• IMPORTANT: Please note that nobody on this forum should be seeking from or providing advice to those who are not competent and / or trained and qualified in their field (local laws permitting). There is a discussion thread on this global industry-wide matter HERE. This also has more information about the warning with regards to sharing electrical advice in some countries. By using this forum you do so in agreement to this.

Discuss Advice needed - problem electrician in the Electrical Forum area at ElectriciansForums.net

Welcome to ElectriciansForums.net - The American Electrical Advice Forum
Head straight to the main forums to chat by click here:   American Electrical Advice Forum

G

Garethspur

Good morning. Apologies to begin with if this isn't the right place for this post, but I'm in need of advice from people who know what they are talking about.

We bought a house in Lancashire a few months ago and it quickly became apparent that, among with a load of other problems, there were serious issues with the electrics. I called an electrician (the no. 1 rated electrician in our area on Checkatrade) and he and his son came to the house. He immediately spotted there were problems and, after checking the house more carefully, said we would need a total rewire. He made a good impression and the price seemed good so I agreed.

We planned to get the whole house replastered and then decorated so the plan was for the electrician to come in before the plasterer, do most of the work up until the point of finishing the plugs, switches and light fixtures, then come back when the painting was finished. That was his suggestion (he said it would avoid getting paint on the lights, etc) and it made sense.

So he started the initial work. It seemed to be going okay but then one day we came to the house and he had cut two large hatches in the oak flooring in the kitchen. He said it was necessary to do the electrics, but he hadn't informed us before, as our preferred option would have been to remove the floor boards and replace them with some from under the stairs.

Anyway, he said the first part of the job was finished. It had taken a couple of weeks and he had asked for two payments during that time (the only tradesman who had asked for payment before the work was done). The payments added up to the estimate for the job as a whole. He said he would come back once the other work was done and quickly finish up.

The other work took about a month. A week or so before it was due to be finished I informed the electrician so he could fit us in. He said he wanted to come to the house to remind him of what needed to be done. When he did go round he said he couldn't start for a few days because the paint on the doors needed to dry. A few days later I rang him and he said he couldn't do that week because his son was on a course. However, he would speak to another electrician he knew and get back to me.

He didn't. I called again at the end of the week and he said the guy wasn't available and his son was still on a course. It would be at least another week, he said. I said I felt like I was being fobbed off because he had said previously that finishing the work would be straightforward. Then his tone changed and he said the job had been a 'total nightmare' and 'disorganised'. He rang back a few hours later to say the guy he knew could do the work and would be there with him at 8am on Saturday.

He went to the house to do some work that Friday night then he and his contact spent most of the day there on Saturday. I got an email to say 'electrics complete, tested and certified'. I went to the house to check and was totally shocked by what I what I found.

1) There was no electricity to the outbuilding (he had re-wired it and installed new lights inside and on outside). When confronted he said he had forgotten to do.

2) Turning on one of the lights in the bedroom tripped most of the lights in the house. When asked about this, he admitted he probably hadn't tested the light

3) Most of the light fixtures I had paid him to fit had not been installed. The one that had was in the wrong place (despite the boxes being left underneath the corresponding wires). He said the lights hadn't been done because he didn't know how high I wanted them. At no point during the day did he ring to ask

4) He had caused extensive damage to the redecoration. The paint and plaster around every plug socket needs repairing, for which he blamed the plaster. The paint on the sideboard was extensively scratched and there were scratches and marks all over the house. We'd just spent thousands on it. My partner was in tears when she saw it. There were even scratches and marks where no work had been done.

5) Probably most worrying, he had forgotten to attach the boiler in the loft (installed in the last few years) to the mains, or do any of the electrics in the loft. When confronted about this he said he didn't know where the boiler was. He'd been in the loft to do the lights and the boiler is the biggest thing in there. He said if I needed hot water right away I should run an extension cable up there. It's attached directly to the mains, there is no plug!

6) Several of the plug sockets in the house either do no work or would come off the wall if you pulled them

7) In his email telling me the 'all electrics complete, tested and certified' he said I owed him £420 for the work. He said the certificate was being reviewed by the other guy for 'human error' and would be provided to me once I paid the £420. We had already paid him the full amount for the job.

I contacted NIC EIC for advice and they said I should raise all the issues with him as the start of a formal complaints process. When I emailed him a list of the issues and with how upset I was, his response was apathetic. He offered no apology nor explanation, other than to say he forgot about the outbuilding. He now says he will come back with the same guy tomorrow to complete the work. When asked about the extra charge he said it had been "scrubbed" and "to be honest, I've lost track of this job".

I don't know what to do. In any other circumstances I wouldn't allow this man anywhere near my house ever again. But my understanding is that he is legally obliged to provide me with the certificate (and thus complete the job) and that I can't get someone else in to finish it off. I have no faith at all that he will do the work without causing any further damage. We've ploughed every penny we have into the house, and now I have no idea if the problems he's caused, especially with the boiler, are fixable without having to do major surgery that will require replastering and re-painting. I couldn't sleep last night for worrying about it.

At this point I plan to literally following him from room to room and Saturday and watch everything he does like a hawk, which I am dreading. Any advice anyone on here can give me about what I should do in this situation would be much appreciated. This this normal?

