Plumber quoted female customers up to 53 per cent more than they quoted men for the same job

Plumbers are routinely overcharging women, an investigation has found.

In the latest example of sexist pricing, female customers were quoted up to 53 per cent more than men for the same job.

Plumbers also appeared to be exploiting older people, with pensioners quoted up to a third more than people of working age, the study found.

Age UK said that the findings were unacceptable while the Fawcett Society, which campaigns for gender equality, called them an injustice.

Jemima Olchawski, head of policy at the society, said: “We’ve seen that women are charged more than men in a range of areas. Given that women working full time earn on average just 86p for every pound a man earns, it’s an injustice they can ill afford.

“It’s