Eicr prices

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jon small

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just looked on a price comparison site (whatprice.co.uk) by accident and found prices for eicr testing from around the country - couldn,t believe a sole trader in sunderland offering to test up-to 3 bed house for £65 all in ( reckons 2.5 hours to fully test and do paperwork ) and telling people that firms charging more are extortionate rip off merchants, surprised to find others charging £75 - £90 with pricing like this no wonder it's getting difficult to earn a reasonable living.
 
jon small said:
just looked on a price comparison site (whatprice.co.uk) by accident and found prices for eicr testing from around the country - couldn,t believe a sole trader in sunderland offering to test up-to 3 bed house for £65 all in ( reckons 2.5 hours to fully test and do paperwork ) and telling people that firms charging more are extortionate rip off merchants, surprised to find others charging £75 - £90 with pricing like this no wonder it's getting difficult to earn a reasonable living.
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The EICR wouldn't be worth the paper its written on IMHO.
 
Agreed. All in all to do an average semi (incl paperwork etc ....) with a semblance of competency & professionalism is the better part of a day so the price is atleast your own day rate. But if you are only checking 1% then maybe .......
 
Priced doing an EICR for the local council
Civil amenity sites, theatres, offices, their was well in excess of three thousand circuits, we didn't get the contact as we were to expensive, the contractor they went with priced it at £3 a circuit

Drive by reports
 
Unfortunately, most EICRs are done because the customer is obliged to have it done by insurers, the council etc and they have no real interest in the results or safety; they just want a piece of paper.

Consequently, a cheap quick EICR doing 20%, or full of 'limitations' instead of a proper insulation resistance test on circuits that need a lot of things removed will win.

I get a few EICRs a month and I always feel I have to underquote to get the job.
 
I recently have had a few letting agents call up and ask how much i charge for an average 3 bed semi, told them £150 and got the "ok then we'll be in touch if we need you" I knew instantly i wasn't getting the job because i know some people just go and poke their nose in the CU and write up a load of ******** and charge less than half that. but recently did manage to win 4 tests for a private LL, and although he was reluctant to pay my price he agreed, and then had no trouble handing over payment when i pulled them to peices, showed him several C1's on each property, and proved it had never been properly tested before despite his previous certs which were just a waste of money. and once he saw me there for the best part of a day on each one he realised the previous lot were not doing it right.
 
Never had much of an issue losing work to the those who do cheap EICR's. They give it a satisfactory and need to do plenty a day (at £3 a circuit a mountain needed a day!). 1 for me is a days work plus generally all the remedial works after that and a peaceful nights sleep after it does for me.
 
EICR has to be taken seriously and done right or it is worthless. A 3 bed semi is at least 5 hours work and an hour writing, preparing and posting certificate etc., has to be full days pay, at around £150 , I would not do one for less, it is just not worth it. I have had several letting agents pass because they can get a cert for £65 quick check. They can keep it !!!
 
My local housing association put a tender out in June for EICRs and quoted the set price of £40 per property. (does not matter size of property or number of circuits). They where offering 330 houses per year mind (guaranteed) and 100 CU changes - not sure how one person could do that in 1 year mind - would have to take on a second person.

My normal rate is £20 per circuit.

For landlords I offer free PAT testing for upto 50 items - thinking that EICR is every 5 years and PAT is every year so they are likely to come back year after year.
 
Nicholas Owen said:
My local housing association put a tender out in June for EICRs and quoted the set price of £40 per property. (does not matter size of property or number of circuits). They where offering 330 houses per year mind (guaranteed) and 100 CU changes - not sure how one person could do that in 1 year mind - would have to take on a second person.

My normal rate is £20 per circuit.

For landlords I offer free PAT testing for upto 50 items - thinking that EICR is every 5 years and PAT is every year so they are likely to come back year after year.
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Re the EICR - so they don't want a proper test then?

Re the PAT testing - are you running a business or a charity?
 
Murdoch said:
Re the EICR - so they don't want a proper test then?
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Not a clue!


Murdoch said:
Re the PAT testing - are you running a business or a charity?
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I do this based on 50 items takes about 2hrs to do, f I do a 8 circuit property then I get £160.00 - these landlords that I do this with use me all the time for anything and everything from replacing light bulbs to CU changes and rewires.
It works well and for new landlords it has the tipping point if they use me or Job Blogs from the pub - which there are a few around here - dont forget you dont need any qualifications or registration to do EICRs
 
Nicholas Owen said:
Not a clue!



