Bad electrician? Advice needed

[JohnDonut]

Hi Everyone.

A quick question. I am currently selling my house and I am just waiting on exchanging with a potential buyer who had all the surveys done etc. Right before we were going to exchange they decided they wanted the electrics tested which we agreed to at their expense.

An electrician came in and spent the day testing all the electrics and fuse box/circuit board etc and rated them fair and satisfactory in the report. We have lived in the house for almost three years and have never had so much as a power cut or a tripped circuit or anything while here. A week after the electrician came all the power went to the plugs intermittently but not the lights at first. I went to the circuit board and could see nothing had tripped and it looked fine, what I could hear though coming from the RCD unit was an arcing / sparking noise and the smell of burning which gradually got worse. Fearing an electrical fire would start I switched off the main power switch and was left without heating and lights. Fortunately, after a Facebook plea, a nice man who worked as an electrician for a building company came round and made it safe, however, could not get a new RCD due to the time of night and would have to return the next day to restore the power which he did. He showed me the RCD unit which has been re-wired incorrectly and had melted one of the connections and left scorch marks. He said that a loose connection was found between buzz bar and RCD causing extensive heat damage to the breaker and that there was a good chance of an electrical fire had I not have shut off the electrics when I had.

Obviously, no one has messed with the RCD since the electrician tested the unit, so it must have come from him, and even if he didn't cause it, he certainly didn't notice it during the safety tests.... he also broke one the light switches.

Now this electrician has a pretty good score on check-a-trade and was genuinely a nice guy, but what do I do now? Contact him and tell him about it with a view to getting back my costs to fix it. Or just ignore it? Should I get a full electrical safety test done again? I really don't want the same guy coming round and have a quote for £110 for another check.



Advice please



Many thanks

 

[Pete999]

Hi Everyone.

A quick question. I am currently selling my house and I am just waiting on exchanging with a potential buyer who had all the surveys done etc. Right before we were going to exchange they decided they wanted the electrics tested which we agreed to at their expense.

An electrician came in and spent the day testing all the electrics and fuse box/circuit board etc and rated them fair and satisfactory in the report. We have lived in the house for almost three years and have never had so much as a power cut or a tripped circuit or anything while here. A week after the electrician came all the power went to the plugs intermittently but not the lights at first. I went to the circuit board and could see nothing had tripped and it looked fine, what I could hear though coming from the RCD unit was an arcing / sparking noise and the smell of burning which gradually got worse. Fearing an electrical fire would start I switched off the main power switch and was left without heating and lights. Fortunately, after a Facebook plea, a nice man who worked as an electrician for a building company came round and made it safe, however, could not get a new RCD due to the time of night and would have to return the next day to restore the power which he did. He showed me the RCD unit which has been re-wired incorrectly and had melted one of the connections and left scorch marks. He said that a loose connection was found between buzz bar and RCD causing extensive heat damage to the breaker and that there was a good chance of an electrical fire had I not have shut off the electrics when I had.

Obviously, no one has messed with the RCD since the electrician tested the unit, so it must have come from him, and even if he didn't cause it, he certainly didn't notice it during the safety tests.... he also broke one the light switches.

Now this electrician has a pretty good score on check-a-trade and was genuinely a nice guy, but what do I do now? Contact him and tell him about it with a view to getting back my costs to fix it. Or just ignore it? Should I get a full electrical safety test done again? I really don't want the same guy coming round and have a quote for £110 for another check.



Advice please



Many thanks

The magic words "check a trade" Ask to see any testimonials, his qualifications, membership of any of the CP Schemes, not that it will mean much judging by some the carp churned out by some of them, etc, look through the local news papers in your area, personally, I would look elsewhere other than Check a trade.

 

[Cadgey123]

Hi Everyone.

A quick question. I am currently selling my house and I am just waiting on exchanging with a potential buyer who had all the surveys done etc. Right before we were going to exchange they decided they wanted the electrics tested which we agreed to at their expense.

