You have got a leaking water pipe in your bathroom. You know that you need a Plumber, but how do you find one that is reputable?

Here are a few hints to help you find a plumber in your area.

One thing to consider is if it is a real emergency. If it is then you will be looking for 24 hour plumbers if it is the middle of the night.

Alternatively, if you just have a dripping tap then you can certainly wait a few hours and possibly a few days before a Plumber arrives.

Do you have friend who has recently used a Plumber? If so this should be your first contact. See if the friend will recommend the Plumber. You want to avoid cowboy plumbers so a word of mouth recommendation is always good and far better than picking one at random from the large telephone directories.

Try and agree a fixed price before the work is done.

Keep any old parts that the Plumber claims are broken. This will give you some evidence if a low quality job is done.

If the water leak or problem is associated with your gas central heating then you should look for corgi registered plumbers. Corgi plumbers are certified to work on gas systems.

Make sure that you have the Plumbers land line telephone number rather than just a mobile number. Make sure you also have his address.

Most reputable Plumbers will not ask for up front payments.

Do not use Plumbers who say that they will do the job cash-in-hand. This is probably an indication that they are not registered for VAT, this is an indication that the Plumber is not as professional as you should expect.

Ask to see copies of any qualifications the Plumber has and make sure you verify the qualifications with the organisation.

Ask if you can pay by credit card, this will give you additional protection.

Hopefully the above hits will help you find a reliable plumber to fix the dripping tap.