The great pat testing scam

[Deleted member 9648]

One thing I cant stand is pat testing,but in the current climate work is work and beggars cant always be choosers. We have a few small pat testing contracts which come up regularly throughout the year and often fill in those slack days.
For many years now we have done most of the maintenance,repairs and small installations in a very large secondary school...but we have never been able to get anywhere near the big boys when it comes to pat testing,we are way to expensive. Considering there are many thousands of appliances in the school I'm not worried.....I'd lose the will to live. I've always had my suspicions on how they do it and today I found out.
I'm working there at the moment installing yet more sockets for yet more PC's and by coincidence the pat test boys from a large national company are there as well.
So I set a little test,there on the table was a 4 way lead not in use,so I removed the cord grip screws in the plug, shortened the earth back so it was stretched really tight,and left the terminal screw loose. Now anyone with any pat testing experience will immediately spot the potential danger here,but when I came back to it a while later sure enough it was exactly as I left it with a PASSED sticker on it.
A bit later in another room I was working in, one of these clowns appeared to do the test so I was able to see him perform. First up was a ceiling socket with a projector and speaker plugged in...."Can I borrow yer steps mate"? he enquired. "Go ahead" I told him and watched with interest as he proceeded to ascend two rungs,and without unplugging the appliances,stick a PASSED sticker on the plugs...before descending to ground level again.
Somewhat incredulous, I asked,"Is that it........"
"Yes" he replied " We are not allowed to use a tester from access equipment without a proper risk assessment,so it's a visual inspection only"
For a moment I considered pointing out that a visual inspection might actually involve more than just applying a sticker,but he was a big bloke so I rejected the idea.
Next was a convector heater,now to give the bloke his due he did carry out an earth bond test on the case,but he didnt take the cover off the plug or check the lead for damage,there could of been a nail for a fuse in there for all he knew.
To cap it all,last knockings I tranferred all my clutter to an art room ready for tomorrows jobs and there was a box of newly tested glue guns on the table so I couldnt resist a look.
The first one I picked up had splits and damage to the flex sheath in 3 different places with the inner cores exposed......PASSED
Another one had a broken plastic case which was held together with sellotape......PASSED

I'ts clear that these guys are simply charging to stick a sticker on a plug,the only reason we cant get near them on price is because we are stupid enough to do it properly.
I'm not convinced the school would be bothered if I told them what they are paying for,at the end of it they will have the paperwork and will have met the legal requirements.

For all i'ts good intentions PAT testing has become nothing more than a legalised scam

 

[Notsosmart]

I would put a seed of doubt in there though, have a word with someone who would at least have an inkling of what you are talking about and the implications behind the yippee kay aye actions of these 'testers' ~ Who's the H&S officer of the school?

Now we know how the 0.50p a plug merchants work

 

[jimmyjazz]

I've seen the same when working in a college, PAT guy comes into construction workshop & tests drills etc. In & out in under 5 minutes with 20+ items tested, all passed including a drill with no plug.

 

[cornburn]

Whereabouts in the country are you wirepuller? We've had the PAT testers in the high school we've been working at this week too, you're not stealing my business at the other end of the building are you?

 

[jboy1888]

I know of a testing company caught on the night shift stickering everything in under 20 minutes per floor then sitting back with a cuppa only to be caught on camera the next day. Needless to say they dont PAT test for this client any more.

 

[rocker]

Disgusting. With kids as well. You should grass them man, honestly, they don't deserve the work.

Only when people realise what you get for your cheapo buck will things change.

 

[cbw]

I told some bloke recently, £2.00 an item....."How much!!!???" was the reply, "Ive been quoted 75p an item" I explained what I did and what it involved and got the contract.....Shocked at my own sales ability!!!

 

[Sintra]

And still cheap at that.

 

[Deleted member 9648]

Cornburn.....I'm in the south east mate....thats all I'm saying lol.
I have made the situation known and shown the evidence to a person at the school who will do something about it with discretion. But i'ts a bit of a dodgy area,it's not my place to be checking up on others and normally I dont get involved in slagging off other peoples work,but this really wound me up,specially as I have a son at the school who may well be using those appliances.