An electrician came in and spent the day testing all the electrics and fuse box/circuit board etc and rated them fair and satisfactory in the report. We have lived in the house for almost three years and have never had so much as a power cut or a tripped circuit or anything while here. A week after the electrician came all the power went to the plugs intermittently but not the lights at first. I went to the circuit board and could see nothing had tripped and it looked fine, what I could hear though coming from the RCD unit was an arcing / sparking noise and the smell of burning which gradually got worse. Fearing an electrical fire would start I switched off the main power switch and was left without heating and lights. Fortunately, after a Facebook plea, a nice man who worked as an electrician for a building company came round and made it safe, however, could not get a new RCD due to the time of night and would have to return the next day to restore the power which he did. He showed me the RCD unit which has been re-wired incorrectly and had melted one of the connections and left scorch marks. He said that a loose connection was found between buzz bar and RCD causing extensive heat damage to the breaker and that there was a good chance of an electrical fire had I not have shut off the electrics when I had.

Obviously, no one has messed with the RCD since the electrician tested the unit, so it must have come from him, and even if he didn't cause it, he certainly didn't notice it during the safety tests.... he also broke one the light switches.

Now this electrician has a pretty good score on check-a-trade and was genuinely a nice guy, but what do I do now? Contact him and tell him about it with a view to getting back my costs to fix it. Or just ignore it? Should I get a full electrical safety test done again? I really don't want the same guy coming round and have a quote for £110 for another check.



Advice please



Many thanks

If the guy missed those things the first time I wouldn’t be getting him back.

Explain your situation to the first guy and ask for a refund and get a secondary opinion from another electrician.

 

[JohnDonut]

TBH none of it was organised by us, the buyer of our house organised and paid for it. I wont be making that mistake again

 

[Madocks]

If the buyer of the house has had a survey done by their electrician and rated it satisfactory just leave it. Its their problem now?

Im assuming the new electrician has fitted a replacement RCD and tested / issued paperwork for the job?

 

[Des 56]

Your reference to "check a trade"instantly tells me that, along with the majority of the general public, they have fallen for a name and slick advertising,its not the way to engage a competent electrician and its their problem if the person is not what is presumed,there are electricians with testing experience who can demonstrate competence with qualifications in that sector,checking a person with these qualifications are the way to be more assured of competence not by being a member of a registered scheme or by 2 penny sites like check a trade etc

As far as the failing Rcd,yes a loose contact will have the effect you describe
The arching and subsequent damage however may have ocurred over days, weeks or years,it will not be determined by inspection at this point when it occured

The electrician who tested the installation may or may not have done a competent job,the testing of installations is not regulated and is open to anyone who thinks they can do the work

The chances of a fire resulting would more than likely be low,the connection would probably stop conducting before that could happen,however,its possible
Part of the testing and inspection is to check for poor connections especially at the consumer unit,it is not always evident to the less thorough howevr,a example is when a bus bar has been clamped incorrectly to a Rcd or Mcb and causes what you describe

Finally,the test and inspection is a report on the condition of an installation,it does not,and cannot guarantee the whole of that installation is safe,that is down to who installed the system in the first place
It can indicate the presence and correct operation of safety features that are there to protect against fire and shock
By all means tell him of the problem, but beware,he may be completely innocent of no more than oversight or at worse incompetence

Edited,electrician engaged by the buyer not the op,sorry

 

[AJshep]

A example is when a bus bar has been clamped incorrectly to a Rcd or Mcb and causes what you describe

100 % agree with this !!
The blokes i worked with laughed at me when they first saw me pull out my poundshop telescopic mirror to check this.
Now they all have them.

 

[The Ghost]

I must say it is possible that the person did leave a screw loose. Sadly it is very easily done. While I know it should not be! Frankly if it were me and you contacted me I would feel it was my fault as when doing an EICR you have to tick "all terminations are tight at CU" meaning you have checked them. Had you contacted me I would have come straight around and held my hand up and repaired it with profuse apologies. Regretfully I have to say this does and has happened and I have seen good electricians do it and had to come behind them and rectify it. I have not done it so far but because I know stupid mistakes are possible I have an idiot check system in place where I go around and check everything. But I have to say I have made (none fatal!) mistakes over time which makes me double check.

