Hiring a plumber, electrician or other help on Madh Island

Most jobs around the house start the same way: someone you can trust, a fair price, and work that's done properly. This guide covers what to ask before you hire, the jobs where a licence matters, and who to call when the problem isn't inside your home.

Before you hire anyone

These habits save most of the trouble:

• Describe the job clearly, with photos if you can, and ask for a price for that job before work starts.
• Get the quote in writing, even a WhatsApp message, with what's included: materials, labour, and clearing up afterwards.
• Agree when payment is due. For bigger jobs, pay in stages as the work is done, not everything up front.
• Ask for a bill or receipt when you pay, and keep it with the written quote. If something goes wrong later, the consumer helpline lets you attach supporting documents to a complaint.⁹
• Check who's coming. Ask for the person's name and number in advance, and whether they'll bring helpers.

On Madh Local, each business is marked Checked in person if we've visited, or Not checked yet if the details come from public directories. Reviews can only be left after a confirmed order, booking, job or visit.

Plumbers and water connections

For anything involving your BMC water connection, you need a BMC-licensed plumber.¹

• A new connection is applied for at the ward office through a licensed plumber, and the application names the plumber who will do the internal piping.¹
• The plumber also has the pipes and fittings certified.¹
• BMC allows one month for a new connection when the documents are complete, but its own manual says some take more than six months.¹

Small repairs inside your home, like a leaking tap or a blocked drain, don't involve the BMC connection. Any good plumber can do them.

Water supply problems (low pressure, no water, a burst main, dirty water) go to BMC. Complain at the P/North ward office, on BMC's helpline 1916, or through BMC's online complaints system.¹⁷

Electricians

In Maharashtra, electrical work is licensed. The Electrical Licensing Board and the Electrical Inspector issue electrical contractor licences, supervisor certificates and wireman permits.²³

• For new wiring, a new connection or a change of load, use a licensed electrical contractor. The rules say a licensed contractor must carry out or supervise the work themselves.² Adani Electricity also advises having any changes to your wiring checked and tested by one.¹⁰
• Ask for the licence or permit number. The Chief Electrical Inspector's website keeps a list of licensed electrical contractors.³
• For like-for-like replacements, such as a fan, a light fitting or a switch, an experienced electrician is usually enough. If the problem is at the meter or in the supply cable coming to it, call the power company. The main switch and everything after it are work for a licensed electrician.

Power cuts and supply problems

Adani Electricity supplies Mumbai's suburbs, and Tata Power also holds a licence there.⁴⁶ For outages, sparking meters or fallen cables on Adani's network:⁵¹⁰

• 19122: Adani Electricity's 24-hour toll-free helpline
• WhatsApp 9594519122

Anything on the supply side of your meter is the power company's job, not your electrician's.

Carpenters, painters and pest control

Carpenters and painters don't need a licence, so the habits above matter more. Pest control firms do: under the Insecticides Rules they need a licence to stock and use insecticides, so ask for the licence number.¹¹

• Carpenters. Agree the wood or board, its finish and the hardware before work starts. Ask to see the material.
• Painters and waterproofing. Ask what product and how many coats, and how they'll prepare the walls. Damp walls need fixing before painting, or the paint will peel. Book well before the monsoon: see Madh Island in the monsoon.
• Pest control. Ask for the firm's licence, what chemical will be used, whether you need to leave the house and for how long, and what to do about children, pets and food.

If a job goes wrong

1. Talk to the person first, calmly, with your written quote and photos of the problem. Most disagreements end here.
2. Put it in writing: a message saying what was agreed, what went wrong, and what you'd like done.
3. Call the National Consumer Helpline: 1915 (toll-free, 8 am to 8 pm), or WhatsApp 8800001915.⁸ You'll get a docket number, and a complaint can take up to 30 days. If it isn't settled, you can then go to a Consumer Commission.⁹
4. Tell us if the business is listed on Madh Local. We can't settle disputes, but we use what you tell us when we check listings.

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