 

[UNG]

When Portable Appliance Testing was first introduced the rates charged reflected the work needed to provide a proper inspection and report, now it would appear to be a pile em high test em cheap as chips

Alot of the blame for this IMO comes down to this competant person "qualification" that the HSE brought in and to some people infers proper qualification. It is apparent that some competant persons are not sufficiently trained to competantly carry out the testing and made aware of the legal resposibilty and most importantly paid a proper rate so that they are not reduced to only attaching stickers to make a living

It is unfortunate that somebody has to be seriously injured or killed before the law is applied I wonder if these people realise the implications of somebody being killed when they have carried out the "test"

 

[Deleted member 9648]

Good points there UNG, I agree......It seems the testers this morning have been ********* and told to completely retest the art block with the offending items....but that is just what I saw where I was working,the rest of the school has apparently been finished.

 

[Deleted member 9648]

sorry you had to edit that Lenny....I thought I had done enough to make it acceptable.

 

[Adam W]

I also get annoyed with Portable Appliance Testing - I get moaned at for taking too long and failing too many items, then I find items which were passed the previous year with incorrect polarity, non-approved fuses, plugtops on the end of T&E (with no sleeving) or still have the bit of cardboard on the plugtop around the pins; I often feel i am the only 'mug' who tries to test properly and wonder if I should just join them and load all my labels into something similar to one of those pricing guns they used to use in supermarkets and go around firing stickers at everything.

Unfortunately this seems to be the product of customer demand - they would prefer to take their chances with a cowboy who has done a 1 day course and can undercut someone with 4 years of training and a working understanding of the task in hand; Health & Safety is viewed as 'box ticking' and 'jobsworthery' until something goes wrong, then they look for someone to blame so they can make a claim.

This kind of cost cutting seems to be the modern way of doing things, in every industry; gone are the days you could make an appointment with the bank manager and discuss all your financial needs with someone who knew what they were talking about, now you have to speak to someone in a call centre who has had a morning's training on how to relay the information their computer has just given them.
Sadly I can't imagine this situation improving, if anything it will get worse.

 

[chopper]

hi guys iv just been told i have a PAT testing job coming up , when the gaffer told me i was gutted , the company wants all the it equipment PAT testing and says theres about a 1000, i personally dont like PAT testing we previously did all the other portable appliences which was aboout 5oo but 2 of us did that , one of us unplugging and plugging back in the other testing. i am not looking forward to this, but in an other respect its a job at end of day and valuable experience for my apprentaship.

 

[sg160187]

Unfortunatley when you pat test you say the item has passed on that day if it goes wrong the next week they would probaly be able to escape responsibility by saying that it was to a suitable standard when they tested it and that the fault became present afterwards.

I obviously agree that the level of testing you spoke of with the sticker happy slapping brigade is wrong and dangerous but I also agree that people would prefer to pay the lowest price.

 

[UNG]

Unfortunatley when you pat test you say the item has passed on that day if it goes wrong the next week they would probaly be able to escape responsibility by saying that it was to a suitable standard when they tested it and that the fault became present afterwards.

When the PAT testing requirements were introduced and believed and porported to be a legal requirement alot of the draconian guiidelines laid down by the HSE were boardering on unworkable I had a number of conversations with the HSE regarding test intervals and was told that the person carrying out the testing should recommend a test/inspection interval suitable for the duty of the equipment an example used during one conversation was a floor polisher which it was suggested may require an inspection interval of as little as 6 weeks and if a incident occured within that time and 6 weeks was deemed to long the HSE would prosecute the inspector if the site owner didn't get it checked inline with the inspectors recommendation then liability passed to the site owner

Thank god they changed the requirements

Unfortunately it would appear a PAT sticker seems to overrule common sense these days and indicates to some people that the equipment is safe even if it damaged between tests

Can we not bring back common sense or is it to late with this nanny state

 

[dixon9]

As usual nothing will change until a case arises when someone has a serious accident.

