Plumber hassling us over another poonami

A few weeks ago, one of the owners in our building had a plumbing crisis.  When the toilet was flushed, sewage would spill into the bathroom and adjoining bedroom.

The owner’s carer called a plumber (not one of our strata plumbers) and it was discovered that the clay pipe connected to the bathroom had disintegrated. Sewage was not only spilling into the bathroom but into the space underneath the building which contains all of the sewer lines, connectors and water pipes for the block.

Emergency works were undertaken and the invoice passed on to the strata manager for payment.

In the time since, the plumber’s office has chased the owners for payment, even though they know this is a strata issue and have the strata manager’s details. Last week another email was received with a request that payment be made in 3 business days to “avoid further action “.

We understand that the invoice hasn’t yet been paid because our Strata Manager is waiting for the plumber’s insurance details, and copy of the insurance certificate to be provided. That hasn’t happened as yet despite a number of requests being made.  Rubbish from the emergency works also remains on the lot even though the plumber said he would arrange a skip to take the rubbish away (the invoice covered this).

Can the plumber chase payment and threaten further action even when he hasn’t removed rubbish or provided the details needed for the invoice to be paid?

We have spoken to Fair Trading and whilst they were sympathetic, they didn’t offer anything in terms of a solution. Grateful for any advice that can be provided and apologies again for the long post.