Free safety checks, then scaring customers into having work done.

[jedisparks]

Sorry, long post..
Hi all just wanted to get a few opinions if poss.

An elderly (80s) couple round the corner from me were approached by a company who suggested they should have a "free electrical safety check". They went ahead with this. When the chap came around and did the visual only safety check he picked up on the usual sort of things that you would expect from a 30 year old installation. He then proceeded to push and sell the remedial works to the couple. The lady even asked if he would stop as it was frightening her abit with the talk of fire etc. apparently he just went on and on for ages.

Feeling like their saftey was at iminent risk they handed over a deposit for the work.

After the guy had left, they realised that they had been pushed into it and decided to cancel the work.

This is where they contacted me for a second opinion and to see what i think.

The quote they were given included; A new dual RCD board, bonding to oil, replace 6 socket outlets and replace 1 light switch. quote was just under a grand.

Im certainly not the cheapest spark around (who wants to be?) and i thought it looked more like 500 squid or there abouts (bonding to oil would have taken half hour tops). about a day and a half labour, easy.

I took a closer look at the installtion myself and did a few tests. What astonished me was that the chap who did his visual inspection did not spot that there is still quite alot of rubber cable still in use on the ring main. On his check list sheet he noted that the installation consisted of PVC cables and no mention of rubber at all. IMO theres no point upgrading the board etc if you still have rubber cabling in use, regardless of its condition, it is beyind its expected safe working life.

Anyway i suppose what im asking is;
do folks agree with the kind tactics employed by companies like this?
does anyone work for a firm like this?
Should they go ahead with a board change with the rubber cabling in use?
should i have kept my nose out of it?

Sorry for the long post.

thanks in advance for any replies.

 

[bugsy]

Quite a few companies operate like this, totally imoral but they make a lot of money. not something I could get involved with

 

[nickblake]

Firstly she wants to get in touch with the trade body who the company are regestered with , you spotted the rubber why didnt they , they say its PVC when some is rubber , the real question has it actually been tested or the form just filled in , answers to you question is no no , yes to the board change , but at the same time i would have advised the rubber be replaced as now they could have introduced a potential for inconvieniant tripping if the rubber is in poor condition , nose and out of it you have to be very carefull here ,advise the customer and get here to do the talking if you see what i mean

 

[orac77]

BBC iPlayer - Inside Out East: 17/01/2011
try this link,something similar,sort of

 

[jedisparks]

Hi orac77

I saw that program, different company although same region, dont want to mention names to be on the safe side. but yeah same kind of idea. im all for improving safety but scareing old ladies is a bit off really.

 

[J@mes]

They'll be on watchdog soon, no doubt. Disgusting way to gain business.

 

[Octopus]

Sorry, long post..
Hi all just wanted to get a few opinions if poss.

An elderly (80s) couple round the corner from me were approached by a company who suggested they should have a "free electrical safety check". They went ahead with this. When the chap came around and did the visual only safety check he picked up on the usual sort of things that you would expect from a 30 year old installation. He then proceeded to push and sell the remedial works to the couple. The lady even asked if he would stop as it was frightening her abit with the talk of fire etc. apparently he just went on and on for ages.

Feeling like their saftey was at iminent risk they handed over a deposit for the work.

After the guy had left, they realised that they had been pushed into it and decided to cancel the work.

This is where they contacted me for a second opinion and to see what i think.

The quote they were given included; A new dual RCD board, bonding to oil, replace 6 socket outlets and replace 1 light switch. quote was just under a grand.

Im certainly not the cheapest spark around (who wants to be?) and i thought it looked more like 500 squid or there abouts (bonding to oil would have taken half hour tops). about a day and a half labour, easy.

I took a closer look at the installtion myself and did a few tests. What astonished me was that the chap who did his visual inspection did not spot that there is still quite alot of rubber cable still in use on the ring main. On his check list sheet he noted that the installation consisted of PVC cables and no mention of rubber at all. IMO theres no point upgrading the board etc if you still have rubber cabling in use, regardless of its condition, it is beyind its expected safe working life.

Anyway i suppose what im asking is;
do folks agree with the kind tactics employed by companies like this?
does anyone work for a firm like this?
Should they go ahead with a board change with the rubber cabling in use?
should i have kept my nose out of it?

Sorry for the long post.

thanks in advance for any replies.

Out of interest what have you recommended they do?

 

[jedisparks]

1st off they asked if i would do any work for them. ive done a couple of callouts for them in the past, they're practically my neighbours so they TRUST me (very important to elderly folks).

I told them that they dont HAVE to do anything. but to replace the consumer unit would be an improvement, this would of course include the bonding too. I told them that the other chap didnt spot the rubber cabling and that if you want to improve the installation this should be replaced too. I would have another good look at the place before i go any further to be honest...