 

[Notsosmart]

This kind of cost cutting seems to be the modern way of doing things, in every industry; gone are the days you could make an appointment with the bank manager and discuss all your financial needs with someone who knew what they were talking about, now you have to speak to someone in a call centre who has had a morning's training on how to relay the information their computer has just given them.
Sadly I can't imagine this situation improving, if anything it will get worse.

Whilst I agree with the rest of your post I have Got to take umbridge with you on that comment; within the banking industry there are so many regulations and restrictions on the call centre operatives that this isn't true at all ~ 6 weeks initial training, on the job mentoring & call coaching at all times.
My Mrs works for one of the only banks not needed to be bailed out, and she is 'coached'* on calls at random (* Basically a euphamism for trying to catch her out) she finds that referals from local branches have basic errors that she would get disciplined for, and any new directives have to be implimented without mssing key phrases (that's why when you call you get a load of whaffle that no one really listens to).

When the PAT testing requirements were introduced and believed and porported to be a legal requirement alot of the draconian guiidelines laid down by the HSE were boardering on unworkable I had a number of conversations with the HSE regarding test intervals and was told that the person carrying out the testing should recommend a test/inspection interval suitable for the duty of the equipment an example used during one conversation was a floor polisher which it was suggested may require an inspection interval of as little as 6 weeks and if a incident occured within that time and 6 weeks was deemed to long the HSE would prosecute the inspector if the site owner didn't get it checked inline with the inspectors recommendation then liability passed to the site owner

Still; the person using the equipment has a duty of care to visually check the lead each time they use it.

Thank god they changed the requirements

Unfortunately it would appear a PAT sticker seems to overrule common sense these days and indicates to some people that the equipment is safe even if it damaged between tests

Can we not bring back common sense or is it to late with this nany state

Amen to that,

 

[acat]

Bring back common sense you got more chance of winning the lottery with no ticket



Chris

 

[Adam W]

Whilst I agree with the rest of your post I have Got to take umbridge with you on that comment; within the banking industry there are so many regulations and restrictions on the call centre operatives that this isn't true at all ~ 6 weeks initial training, on the job mentoring & call coaching at all times.
My Mrs works for one of the only banks not needed to be bailed out, and she is 'coached'* on calls at random (* Basically a euphamism for trying to catch her out) she finds that referals from local branches have basic errors that she would get disciplined for, and any new directives have to be implimented without mssing key phrases (that's why when you call you get a load of whaffle that no one really listens to).

OK you caught me - 'a morning' was an exaggeration and maybe I could have used a better example, but the point is after a number of years doing a job you can expect someone to know what they're talking about, whereas now (particularly larger) companies treat their staff as disposable because they know they can replace them within a few weeks, with someone with no experience.

I have worked in an insurance call centre myself - I think it was about 2 weeks of training, then we were given a photo album full of prompt cards to read out parrot-fashion, and sat in front of a computer which could basically only be used to send generic letters, and draws a graph telling the manager what percentage of your day you've been on the phone and how much time you've spent on toilet breaks.
Many of the people i was working with couldn't care less about the customers and would fob them off with silly excuses to get them off the phone as quickly as possible to make their graph look good, which it seemed to me defeated the point of them being there, just like the guys who do a 1 day course and go out slapping stickers on 100 appliances an hour without even looking at them properly.