Advice needed - problem electrician IMG_1368.JPG - EletriciansForums.net Advice needed - problem electrician IMG_1382.JPG - EletriciansForums.net Advice needed - problem electrician IMG_1356.JPG - EletriciansForums.net Advice needed - problem electrician IMG_1378.JPG - EletriciansForums.net
 
My advice would be to get a second opinion ( from another electrician ) on the state of the installation before letting them back in. Then you can give him a full snagging list. I'd be wary of just letting him do further work until you have an expert opinion. As for damage to decor etc., you'd need to bill him for remedial works.
 
Agreed with above, what he did to your floor is outrageous. My sister in law has recently had a similar situation and I gave her a snagging list and met the electrician on site. The complaints procedure with all scheme providers such as the NICEIC is flawed whereby you have to engage the contractor first to rectify errors or problems which are their own doing.
 
It's disappointing that you have been let down so badly by someone in our trade.
Did you have anything in writing about the nature, scope & timescale for the original job?

I agree with Telextric, and although not ideal, would get an experienced electrician ( perhaps one of the members here?) to carry out an EICR, making it clear to them why you are having it done. Use this report to give the original electrician the opportunity to make good ALL coded work, i.e. including Code 3's.
Do everything in writing & set defined timescales for remedial work to be completed. If he fails, advise NICEIC accordingly. Re decoration damage, get it sorted by a decorator and tell the original electrician that you hold him responsible for meeting your additional costs.
It probably won't work out as straightforward as above, but good luck.
 
The job came to £3,200 in total.
that's not expensive,definitely on the low side, depending on the scale of the job, of course. without knowing that, difficult to make a judgement, but it's quite possible that the price is below what it should have been and the electrician has cut corners to save money.
 
My advice would be to get a second opinion ( from another electrician ) on the state of the installation before letting them back in. Then you can give him a full snagging list. I'd be wary of just letting him do further work until you have an expert opinion. As for damage to decor etc., you'd need to bill him for remedial works.
What he said 6^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 
Agreed with above, what he did to your floor is outrageous. My sister in law has recently had a similar situation and I gave her a snagging list and met the electrician on site. The complaints procedure with all scheme providers such as the NICEIC is flawed whereby you have to engage the contractor first to rectify errors or problems which are their own doing.
What he said as well^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 
Looks like you have fallen foul of a Cowboy, I don't know the right procedure would be, but in the first instance I would contact "Check a trade" don't know what good that would do you, but it may stop this blighter from ripping anyone else off, NICEIC this was in my opinion a typical response, don't want to get involved.

These people are again in my opinion parasites certifying people to be able to work in peoples houses and when it goes wrong, any complaints fall on deaf ears.
Have to tried taking this bloke to court? a trip to the solicitors might help, trouble is that costs you more. It's a disgrace being treated like this both by the Electrician and the NICEIC, I feel for you Mate I really do.
 
Looks like you have fallen foul of a Cowboy, I don't know the right procedure would be, but in the first instance I would contact "Check a trade" don't know what good that would do you, but it may stop this blighter from ripping anyone else off, NICEIC this was in my opinion a typical response, don't want to get involved.

These people are again in my opinion parasites certifying people to be able to work in peoples houses and when it goes wrong, any complaints fall on deaf ears.
Have to tried taking this bloke to court? a trip to the solicitors might help, trouble is that costs you more. It's a disgrace being treated like this both by the Electrician and the NICEIC, I feel for you Mate I really do.
Just a thought before go any further, may seem a daft question, are you sure this Electrician is a paid up member of NICEIC? I only ask because they are the most well known of the Scams, and sometimes people, like yourself assume every Electrician is NICEIC registered.
 
Looks like you have fallen foul of a Cowboy, I don't know the right procedure would be, but in the first instance I would contact "Check a trade" don't know what good that would do you, but it may stop this blighter from ripping anyone else off, NICEIC this was in my opinion a typical response, don't want to get involved.

These people are again in my opinion parasites certifying people to be able to work in peoples houses and when it goes wrong, any complaints fall on deaf ears.
Have to tried taking this bloke to court? a trip to the solicitors might help, trouble is that costs you more. It's a disgrace being treated like this both by the Electrician and the NICEIC, I feel for you Mate I really do.
Just a thought before go any further, may seem a daft question, are you sure this Electrician is a paid up member of NICEIC? I only ask because they are the most well known of the Scams, and sometimes people, like yourself assume every Electrician is NICEIC registered.
 
Just a thought before go any further, may seem a daft question, are you sure this Electrician is a paid up member of NICEIC? I only ask because they are the most well known of the Scams, and sometimes people, like yourself assume every Electrician is NICEIC registered.
good point. if he's purporting to be when he's not, then maybe niceic could get off their fat arses and respond.
 

Reply to Advice needed - problem electrician in the Electrical Forum area at ElectriciansForums.net

Electrical Forum

Welcome to the Electrical Forum at ElectriciansForums.net. The friendliest electrical forum online. General electrical questions and answers can be found in the electrical forum.
This website was designed, optimised and is hosted by Untold Media. Operating under the name Untold Media since 2001.
Back
Top