Britain's 'kindest' plumber damaged my home

Release time：2024-05-18 00:13:29 Source：Stellar Spectrum news portal

A disabled businessman had told how 'Britain's kindest plumber' caused thousands of pounds worth of damage to his home after reinstalling an old faulty shower unit that he apparently tried to pass off as an expensive new model.

Michael Culshaw, 40, claimed James Anderson 'removed, cleaned and reinstalled' his cracked shower casing after boasting that he would put in the 'most expensive' unit he had ever fitted free of charge.

But water spillage and leaks from the faulty shower caused the MDF flooring in the bathroom to rot and eventually cave in on the kitchen below.

Mr Culshaw also accused Mr Anderson's company DEPHER - which stands for Disability and Elderly Plumbing and Heating Emergency Repair - of bending the wrong inlet pipe to his toilet which later caused a further damage when it flooded at his home in Burnley, Lancashire.

He decided to speak out after a BBC investigation found that Mr Anderson - who has received a letter of thanks from King Charles and thousands of pounds in donations from celebrity backers like Hugh Grant - faked stories of helping people on his social media channels, where he also photographed vulnerable customers.

A disabled businessman had told how 'Britain's kindest plumber' caused thousands of pounds worth of damage to his home after reinstalling an old faulty shower unit that he apparently tried to pass off as an expensive new model

Anderson went viral with his social media posts, in which he performs utility services for the elderly and vulnerable without charge

Michael Culshaw, 40, (pictured) claimed James Anderson 'removed, cleaned and reinstalled' his cracked shower casing after boasting that he would put in the 'most expensive' unit he had ever fitted free of charge

But water spillage and leaks from the faulty shower caused the MDF flooring in the bathroom to rot and eventually cave in on the kitchen below

Describing his ordeal with DEPHER as a nightmare, Mr Culshaw said work started in 2020 to put in a new shower, toilet and sink and new slip-proof flooring which was only supposed to take four days but ended up taking several weeks

And Mr Culshaw told MailOnline how despite 'bodging' the work, Mr Anderson's team turned up unannounced to his home and tried to take a photo with him showing an invoice that proved the work was done for free so he could put the images out on Facebook and X.

He said: 'They barged into my home office, shoved an invoice for £0 in my face, took a picture without my consent, and left.

'I didn't know what it was for but I'm a social marketer, I'd suspected it was for publicity which I didn't want so I rang Mr Anderson to tell him not to use it.'

Describing his ordeal with DEPHER as a nightmare, Mr Culshaw said work started in 2020 to put in a new shower, toilet and sink and new slip-proof flooring which was only supposed to take four days but ended up taking several weeks.

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He said: 'I invited Mr Anderson to my home for a quote on some necessary work. He generously offered to do the work for free, which seemed like a blessing at the time. Unfortunately, things quickly went awry.

'The first major issue was with the shower installation. Mr. Anderson's team botched the job, and instead of addressing their mistake, they tried to guilt-trip me by saying, 'I'll put a different shower in, but it's the most expensive shower I've bought for anyone.'

'They made it seem like it was my fault they had messed up. The 'most expensive shower he's ever bought' was actually my old faulty shower that they removed, cleaned and reinstalled, assume believing wouldn't notice.

'Unfortunately that shower had a crack in the casing that I caused a year earlier and the shower tray had problems with the sealing causing water to go down the side

'It made their attempt to pull the wool over my eyes obvious.

'When confronted with this Mr Anderson denied it and said if there is a fault with the shower it will be under warranty and the manufacturer would sort it.

'I sent multiple messages asking for the invoice and receipt details so I could arrange a repair with the manufacturer. Obviously, they were never given.

He said: 'I sent multiple messages asking for the invoice and receipt details so I could arrange a repair with the manufacturer. Obviously, they were never given'

Mr Culshaw said the situation 'continued to deteriorate' and that he had to call DEPHER multiple times to fix leaks caused by poor workmanship, which eventually led to the collapse of his kitchen ceiling

'They also installed an MDF floor which was supposed to be covered with lino but was left as was, it got rotten from water spillage and started breaking apart causing a serious health risk to me.