 

[BOC]

I find some of these comments very interesting, if a little short-sighted. I have the unenviable task of carrying out PAT work on a regular basis and I would like to speak on behalf of the hitherto unrepresented. Firstly, it is unreasonable to criticise them for lack of experience and qualification when all that is needed to carry out this work is the City and Guilds 2377 Certificate of Competence. This requires a very high percentage to pass the examination and I know of many who have had to look elsewhere following their repeated lack of success in attempting to secure the qualification. Is it their fault that qualification does not require years of training, endless exams and assessments? No. I know only too well that there are those who do little more than slap on a sticker but I feel that to tar them all with the same brush is somewhat harsh. The example of the tester being criticised for doing nothing more than applying the stickers to ceiling-mounted equipment, when he had already stated that it was purely a visual inspection, is unfounded. A visual inspection is exactly that, and does not require opening up or even unplugging the appliance, where conditions dictate that this be the case. As for risk assessment, we all know what H&S regulations mean and I would agree that if he had been told not to work from access equipment then he should not do so. As for planting "modified" equipment to catch someone out? Nothing better to do, perhaps. I trust that the time taken attempting to trip others up will not be billed to the client?

Then there is the issue of cost. The so-called "50p a test merchants", cowboys, jokers or whatever else people choose to call them are not all charging this paltry sum because they feel like it. There are those who, admittedly, go in purely on price but the majority of them have been driven to it by a combination of factors including the cheap and cheerful operators but, just as importantly, an increasingly cost-conscious client base who will quite happily play one company off against another until a bargain-basement price is agreed. That, coupled with an employer who demands more and more work from his testers in less and less time has, undoubtedly led to some corner-cutting. Add to this the fact that the reduced cost per test means that they are having to do more work, just to stand still, and you will see why we are finding it very hard to compete on a level footing. As one contributor has suggested, the customer is usually happy with everything being "stickered up" for the right price. Unfortunately, there is an element of truth in this and many of them do not consider the serious implications as deeply as they do the cost. And remember, the company agrees the amount per test, the engineer receives far less!

As a company, we perform visual and full checks and change plugs/fuses included in the cost. We provide the customer with a detailed breakdown of the testing carried out by location/item, with a full list of failures being issued before we leave site and we are charging nowhere near £2 per test, nor have we for some time. Had we continued to charge at our previous rates, we would have sunk without trace long ago. Did we instigate this plummet in rates? No, our hand was forced and we are all suffering as a result, not just the "real" electricians. Given the time and fair remuneration, any PAT engineer would be happy to do the job 100% correctly. Unfortunately many of them are lucky to earn £50.00 per day. Hardly a get-rich-quick scheme, is it? Place the blame where you see fit, we are all entitled to our opinion, but don't just drop the blame on the guy in the firing line. Look a little deeper into the cause.

Oh, and by the way, we aren't allowed to work overhead either!

 

[Deleted member 9648]

I have read your post and agree with none of it.
I strongly disagree with your suggestion that a visual inspection is purely sticking a sticker on an appliance still plugged in. As a minimum it would involve checking the appliance for physical damage,checking the lead for the same,and removing the plug to check for secure cord grip,correct fuse and correct connection.
I can assure you that this clown did not carry out any of those checks.
As for 'booby trapping' an appliance to catch these guys out I would not refute the suggestion that this was a rather underhand tactic and in fact none of my business. But the fact that these guys put a passed sticker on a potentially dangerous appliance confirmed my belief that they are nothing more than rip off merchants.It may well be that you yourself do a good and proper job and it would be wrong to tar all with the same brush...but from what I've seen in this and other establishments that is the case.
The suggestion in your post that having to cut costs in order to compete for work gives some a valid reason to cut corners is a bit of an eye-opener considering the test is supposed to be about safety.....there is nothing in your post to make me change my opinion that pat testing is a scam....if anything it re-inforces it. Thankyou for confirming what I already knew.

 

[UNG]

BOC I don't see how you have offered any reasonable defence yourself and others involved in cheap PAT testing. Attempting to justify your own cheap rates and poor quality is because of others doesn't put you in a good light

You have only reiterated what has already been said in the rest of this thread

The way your method of PAT testing is going you may as well just supply a load of stickers to the customer and let him do his own PAT testing if attaching stickers is the only pre requisite. If being cheap is your primary objective to compete then you must obviously accept that sooner or later somebody will be injured or killed as you cannot afford to do the work properly.

