Introduction and Purpose
At Aqua Dash, we strive to deliver emergency plumbing services to the highest standards of quality, safety and professionalism. We understand that plumbing emergencies are stressful and disruptive, and we make every effort to resolve issues quickly, efficiently and with minimal inconvenience to our customers. Nevertheless, we recognise that there may be occasions where our service does not meet your expectations. We take all complaints seriously, and we view them as a valuable opportunity to put matters right and to improve the way we work. This policy explains how you can submit a complaint, the information we require in order to investigate it, the process and timescales we follow, the resolutions we may offer, and the circumstances in which a complaint will not be upheld. This policy applies to all emergency and non-emergency plumbing work carried out by Aqua Dash Plumbing Limited (“Aqua Dash”, “we”, “us”), its employees and its approved subcontractors, across Manchester, Greater Manchester and the surrounding areas. Please note that Aqua Dash is not Gas Safe registered and does not carry out work on gas appliances; complaints relating to gas work therefore fall outside the scope of this policy.
2. Our Commitment to You
When handling your complaint, we commit to acting fairly, assessing every complaint objectively and on its own merits based on the evidence available. We will be transparent, keeping you informed at every stage of the process and explaining the reasons behind our decisions, and we will respond promptly within the timescales set out in this policy, notifying you without delay if any extension proves unavoidable. You will be treated with courtesy and respect throughout the process, and we ask that our staff are treated in the same manner.
Your complaint and personal information will be handled confidentially, in accordance with applicable data protection legislation, including the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.
3. How to Submit a Complaint
To ensure that every issue is reviewed fairly and objectively, all complaints must be submitted in writing within 7 days of the date the work was completed. Complaints submitted outside this period may still be considered at our discretion, but we cannot guarantee that a full investigation will be possible once significant time has passed.
To help us investigate your complaint promptly and thoroughly, please include your full name and contact details; your invoice or receipt number, or the address at which the work was carried out; the date on which the work was completed and, where known, the name of the attending engineer; a clear and detailed description of the issue, including when it was first noticed; any relevant photographs or videos clearly showing the problem; and the outcome you are seeking. Incomplete complaints may delay the investigation, as we may need to contact you for further information before we can proceed.
Complaints email: [email protected] Customer support telephone: 07874 014820 (complaints handled Monday to Friday, 09:00–17:00; emergency line available 24/7) Please note that whilst our telephone line is available to discuss your concerns, a complaint will only be formally registered once it has been received in writing.
4. Investigation Process and Timescales
We are committed to handling all complaints transparently, consistently and fairly.
Stage 1 — Acknowledgement. We will confirm receipt of your complaint within 24–48 working hours. Our acknowledgement will include a unique complaint reference number, which you should quote in all subsequent correspondence.
Stage 2 — Internal investigation. Our team will carry out a thorough review of your complaint. This may involve examining the attending engineer’s job report and any notes made on site, reviewing photographs taken before, during and after the work, assessing the evidence you have provided, consulting the engineer who carried out the work and, where necessary, arranging a site inspection as described in Section 6.
Stage 3 — Official response. We will provide a formal written response and, where appropriate, a proposed resolution within 5–7 working days of acknowledging your complaint. If the investigation is complex and requires more time — for example, where a site inspection or third-party assessment is needed — we will inform you of the delay, explain the reason, and provide a revised timescale.
Stage 4 — Escalation. If you are dissatisfied with our response, you may request in writing, within 14 days of receiving it, that your complaint be escalated to senior management for a further review, explaining why you consider the original decision to be unsatisfactory. A final decision will be issued within 10 working days of the escalation request.
5. Resolution Options
If our investigation confirms that the work carried out was deficient due to our fault, Aqua Dash will resolve the matter through one of the following mutually agreed options.
Our preferred first remedy will always be free remedial work — sending an engineer to rectify the issue at no additional cost to you. This approach is consistent with the Consumer Rights Act 2015, which entitles us to a reasonable opportunity to repeat or rectify the service. Where remedial work is not practicable or has not resolved the issue, we may instead offer a partial or full refund, the amount of which will depend on the nature of the issue and our technical assessment. As an alternative, and only where mutually agreed, we may offer a discount voucher to be used towards future maintenance or repair services.
