found out electrician not registered midway through rewire

[TrappedinTheWeb]

Thanks for all the replies.
Now I am confused since I was reading the Approved Document P. But that does seem to quite clearly say at 3.8 page 10


'If an installer is not a registered competent person and has not appointed a registered third-party certifier, then before work begins the installer must notify a building control body'

http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/uploads/br/BR_PDF_AD_P_2013.pdf

I would have thought the 'installer' means the electrician, though perhaps it's not binding as it's not the Regs themselves?

In any case, part of the point of hiring him was that he was holding himself out as someone who really knew the regs (and that he could give us a cert) and I would have expected, as part of the service that he advise us explicitly that he is not registered and we need to tell BC, if he was not doing that himself. He either knows the regs and ignored them, or chose not to mention what was needed in terms of certification (even though we had long discussions about that) or doesn't know the regs - and neither is great tbh.

If we do say to stop work I am not sure what is reasonable to pay him for what is done so far. has has put in the wiring and cavities for the lights and upstairs sockets already, but we still have the original circuitry working so can live in the house with it until we can get someone else, if need be.

Re whether he is part of another body other than NICEIC - Yes completely see that point. If you can tell me what registers to check I will check if he is listed under another, but he's not appearing in any I have checked so far (I wish I had done that before hiring him - lesson learned!). And the company name he gave us is listed as 'dissolved' on Companies House.

Thanks again for all the replies so far . Useful to get views from you all as we don't know how it would be from his PoV.

 

[GB.Kayak]

Thanks for all the replies.
Now I am confused since I was reading the Approved Document P. But that does seem to quite clearly say at 3.8 page 10


'If an installer is not a registered competent person and has not appointed a registered third-party certifier, then before work begins the installer must notify a building control body'

http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/uploads/br/BR_PDF_AD_P_2013.pdf

I would have thought the 'installer' means the electrician, though perhaps it's not binding as it's not the Regs themselves?

In any case, part of the point of hiring him was that he was holding himself out as someone who really knew the regs (and that he could give us a cert) and I would have expected, as part of the service that he advise us explicitly that he is not registered and we need to tell BC, if he was not doing that himself. He either knows the regs and ignored them, or chose not to mention what was needed in terms of certification (even though we had long discussions about that) or doesn't know the regs - and neither is great tbh.

If we do say to stop work I am not sure what is reasonable to pay him for what is done so far. has has put in the wiring and cavities for the lights and upstairs sockets already, but we still have the original circuitry working so can live in the house with it until we can get someone else, if need be.

Re whether he is part of another body other than NICEIC - Yes completely see that point. If you can tell me what registers to check I will check if he is listed under another, but he's not appearing in any I have checked so far (I wish I had done that before hiring him - lesson learned!). And the company name he gave us is listed as 'dissolved' on Companies House.

Thanks again for all the replies so far . Useful to get views from you all as we don't know how it would be from his PoV.

TTW, ask him which scheme he is registered with, if any. If what he has told you is proving false then perhaps the best thing to do is to put your investigations and concerns to him and if he does not have satisfactory answers to your questions then show him the door. A key question is what regulations he is working to and whether he has a copy, ask him to show you it. The answer should be BS 7671 and he should show you a book ~ A4 in size and about an inch thick with a green or yellow cover; ammendment 3, yellow cover, came out in Jan this year and installations must be in accordance with it from Jul. Even this doesn't necessarily help, because he may have a copy but not be able to interpret or use it!

 

[Tuttle]

If he's a sole trader then he wont be listed on Companies House. Is he trading as a Ltd company?

There could be an innocent explanation, like he is registered with Napit or Stroma and is trading as a sole trader, and you wont know until you ask him.

Also, you talk about regs and certs and this could be confusing as there are wiring regs and building regs and electrical installation certificates and building regulations compliance certificates. He will be able to give you an electrical installation certificate regardless of whether or not he is registered with a part P scheme, but he wont be able to give you a building regulations compliance certificate if he is not registered.

 

[Deleted member 26818]

One of the problems with the approved document, is that there are a number of requirements listed that are not statutory requirements listed in the legislation.
Although the Approved Document states the installer should contact Building Control, there is no statutory requirement for them to do so in the legislation.
In the approved document, only the parts with a green background are Statutory Requirements.

 

[Dave OCD]

Also I think this may vary by Local Authority area but if the person carrying out the work can 'demonstrate competence' - i.e. proof of qualifications/experience as well as submitting a correctly completed certificate then costs can be reduced depending on what,if any additional inspection they feel is necessary.

 

[HappyHippyDad]

Hello Trapped.

I am a 'registered' electrical installer with about 3 years experience. I am allowed to complete a full rewire and notify this work to the building authorities. I had to complete a 6 month part time course (some do just 5 weeks) and then apply and get accepted on to one of the recognised government bodies (niceic/elecsa/stroma/napit etc) which was pretty straight forward.

'Telectrix' is another member on this site who has many years experience, has completed a proper apprenticeship and I can't even compare my knowledge to his. He chooses not to be registered with one of the government bodies.

You're not going to know if your chaps' work is any good but just because he isn't registered doesn't mean it isn't. However, being registered does mean that the electrician has to have Public Liability Insurance which is some security for the homeowner. Perhaps you could ask if he has some?

Perhaps you could try and get building authorities involved now? You could also ask the electrician for some contact details of any other recent jobs he has completed and ask the homeowners about his standard of work which may give you some piece of mind?

Good luck.

 

[lecsleaford]

http://www.electricalcompetentperson.co.uk/

 

[HappyHippyDad]

Home

This register does not show members who are registered with Stroma so does not include ALL registered members.

 

[amckay]

Thanks to D Skelton for the reply, its appreciated.

I think happyhippydad has hit the nail right on the head with his statement and I couldn't have put it better myself

 

[lecsleaford]

Some Stroma members are on there