Does your "increasingly cost-conscious client base" know and understand their liability and what they are getting for their money and the H&S implications if it all goes wrong

The issue of working overhead is obviously due to the fact that the cost of an appropriate course and the extra insurance cannot be funded by your paltery piece work rate

As for your modified equipment comment it just shows that your visual inspection it not worth the effort and apparently sound equipment can have faults

I just hope your PAT testing does not result in injury to some one as I assume you accept that a room in one of Her Majesty's Hotels may be the outcome

 

[Adam W]

I agree with BOC in that it is not the 'fault' of the tester that years of training aren't required, although I would disagree that "[C&G 2377] requires a very high percentage to pass the examination" considering all the answers are in the book which you have in front of you in the exam.

I agree with wirepuller in that a 'visual' (or more accurately an 'all senses except taste') inspection consists of much more than just checking the appliance is there - without doing any testing the cable can be checked for breaks, fraying of sheathing, and makeshift repairs, the plugtop can be checked for damage, condition of connections (including polarity) and fuse, extension cables can be checked for evidence of overheating, and any appliance can be given a gentle shake to check for rattling (I once failed a fan heater because there was a giant paper clip in it which I couldn't get out).
Portable Appliance Testing is similar to testing an installation but on a smaller scale; no 'proper electrician' would sign a periodic as 'visual only' after walking into a property and just checking the installation is there - I would consider that to be recklessly irresponsible. People can and have been killed from absence of earthing in an installation (what is essentially test method 2 is the first test required on a class 1 appliance), but obviously after 1 day someone wouldn't appreciate what is involved in testing an installation.

I suppose the solution to guaranteeing competence would be for the 2377 to be only offered as an additional course to those that have already completed the 2360 or 2330 or gold card holders.

 

[Guest123]

any PAT engineer

Your use of the term "engineer" implies that they are degree qualified......

Quote.... "In Continental Europe and Latin America and also in Turkey, the title is limited by law to people with an engineering degree, and the use of the title by others (even persons with much more work experience) is illegal".

 

[Deleted member 9648]

Bit of an update.
Today I was at the school doing some minor repairs and the caretaker pointed out a socket in the corridor which was almost entirly black with carbon scorch marks. It seems a cleaner plugged in a floor polisher and as she did so there was a loud bang from the plug and she recieved a shock...(not serious luckily). Upshot was that the cord grip on the plug was not secure and the single wires were pulling out and something shorted......Guess what was stuck on the appliance plug??....answers to me on the back of a ten pound note please.

The caretaker said that the testers had claimed 6000 appliances tested,there were 3 blokes and they were there 3 days.
Now if you allow them a standard 8hr day....(somewhat generous as their vans were gone by 3-4pm when I saw them)...that makes 666 appliances per man per day.....or one every 43 seconds.
Not bad going I reckon.

 

[Guest123]

I'm all for goin round and doin em over.....what ya reckon????


Seriously though, it makes my blood boil does this. What chance does an honest reliable spark have with complete (insert own description here) like this on the loose. I gave up on PAT a long time ago, only do it for a few regulars now who know the score and are happy to pay me to do it correctly.

 

[Notsosmart]

Now if you allow them a standard 8hr day....(somewhat generous as their vans were gone by 3-4pm when I saw them)...that makes 666 appliances per man per day.....or one every 43 seconds.

How significant is that number!

I'm all for goin round and doin em over.....what ya reckon????

Seriously though, it makes my blood boil does this. What chance does an honest reliable spark have with complete (insert own description here) like this on the loose. I gave up on PAT a long time ago, only do it for a few regulars now who know the score and are happy to pay me to do it correctly.

I'm of the same mind Ben, but quite honestly the lack of any integrity evident in the actions of these 'testers' jsut makes me despair. Regardless of the pressures for maximising profits and the threat of competition these companies have a duty of care to ensure that any safety checks are just that; Safe. I hope (as a company) that they are reported andt at least struck off of the approved register at (any) council. Trouble is this company will, likely as not, blame the individuals even though we all know the pressure was on them to "get the job done" (although if these guys had any respectability then the job would have been done properly)
~ probably another example of a certificate being placed before experience and passed as competency.