 

[PEG]

Hi,if the OP has given permission for work to be done,as part of a property sale,BEFORE completion,it would be normal,to have some kind of agreement drawn up,usually by whoever is coordinating the sale.

This is because work is being undertaken,not at the owners request or in their payment. The scope of work,limits,site based alterations,etc,together with any report and invoice,is the property of the person who arranged this.

Regardless of whether or not,the spark in question,is capable/culpable/able...the fact remains,that had any subsequent damage or disaster occurred,the OP's home insurance,would get picky about the fact an unknown,tradesman was undertaking work of an un-described nature,paid and directed by other than the insured.

All sounds very glum,but i know of a similar situation,where work was allowed,by a vendor,before completion date,to "hurry up the process of moving in...",where a helpful skip loader driver,managed to accidentally lift half the 1st floor,by getting his lift arm snagged under a porch stone lintel...damage was extensive...insurance only went 10% of the way...

 

[Octopus]

Check a trade ..... Why do you ever see bad reviews?

Are they all decent tradesmen

Or

Are the bad reviews removed ?

Make up your own mind....

 

[buzzlightyear]

I agree with des It could have happened over time the question why
would he play with the RCD only to test the circuits and test the RCD to make sure that it trips off a given time .

 

[Octopus]

Is the op John or Robert?

 

[dmxtothemax]

QUOTE - [ the test and inspection is a report on the condition of an installation,it does not,and cannot guarantee the whole of that installation is safe,that is down to who installed the system in the first place.It can indicate the presence and correct operation of safety features that are there to protect against fire and shock ]

quite true !

But the average Tom Dick or Harry don't think this at all !
They assume if it passes, then everything is %100 and they will have no problems for evermore !

Don't laugh !
You know it's true !

 

[GBDamo]

If I had a pound for every MCB I'd seen that had missed a bus bar when working in CUs I'd have enough for a good meal out. As said earlier it takes two minutes to have a look and check tightness but, evidently, it doesn't always happen.

Recently I was working on a multi million pound house in Beaconsfield with four CUs off a three phase supply and a lighting board that was a joy to behold. The competence and attention to detail of the company that did this could not have been questioned it was a beautiful job. However when removing the main earth from the MET for Ze the other end came clean out of the cut out.

So the entire property had been tested and signed off with parallel paths removed or not yet connected from the MET and and no doubt passed all tests yet the main rathe had never been tightened into the DMO head.

Even the best make mistakes or don't pick up existing faults so it's difficult to write someone off on the basis of one incident.

 

[lurch]

I must say it is possible that the person did leave a screw loose. Sadly it is very easily done. While I know it should not be! Frankly if it were me and you contacted me I would feel it was my fault as when doing an EICR you have to tick "all terminations are tight at CU" meaning you have checked them. Had you contacted me I would have come straight around and held my hand up and repaired it with profuse apologies. Regretfully I have to say this does and has happened and I have seen good electricians do it and had to come behind them and rectify it. I have not done it so far but because I know stupid mistakes are possible I have an idiot check system in place where I go around and check everything. But I have to say I have made (none fatal!) mistakes over time which makes me double check.

agreed. . . honesty is best policy. show me a man who hasn't made a mistake and I'll show you a liar !

 

[telectrix]

agree with that, been married 3 times.

 

[Wilko]

I must say it is possible that the person did leave a screw loose ... I have a check system in place where I go around and check everything.

Funny you say this, I do exactly the same and I sleep better for that extra 10 minutes spent

 

[Risteard]

Funny you say this, I do exactly the same and I sleep better for that extra 10 minutes spent

In fairness the screw could have been tight even though it wasn't in contact with the busbar.

 

[aesmith]

During an EICR, would you actually loosen and reconnect between the RCD and the bus bar? I'm not sure if the OP's concern is that the fault was missed, or whether it might have been caused by the electrician.

 

[Dave Rudderham]

the trouble with check-a-trade and other such sites is you can buy good references.