McAlpine Plumbing Products Reviews 

Brought a McAlpine scale master defender from plumb city Ipswich to replace a very expensive extremely well made and COMPLETELY USELESS Aqua Bion which I had installed to combat a lime scale problem that we have. Since replacing with the McAlpine unit it seems the we no longer have a problem with Limescale.

Bath pop up plug open/close knob broken (plastic which attaches to spindle cracked) £30.00 for a new kit as knobs not sold separately.

They have changed the design & everything is within the knob itself now, suggesting a design fault.

Sent an e-mail to McAlpine explaining & asking if I could just buy the knob or the attachment as it had split rendering the pop up plug unusable.

A reply received advising it was not a design fault & no I could not buy a replacement.

E-mail sent back asking for their thoughts as to why the knob had been redesigned if not faulty.

Received an e-mail back advising:- 'we confirm that there have been modifications to the product but the reason for the changes was not due to a design fault, but due to the fact that we operate a system of continuous improvement and if we can improve a product we proceed'

After a couple of further e-mails advising I did not accept what they were saying regarding the redesign & possibly that the original design was faulty, I request the name of the person in charge of the department & the name of the sales director so I could contact them directly.

I then received an e-mail from someone who looks as though they were the Managing director with just 'McAlpine Website - Ref: 17706' in the e-mail header & nothing else!

E-mail sent back advising this ref number not recognised & all reference numbers start with one, two or three letters, to forget it & I Will buy another pop up plug from a more reputable company. To have to buy a £30 kit for a £2 part & throw the rest away is idiotic, we are not in a throwaway society anymore.

Now I know why they had a 3 star rating, it will be even lower now!

Read other reviews about the lack of customer service from this company.

I had purchased a McAlpine product via Screwfix. I had an issue with a component part,

Contacted them via website and this was resolved very quickly & efficiently. Wouldn't hesitate to buy another product from them

I bought the wash basin waste fitting to save space in a small corner cupboard. The shape and arrangement of the fitting is ideal for this sort of use.

However, there's a problem with the coupling to the basin drain spigot - it seems to depend on an o-ring or other slim seal, instead of the usual flat rubber washer, but the o-ring doesn't seal against the end of the waste spigots I have tried.

Usually waste fittings just needs finger-tight closure, but not this one!

Probably okay with basins having a separate overflow, but not ones with integral overflow which have water hanging about in the drain spigot (and no-one is likely to want to use this with a separate overflow). Also the unit had a huge dollop of silicone grease inside.

The only answer seems to be a messy lining of the fitting with silicone sealant (eg Fernox LS-X) - not ideal, given how much grease was in there, don't know how well it will seal.

Fitted numerous McApine products in the past and in all honesty they’re normally very good quality however, after purchasing and fitting an AA10 bottle trap the Customer called me back to report a slight drip.
After returning and further investigation the problem was a minute pin hole during the manufacturing process in the base of the trap. Returned the item to Screwfix who were extremely helpful and refunded however, now out of pocket where a job which should have taken ten minutes took a couple of hours together with fuel costs on top.

their plastic plumbing fittings are much better quality than the cheaper brands,and generally less prone to leaks

Worst customer service experience I have ever had, having had an issue with the spavesaving waste trap on two separate occasions (same issue, leaking from the seal) I was accused of fitting it myself and poorly at that because I didnt provide my plumbers details as I was waiting on permission to share someone else's information, I can honestly say I've never dealt with such a petty and childish company and the response has left me extremely disappointed and I will most certainly never use Mcalpine again, regardless of them telling just how great they are!!!!!

Bought a McAlpine swivel bath trap from wickes.
Installation was easy with the instructions / parts diagram, however a rubber seal was missing from the box of parts (the box was open, so could have been taken from Wickes).
Contacted McAlpine via e-Mail & explained the issue. Received a response the next morning & a replacement seal a few days afterwards.

The flange on my shower trap broke after just 14 months. The flange needs to be lifted regularly for cleaning. I dont think it strong enough for purpose. To make matters worse I was told that the price of just replacing the flange was a lot more costly than buying the entire unit. Unsustainable practice

Bought a McAlpine air admittance valve VP50P.

Had it installed for just a few months and started smelling foul air. My plumber took the valve out and found the sealing rubber had gone like a concertina allowing a constant flow of air from the sewer

Contacted McAlpine who said it was broken and and gave a link to buy a replacement part and another link showing how to do plumbing!

I replied explaining it was a product issue but they ignored it

Anyway, took it back and got a refund and installed a full size one

I purchased a McAlpine shower trap and it is excellent quality. It is worth paying that little bit extra for such an important piece of kit. Nobody wants a leak when a shower tray has been installed! It installed easily and there are clear diagrams for dimensions.

Highly recommend McAlpine products.

Not being an experienced plumber I sent a hopeful email request for help to Mcalpine, while half expecting one of those one line unclear replies that leave you none the wiser
. Instead I got a personal call from someone with not only the knowledge, but also the patience to talk me through and explain the pitfalls of my problem and the solutions available.
As I put in the title I give them the highest rating and my new benchmark for Technical Support

Best traps and waste fittings on the market by a mile

Excellent products with a first class after sales team. When we had a small problem, it was dealt with very quickly and professionally.
It is rare to find a company who genuinely care about its customers.
I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this company and any of their excellent products.

Very poor technical support, culture of rudeness and hostility towards customers from the top down. I would avoid this company at all costs and I would never have faith to recommend their products to any client having experienced their shocking contempt for the end user. Just as well it’s a family business as investors would be livid if they knew how many customers they turn away through their belligerence.

Always use McAlpine as they are trusted, never had a failure yet!!
Professionals use and recommend

I have used McAlpine products where possible since i was an apprentice back in 1980..

Other manufacturers just don't match their quality.

McAlpine Parts.
As a Plumber, I use these products on a regular basis. They have a wide variety of parts which helps me in completing jobs on a timely bases. Would not use any other products.

Excellent range of quality products to get you through most challenges. Always new well designed products being introduced.

A good range stocked at the local plumbers merchants which makes life easier

The best, don't like to use anything else.