 

[Sintra]

Bunch of total chancers there is no way on this planet that 1 man could test 666 appliances per day.

On PATs I try to aim for 10 items per hour 80 per day and that can be hard enough to get.

 

[AndrewMgan1976]

Unless your doing 666 IEC leads, all in a big beside you!!!

 

[Risteard]

Recently during an interview with a large PAT testing company I was told that they expect 1,100 assets inspected and tested per week and that they believe it is quite achievable on many sites, and suggested that they might offer bonuses beyond 1,100 assets.

This means they were aiming at 220 units per day.

 

[DurhamSparky]

bst i achieved was 130 a day and i was 8.30 - 5 roughly 14p/h and lots of them were class 2 (chargers and other useless office gizmos)

that was a hard push to keep motivated..! was there 3 days!

 

[UNG]

Recently during an interview with a large PAT testing company I was told that they expect 1,100 assets inspected and tested per week and that they believe it is quite achievable on many sites, and suggested that they might offer bonuses beyond 1,100 assets.

This means they were aiming at 220 units per day.

And what were they paying for this target

 

[Graeme Harrold]

I usually average 1 item every 5 mins and I do a thorough visual check. Having a barcode scanner and my own item sheets does speed things slightly and now using the Fluke 6500 in fast mode on the auto test sequences helps a lot too.

I charge roughly £2 per item thus netting about £20-24 per hour. Got a large contract doing caravans with a set price of £9.50 per van with up to 6 items. This allows for packing up moving to the next van and starting again.

At anything less than £1.75 per item Id be looking at a well prepared site (everything brought to me) and volumes ove 500 items. If someone tries to beat me on price I am in the fortunate position of being able to walk away (9/10 I get a call back!!!) and say if you want it doing properly then thats the price.

 

[mogga]

just been for an interview with a Large distribution deopt as maintenance electrician I asked if they had did PAT In house or farmed it out they said they farm it out @ 30p an item YES thats not a typo 30p ner item I nearly fell off the seat If I get the job be assured Ill be checking everything I use / touch as if they r prepared to cut Pat testing that far back whats the pirs gonny be like??

 

[graham3058]

In a perfect world where time and price are not an issue would anyone like to go through the process of a perfect pat test on a portable apliance

 

[Graeme Harrold]

In a perfect world where time and price are not an issue would anyone like to go through the process of a perfect pat test on a portable apliance

YES......................... nice easy day with about £200 pure profit...........

 

[Risteard]

And what were they paying for this target

There was mention of 35 pence somewhere.

 

[expo09]

It's a bit of a joke. This whole thing drives down the price and quality of PAT testers. It will get to the stage where testers are simply unable to perform proper tests as it take to long for what they are having to charge to get the work. And this means appliances will be passing, that should fail, thus defeating the object of PAT testing.

 

[UNG]

It's a bit of a joke. This whole thing drives down the price and quality of PAT testers. It will get to the stage where testers are simply unable to perform proper tests as it take to long for what they are having to charge to get the work. And this means appliances will be passing, that should fail, thus defeating the object of PAT testing.

The quality of the cheapee testers has to be questioned

I think it is at that stage now where the testing is not performed properly except by those charging a proper rate that actually earns them a living. Unfortunately most company management now is accountant and price driven only price matters not quality or safety

Under the EAWR I wonder who will be left holding the "baby" if something goes wrong will it be the employer, the buyer for buying in sub standard work or the company actually doing the testing, until somebody is killed and the precedent is set we will never know.