I do this based on 50 items takes about 2hrs to do, f I do a 8 circuit property then I get £160.00 - these landlords that I do this with use me all the time for anything and everything from replacing light bulbs to CU changes and rewires.
It works well and for new landlords it has the tipping point if they use me or Job Blogs from the pub - which there are a few around here - dont forget you dont need any qualifications or registration to do EICRs
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So its not free, its included in the EICR then??
 
jon small said:
just looked on a price comparison site (whatprice.co.uk) by accident and found prices for eicr testing from around the country - couldn,t believe a sole trader in sunderland offering to test up-to 3 bed house for £65 all in ( reckons 2.5 hours to fully test and do paperwork ) and telling people that firms charging more are extortionate rip off merchants, surprised to find others charging £75 - £90 with pricing like this no wonder it's getting difficult to earn a reasonable living.
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So you pay this bloke £65 which for 2.5 hours work is a realistic hourly rate, but he is doing drive bys so what is the point.
He must be hoping to get remedials to make money, some of which he'll probably make up
 
They where offering 330 houses per year mind (guaranteed) and 100 CU changes

Priceless.................. absolutely priceless....doomed.....were all doomed........eey aw ! eey aw !
 
"couldn,t believe a sole trader in sunderland offering to test up-to 3 bed house for £65 all in "

I'm half an hour away in hartlepool and find it difficult to charge over £80 for an EICR (whether its a 2 up 2 down or a five bedroom detached house). I do tend to make things up to a worthwhile wage when I complete any remedial works- although obviously it isn't guaranteed there are any.

I recently lost work for the last letting agent I worked for as they phoned me up and said they had found an electrician who would work for £15 an hour flat rate plus itemised materials (no allowance for fuel etc?). They said they still wanted me to do the work as I had been reliable in the past, so if I matched the price it wouldn't be a problem. I said I would go no lower than £18 an hour & 40p/mile if out of town. I never heard from them again!

In the last few month the van has broken down multiple times, costing a fortune not just in repairs but in lost income, and all this month my road tax, van insurance, scheme & trustmark membership & PL/PI insurance have ran out and have to be renewed. Direct debits this year!
 
Murdoch said:
So its not free, its included in the EICR then??
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They pay £20 per circuit and it includes a free PAT test for 50 items.
The EICR they must pay for!

Normally £2 per item.
The reason I give them free like I said is the pushing point to get the job - its not advertised - if they are like we will let you know then I send them a written quote which states if taken out within 30 days of this quote - it includes free PAT testing upto £50 items.

I have done 3 of these already now (offer only been running just over a month) and the 3 have booked for PAT testing for the next 4 years as well. Plus they got me to repair all faults I found there and then as well as any damaged equipment they paid for.

Normally my PAT testing includes replacement fuses and plugs where needed (max of 5 per 50 items) but not on this offer.
The last one I did turned into over £700 worth of work - not bad when they where looking elsewhere.
 
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I normally bring my partner with me to do them - due to her condition (not going into it!)
Normal time for 1 person is 5 mins per item - it Im testing and she is sticking and writing then less than 2.5mins each item.

We are not all sticker men!

All customers get a certificate which shows the IR reading and the Earth Connectivity reading. Any questions I will show you a copy of one oldtimer.
 
I'm half an hour away in hartlepool and find it difficult to charge over £80 for an EICR (whether its a 2 up 2 down or a five bedroom detached house). I do tend to make things up to a worthwhile wage when I complete any remedial works- although obviously it isn't guaranteed there are any.

I recently lost work for the last letting agent I worked for as they phoned me up and said they had found an electrician who would work for £15 an hour flat rate plus itemised materials (no allowance for fuel etc?). They said they still wanted me to do the work as I had been reliable in the past, so if I matched the price it wouldn't be a problem. I said I would go no lower than £18 an hour & 40p/mile if out of town. I never heard from them again!