 

[DomCallear]

There just dirty tactics, i don't think i could ever work for a company like this.

 

[Octopus]

1st off they asked if i would do any work for them. ive done a couple of callouts for them in the past, they're practically my neighbours so they TRUST me (very important to elderly folks).

I told them that they dont HAVE to do anything. but to replace the consumer unit would be an improvement, this would of course include the bonding too. I told them that the other chap didnt spot the rubber cabling and that if you want to improve the installation this should be replaced too. I would have another good look at the place before i go any further to be honest...

A true professional, a credit to the trade

 

[oldtimer]

Remember the guy on watchdog with the £300 pendant replacement yep the national companies that include BG are sales driven the same happens in the tyre business where its "Yea we can have a look at that for you free of charge" then o dear you better get this fixed someone could get killed here.
So far I have got a couple of jobs out of these clowns where a woman had a neutral fault on her sockets and was told "this will cost hundreds" poor woman was on the phone in tears I was in her house for 1 hour problem solved. The only thing I am looking out for is the BG domestic appliances guys 3 times I have been called to 3 houses on a report that there is no earth in the kitchen sockets only to find that there is no problem so now I always ask who reported the high Zs and that I will have to charge a callout fee to check it. Yes we do not like these tactics Yes you try and give good service for a fair price. But it is the customers who should get more savvy and it is shows like watchdog who should educate people to get a second opinion.

 

[Adam W]

I reckon that's the whole motor trade, not just tyres - there's a garage near me where they claim to offer an MOT for £25 (they don't mention that your vehicle WILL fail and probably need new brakes).

A free safety check is a nice idea but obviously the company need to make some money to cover their costs. The problem comes when the likes of Matt Alright BBC rogue traders start giving people the impression a consumer unit change is a big con regardless of the condition of the old one.

 

[martysparky]

This is actually very common especially with the energy giants. Sad but true...big bullies

 

[jedisparks]

Yeah matt alright isnt really helping. In alot of cases replacing the consumer unit is a good idea. i think comes down to the way you tell people. such as suggesting various options and let them make an informed choice. rather than say, you have to have this done or else something really bad will happen, thats never going to brighten someones day.

thanks all for your feedback.

 

[Sparky Ninja]

I had to go to court as an expert witness when Southern Electric pulled this off with a 97 year old lady. She received one of those letters they have flying around with illustrations of a rewireable board and warning of all the dangers, offering free visual inspections to customers.

I was asked in as I had tested it 2 years prior. At the time I had just replaced a socket near her back door for an RCD socket, and the installation was satisfactory.

Anyways, they produced page upon page of nonsense which convinced her a rewire was the best option. They used the sizing of the main earth as the main scare tactic, it was 4mm off the head - TN-S system. No evidence of any calculations could be found regarding sizing calculations to justify their allegations.

She had a 3 bed bungalow and was invoiced a total of just under £13,000.00 on completion of the work, at which point her son contacted me.

 

[High Tower]

What was the outcome??

 

[sheriff78]

I recieved an invitation for a free visual electrical inspection if my fuse board was rewireable. They use it to scare old people and then rip them off. I also got my hands on a BG landlord electrical saftey inspection. They basically took a few earth fault loops on the easy things like cooker socket and kitchen ring, they spent less than 2 hours and charged them £120+VAT. The DB wasnt labelled so they just put circuit not found for all the circuits. They have a small print that says 'This is not an electrical test certificate and that your property should be tested regulary' These big companys should be fined for misleading customers

 

[Sparky Ninja]

What was the outcome??

Two other 'specialists' were called in and it was decided that misrepresentation was afoot. All reports (including mine) recognised that the installation was 'dated' and would need updating in the coming years. The IR readings forced me to suggest 5 years to next inspection.
So although the method of obtaining the work needed questioning, the fact the work would soon be needed meant she couldn't dispute it??
I don't know if SEC had any fines or anything as all doors got closed when that came up.
Last I heard was the son was going to take them to court. Apparently they asked her to sign permit sheets frequently, of which, the tallying up invoices were masked within?

 

[Phil]

i think its disgusting to go round scaring anyone into having work done let alone the elderly.
tbh we could all go round and find some sort of fault with most installations, the way we handle delivering the news to the home owner is a skill and especially when they are vulnerable. i don`t have any grandparents left but if i did and some scrote came round scaring them i would not be impressed. tbh i would contact t standards and watchdog myself and let them find out ho the hard sell goes and have words with them

 

[Sparky Ninja]

Just fitted as much of the jargon as I can into a single scan.

Most of gumpf is in there...