Plumbing companies accused of overcharging customers traced to disgraced tradie

It began with a call to A Current Affair from a viewer alleging a plumbing company had attempted to rip him off, and ended with a disgraced plumber begging for his tradie licence back.

Rob from Sydney needed a new hot water tank and some bathroom taps.

He called Dan's Plumbing, but a crew arrived in a Ferguson's Plumbing Group truck.

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Rob claimed he was charged $8000 for the job and he was tricked into paying a 10 per cent deposit.

So Rob got another plumber in who charged him a little over $1000 for the same job.

So what happened to the boys from Dan's or Ferguson's Plumbing Group?

Well those pipes lead back to the former HQ of Australia's most notorious plumbing merchant, Jason Aboukalam.

NSW Fair Trading banned Aboukalam from the industry in 2021 after numerous reports by A Current Affair which aired the allegations of egregious overcharging of elderly clients.

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Still, the disgraced tradie has paid a top barrister to argue in court that he deserves to have his plumbing licence reinstated.

NSW Fair Trading lawyers told the court Aboukalam is not a fit and proper person to hold a trade certificate and alleged he acted as a shadow director of a plumbing business after he was banned.

A Magistrate had yet to rule on the case.

Aboukalam's depot south of Sydney and some of his plumbing entities like Ferguson's Plumbing Group have been taken over by Charbel Alha.

Alha wasn't keen to chat to ACA when he was approached at the depot.

Watch full video above.