 

[mogga]

simple answer to the EAWR question All of the above but ultimitly the engineer doing the work specialy when the excuse for substandard work would be that all we can afford as for ur Until thats HSE all over at most firms

 

[shane]

I told some bloke recently, £2.00 an item....."How much!!!???" was the reply, "Ive been quoted 75p an item" I explained what I did and what it involved and got the contract.....Shocked at my own sales ability!!!

we as a small company charge for large installations for which we have a few £1.75 per item, for small companies with smaller amount of items we charge 2.00 , i have seen while in large multi floor offices leads double marked with stickers and the same with almost every appliance in there two tests two stickers"" scanking *******s"" so when we tested it there was neerly half the ammount than previously,we pointed out what had been done to which the head of h&s replied thats what the regs said so she was told, i'm not gonna name this company on ere as it is a very large electrical company niciec reg as some of you lads might work for them lol..

 

[Guest123]

30p!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[cbw]

The quality of the cheapee testers has to be questioned

I think it is at that stage now where the testing is not performed properly except by those charging a proper rate that actually earns them a living. Unfortunately most company management now is accountant and price driven only price matters not quality or safety

Under the EAWR I wonder who will be left holding the "baby" if something goes wrong will it be the employer, the buyer for buying in sub standard work or the company actually doing the testing, until somebody is killed and the precedent is set we will never know.

Thing is if you buy a £30, 000 car for £5000 in the eyes of the law you are guilty of handling stolen goods as it is obviously nicked at that price.......

If your buying PAT @ 35p an item you are quite obviously buying a substandard service......

are you guilty of breaching HSE regulations???? PROBABLY!

 

[eskimo39]

Bit of an update.
The caretaker said that the testers had claimed 6000 appliances tested,there were 3 blokes and they were there 3 days.
Now if you allow them a standard 8hr day....(somewhat generous as their vans were gone by 3-4pm when I saw them)...that makes 666 appliances per man per day.....or one every 43 seconds.
Not bad going I reckon.

They are obviously taking the ****, I pride myself on my PAT testing capabilities and take pride in my Engineer status. However 43 seconds to test an item, talk about taking their time. I can look at any plug and put a sticker on it in 8 seconds flat go on try me.....

 

[RexT]

Hi guys,

I read through some of the bits and the general theme seems to be that we are being ripped off by people who are not actually doing what they say they do and are charging customers who believe that the job is being done properly. Would this not be a case for trading standards? It would certainly make me sick having done the 2377 course, bought a tester and quoted an honest rate to have this happen.
It sounds like it is a scam and as such should be exposed. Of course it does need the trading standards guys to be actually ineterested and also the customer to be a bit offended to support them.

Good luck,

Rex

 

[UNG]

At the stupidly low prices being quoted I don't see how these companies can cover the overheads of training, test equipment, office equipment and transport. I can understand that money can be made from the repair of the faults found but they don't make much effort to find them when they only have enough time to attach a sticker

 

[Notsosmart]

At the stupidly low prices being quoted I don't see how these companies can cover the overheads of training, test equipment, office equipment and transport. I can understand that money can be made from the repair of the faults found but they don't make much effort to find them when they only have enough time to attach a sticker

Hit the nail on the head there UNG, you would think that these testing companies charging these low prices look at PATesting as a loss leader, making up their profits on repairs. However with the paucity of skill or willingness displayed by their workforce so far I should imagine any repairs would be bodged also. (Or are they claiming for repairs anyway without actually doing anything?)

 

[Deleted member 9648]

Hi guys,

I read through some of the bits and the general theme seems to be that we are being ripped off by people who are not actually doing what they say they do and are charging customers who believe that the job is being done properly. Would this not be a case for trading standards? It would certainly make me sick having done the 2377 course, bought a tester and quoted an honest rate to have this happen.
It sounds like it is a scam and as such should be exposed. Of course it does need the trading standards guys to be actually ineterested and also the customer to be a bit offended to support them.

Good luck,

Rex

I dont think most of those who are on the recieving end of pat testing give a ---- on the quality of work they are getting.To them it is just another inconvenience and expense they could do without.....as long as they have fullfilled their legal requirement to have it done thats all that matters. Thats how these guys get away with it.

 

[m25maintenance]

when nobody is comming behind these lazy asses then i blame the school aswell.