The appropriate remedy will be determined by the nature and severity of the issue, the findings of our investigation and any applicable legal requirements. Any resolution offered in settlement of a complaint will be confirmed in writing.
6. Special Protection Clauses and Exceptions
To ensure a fair process for all parties and to prevent unfounded claims, this complaints policy is subject to the following rules.
6.1 Final Price and Job Costs Call-out fees and our pricing structure are communicated to, and accepted by, the customer before work begins. Owing to the unpredictable nature of emergency plumbing — where the full extent of a fault often cannot be established until work is under way — the exact final price is calculated and communicated to the customer upon completion of the job. Payment of the invoice, or signature of the job completion form, constitutes explicit acceptance of the final price. Subsequent complaints regarding the agreed price do not constitute grounds for a refund. This clause does not prevent you from raising a complaint about the quality of the work itself. 6.2 Surface Damage (Scratches, Ceilings, Walls, Furniture) Any visible damage to property alleged to have been caused by our engineer must be reported to the engineer on site, before they leave the premises, and noted on the job sheet. This allows the damage to be verified, photographed and documented at the time.
Subsequent claims regarding cosmetic or surface damage — including scratches or marks to ceilings, walls, flooring or furniture — will not be considered, as it is not possible to establish after the event whether such damage was caused by our engineer or arose from another source. 6.3 Subsequent Leaks Claims regarding leaks following our attendance must be made within a maximum of 24–48 hours of the work being carried out. Prompt reporting is essential, as delays make it significantly more difficult to establish the cause of a leak and may allow avoidable damage to worsen. If an inspection reveals that the leak originates from a different pipe, fitting or fixture to the one we repaired, or that it was caused by subsequent tampering, alteration or interference by the customer or any third party, the visit will not be treated as remedial work and will instead be billed as a new emergency call-out at our standard rates.
6.4 Obligation to Allow Inspection For a complaint to be investigated and processed, the customer must grant our team reasonable access to the property so that we may inspect and assess the reported issue at first hand. We will arrange any inspection at a mutually convenient time. Refusal to allow an inspection, or repeated failure to make the property available within a reasonable period, will be treated as a withdrawal of the complaint and voids any entitlement to remedial work or a refund. 6.5 Third-Party Work and Pre-Existing Conditions We accept no liability for, and will not uphold, complaints relating to faults in pipework, fixtures or appliances that we did not install, repair or work on; to pre-existing defects, corrosion, or wear and tear in the customer’s plumbing system; to issues caused by work subsequently carried out by the customer or another contractor; or to damage arising from the customer’s failure to follow aftercare instructions provided by our engineer.
7. Unreasonable or Vexatious Complaints
We are committed to dealing with every complaint fairly and impartially. However, in rare cases where a complainant behaves in an abusive, threatening or persistently unreasonable manner, or repeatedly raises the same complaint after it has been fully investigated and closed, we reserve the right to restrict or cease correspondence. Where we do so, we will explain our decision in writing.
8. Records and Data Protection
We keep a record of all complaints, investigations and outcomes for a minimum of [e.g. six years]. These records help us monitor trends, improve our service and meet our legal obligations. All personal data collected during the complaints process is handled in accordance with our Privacy Policy and applicable data protection legislation.
9. Your Statutory Rights
Nothing in this policy affects your statutory rights as a consumer, including your rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, which requires services to be performed with reasonable care and skill. If you remain dissatisfied after exhausting our complaints process, you may wish to seek independent advice from Citizens Advice, or refer the matter to an approved alternative dispute resolution (ADR) provider or, where applicable, a relevant trade body of which we are a member.
10. Policy Review
This policy is reviewed annually, or sooner where required by changes in legislation or our business practices. The current version will always be available on request and on our website. Aqua Dash Plumbing Limited Registered office: 128 City Road, London, United Kingdom, EC1V 2NX Registered in England and Wales, company number 16713310 Telephone: 07874 014820 | Email: [email protected] | www.aquadash-plumbing.co.uk