In the last few month the van has broken down multiple times, costing a fortune not just in repairs but in lost income, and all this month my road tax, van insurance, scheme & trustmark membership & PL/PI insurance have ran out and have to be renewed. Direct debits this year!
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in a nutshell we are all struggling to make a decent living because many are trying to undercut the rest and allowing the customer dictate pricing to the detriment of safety which is the whole POINT of testing.
why as a trade are we allowing this to happen?, if we can't make a living many will give up and leave the testing to the cut price cowboys resulting in potentially avoidable deaths and shaming us all as a trade!
somehow we have to get landlords and the public to understand that they need to pay a reasonable price to ensure safety through proper testing not just thinking i got a cheap test certificate so everything s fine- remember when it was easy to get a dodgy mot for the car the number of death traps that were on the road and the massive regulation of the mot industry that has resulted - every test result now held on a massive database every aspect of the test tightened up =massive improvement in safety but much higher cost to customer and the cost of test set by governing body, i don't know but maybe this is what our trade needs to regain professional standards to ensure that testing is done correctly to a minimum standard to keep people safe
 
Part of the problem, which has been done to death, is that there is only multiple organisations involved in our trade unlike MOTs and none of them have any teeth
 
The problem with some landlords is that they just dont care!

We see it again and again on here - my landlord wont repair this!
my landlord popped over himself and repaired this!
my landlord got someone in to do half a job and wont get them back!


The problem is that noone regulates these landlords - anyone can buy a house and rent it out in any condition!

If these licences come into force then that will filter out all the bad landlords!

As I have said before Landlords are expected to do gas safety checks (which they dont charge the tenant for) - and they all do gas safety checks
They should be expected to do electrical safety checks!
 
Nicholas Owen said:
I normally bring my partner with me to do them - due to her condition (not going into it!)
Normal time for 1 person is 5 mins per item - it Im testing and she is sticking and writing then less than 2.5mins each item.

We are not all sticker men!

All customers get a certificate which shows the IR reading and the Earth Connectivity reading. Any questions I will show you a copy of one oldtimer.
Click to expand...

Nicholas its your choice to use your partner but thats not a business model that would work for me as you seem to be doing it as a loss leader to get the EICR but to be honest the only person who benefits is the customer Me I charge for both and the customer expects to pay for both
 
as i recall it took 1 death to cause the whole knee jerk part p scam, when the bodies start piling up from poor quality cut price testing how long before the government decide that we are incapable of regulating ourselves and must be regulated and licensed (more expense and bureaucracy for us to cope with) by a government department or worse an eu quango.
 
jon small said:
as i recall it took 1 death to cause the whole knee jerk part p scam, when the bodies start piling up from poor quality cut price testing how long before the government decide that we are incapable of regulating ourselves and must be regulated and licensed (more expense and bureaucracy for us to cope with) by a government department or worse an eu quango.
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Sorry I cannot agree with this my view is that the MPs daughters death was used as a vehicle for Part P and the Scams call me cynical but this is politics and we do get manipulated most of the time ie "Save the British Banger from Europe" campaign was designed to get peoples backs up over Europe but they did not report that they had no intention of getting rid of local dishes as a guy once said to me when you see any campaign follow the money ie the ones who will benefit most from the changes
 
Welchyboy said:
Mate you need to seriously think about your pricing, 50 pat tested items plus paperwork, with two people for FREE?!


You won't be around long at that rate!
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When I see things like this my suspicious mind thinks:

1. Cutting corners

2. Employing cheap labour

3. Not all inclome declared

4. Income being kept low so that they can benefit from tax credit handouts/general benefits!
 
Call me old fashioned but if I do the work I'd be wanting paid for it. These landlords don't hand out rent free weeks for tenants in the hope of keeping them longer.

If 50 takes 2 hours takes 2 hours complete with paperwork it's 2 hours for free that could have been spent elsewhere earning. And just because landlords say they will have you back for the next few years doesn't mean they will!
 
You are right Murdoch - I do have to keep my income low for a personal reason which I am not going into on this forum!

Some people on here know why and thats how its staying.

I do this to keep work coming in and keep profits low for the above reason.

After December situation changes and I wont be doing this offer anymore!
 
So if you are a carer you are in the wrong job plus doing jobs for next to nothing does not add up for me plus I dont want to know your business Nicholas but would it not be better for you not to comment on these types of posts
 
By all means discuss the business model but please avoid comments of a personal nature, rather just agree to disagree.

Thanks.
 
I realy dont see what the great issue is with what Nick is doing with the '50 items PAT free' offer tbh.

Maybe i'm looking at it different to most who have replied BUT if he's doing the EICR at a price that'll be around twice that of 'Dave from the pub' and it's a proper test (as i'd assume it is) then alls good and alot safer for the tennant. True the PAT testing is free but so what.....2-3 hours of unpaid work compaired to loosing a day of paid work (due to gaining the EICR) cant be that bad a deal can it?

Wouldn't do it meself but only because i passionately hate PAT testing but it's no different to gaining a re-wire or remedials if i offered to throw in smoke detectors for free or any similar type of offer.