'I am disabled and have a condition where cuts can become extremely problematic if noticed or treated. Especially small ones. When I pointed this out to Mr Anderson, it was ignored.'

Mr Culshaw said the situation 'continued to deteriorate' and that he had to call DEPHER multiple times to fix leaks caused by poor workmanship, which eventually led to the collapse of his kitchen ceiling.

However, when he pointed out the damage the work had caused, he claims Mr Anderson flippantly told him, 'You've got insurance, haven't you? Use it.'

Burnley Borough Council offered to help fix the issues with his bathroom and kitchen ceiling but before they could visit to assess what was needed to be done, the house flooded.

Mr Culshaw continued: 'Unbeknown to us, DEPHER's workers had previously installed the wrong inlet pipe to our toilet. They used an inlet pipe for a boiler and because it was too long, they bent it to make it fit and this caused a weak point and with it being a high-pressure water pipe, it eventually failed causing £12,000 of water damage in my home.

'Following this extensive damage, I briefly posted my frustration on social media but quickly deleted it as at the time I didn't want what I'd seen happen to others who had questioned Mr Anderson's projects sincerity, happen to me.

Burnley Borough Council offered to help fix the issues with his bathroom and kitchen ceiling but before they could visit to assess what was needed to be done, the house flooded

Mr Culshaw continued: 'Unbeknown to us, DEPHER's workers had previously installed the wrong inlet pipe to our toilet'

They used an inlet pipe for a boiler and because it was too long, they bent it to make it fit and this caused a weak point and with it being a high-pressure water pipe, it eventually failed causing £12,000 of water damage in my home'

Mr Anderson was sent numerous images of the damage in messages seen by MailOnline but nothing was ever done about it and the work was eventually repaired by the council paid for by Mr Culshaw's house insurance

'Unfortunately, | didn't delete it quick enough as Mr. Anderson retaliated by publicly sharing my personal information and distorting the narrative, leading to a barrage of abuse from his followers. This was deeply distressing, especially as I was already dealing with depression.

'It is of my opinion that Mr Anderson is not a trustworthy person. He has received hundreds of thousands of pounds from the likes of very influential people like Lilly Allen, Hugh Grant and Samantha Giles among many, in good faith which the extensive BBC reports is something that appears to have been abused time and time again.'

Mr Anderson was sent numerous images of the damage in messages seen by MailOnline but nothing was ever done about it and the work was eventually repaired by the council paid for by Mr Culshaw's house insurance.

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Mr Anderson responded to the claims this afternoon and denied being at fault for the damage.

He said: 'The damage to the house was caused by a leak in the original pipe work behind the sink, of which we had nothing to do with.

'He reached out to us originally and asked for help because he was struggling to get into his bath and was disabled. That's what we do so I agreed to do the job.

'We provided him with a £5,500 new bathroom for free. We paid for everything, he didn't pay a penny.

'A new toilet was fitted but he wanted to keep some of his old shower unit, so we cleaned it up and re-installed it - at his request.

'We also installed a new sink but connected it up to the original pipe work. We did the bathroom floor but I told him at the time that we couldn't afford the linoleum and he'd have to source that himself.

'The leak happened some 11-months to a year after the work was carried out and it was due to a problem with the existing pipework behind the sink.

'I came out at least twice to do some repairs and told him that if the problems persisted, he'd have to contact his insurers.

'The ceiling then caves in and lo and behold we get the blame. It's an insurance job, nothing more. Mr Culshaw has been after me for years.'

As for trying to use Mr Culshaw's photograph for publicity purposes, Mr Anderson replied: 'He was grinning in the pictures and was happy for us to use it because at the time he was pleased with the work - which I'll say again was carried out free of charge.'

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