To look at it another way how many people get suckered in to buying something when out shopping or on the internet because they get something free with it?....same principle and it's the way shops work and stay in business these days...give alittle free to get the bigger £££££
 
At £3 a circuit they must be relying on finding alot of C1's and getting the repairs surely...........extras...extras...

I charge £100 for upto and including the 1st 4 circuits then £15 per circuit on top
 
Surely the trick is to let the landlord think he's getting the PAT's for free but in actual fact you make the money back elsewhere.
If not, then I'm with the 'do it, get paid for it' crowd.
 
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We often get local garages offering a free car safety check especially at holiday time. It's obviously a loss leader that generates business sometimes. As a customer I would take advantage of this if I was driving a long distance but if I was buying a second-hand vehicle I wouldn't use this free test as an indication of the vehicle condition, I would still go to the AA or another independent body for a full report.

Something similar is available in many different industries, opticians offering free eye tests, cell phone companies offering free phones.... the list is endless. Why is cheap or free EICR's or PAT testing any different?
 
oldtimer said:
Nicholas its your choice to use your partner but thats not a business model that would work for me as you seem to be doing it as a loss leader to get the EICR but to be honest the only person who benefits is the customer Me I charge for both and the customer expects to pay for both
Click to expand...

Totally agree. You should never sell yourself short.
 
Probably only 5-10 items need pat tested anyway . Per house . All in one day = £160.

Nearly enough for 1 man band. If not enough. Each to their own
 
Marvo said:
By all means discuss the business model but please avoid comments of a personal nature, rather just agree to disagree.

Thanks.
Click to expand...
That's a bit harsh on Oldtimer. His comments are far from needing a Mod warning mate. I've seen far, far worse on this forum and nothings been done by Mods then. In fact I think I may have reported worse before and nothing was done. To be fair Nick did leave himself open for adverse comment by dangling a little information about his personal circumstances, leaving others to either guess or make an assumption. Perhaps Nick should be reprimanded and told not to post personal statements like he did?

If anyone (be they an electrcian or Uncle Tom Cobbly) is deliberately suppressing their income to gain a pecunary advantage over the government benefits system then that is not right. I'm not accusing Nicholas Owen of that, but on a personal note, my dad was self employed, lost his job and we got nothing from the government to help us. I also have a brother that has made a career out of sucking the benefits system dry!

Back on topic - As Marvo says no doubt people have a business model they have deigned/developed in relation to market research of their area. Maybe that means offering PAT testing as a loss leader for EICR's, so long as you actually get the PIR testing work. Personally I'd rather stay at home and do other things than work for nothing - like generating paid work. I don't mind considering a discount off the PAT testing if I'm given the PIR work at the same time, but not free, as a loss leader in the hope of getting other work
 
And when for free, corners are cut. It's just adiscussion forum, freedom of speach. No intentions of offending is most people's comments.

- - - Updated - - -

And when for free, corners are cut. It's just adiscussion forum, freedom of speach. No intentions of offending is most people's comments. Just opinions.
 
The thing is this is a forum where different views are discussed and ok its a free world and yes we should not personilise it and in my view I have no axe to grind against Nicholas or any other member because I dont have an ego thats need to feed off by saying black to someones white.

Also I have said before I came on this forum to get and share knowledge and I have been critical of the way we seem to try and be politically correct and open to the charge of bullying but remember if you join the army the sergeant does not give you a hard time to bully you no he or she expect high standards because he/she is trying to keep you alive and yes there is a line that they can cross that would be defined as bullying so I will say this again if you want to be an electrician then you need to take a professional approach then just like the army you need to get up to a level where you are good to go so instead of saying I am a victim here you should say how can I do this better and by all means take on constructive critic and dont take any nonsense then you will progress
 
I charge by number of rooms, floors, & circuits, £10 per element. A 2 storey 3 bed with 1 bathroom, lounge, diner, kitchen etc & say 6 circuits would therefore cost £150. I find this pricing method works pretty well & always works out about right, even for a small 1 bed flat. You'd expect an occupied 3 bed house to take best part of a day especially with the paper work.
 
richy3333 said:
That's a bit harsh on Oldtimer. His comments are far from needing a Mod warning mate.
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It wasn't a warning as such, but if threads start getting into discussions about members personal lives or circumstances it's not what the forum is about and it's usually not long until someone takes offense and retaliates. I'd rather make a reminder in bold to keep the thread on a relevant track than ignore it and have to deal with the result if it continues.
 
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