- Reaction score
- 45
Here’s one for you:
A friend of a friend asked me to assess the wiring in his recently deceased father’s house – a small bungalow in fact.
Now the Dad (‘Frank’) was a bit of a botcher so I was expecting the worst.
Consumer unit – perfect with the wiring all neatly fitted etc. Wiring for the ring finals was exemplary.
But, I found a ‘change-over switch’ with cables running into the loft. I traced the ‘Line’ cable to a Henley block hidden behind and screwed to a piece of asbestos, with the cable connected to the other side (hot side) running behind several other cables into….the top of the meter! Closer inspection revealed the seals on the meter fuse had been cut as well as the paper seals round the meter housing. So Frank had wired in a cable on the live side of the meter and used a change over switch to get himself some free power.
Bugger is though, he’d already been done for the same thing some years before. The engineer that replaced that meter said to Frank that it was tamper proof but Frank clearly took that as a personal challenge!!
I attached a summary explanation of my findings to the EICR and left it with the 'client'.
I understand that following my investigations the nefarious cable running to the output of the Henley block was removed (but not the cable connected to the meter) together with the change-over switch and about a dozen sockets connected to the output of the change-over switch….
So there are no circuits connected to the wrong side of the meter now.
Question is, what should this guy do now because the meter will need changing when the house is extended and the dodgy wiring is bound to be spotted (it’s green)?
Possible choices:
1. Deny knowing anything about it?
2. ‘Fess up and throw himself on the mercy of NORWEB/Scottish Power?
3. Do nothing at all and hope nobody notices?
4. Something else?
The friend in question reportedly said he’d happily blame his dad if ever it went to court!
A friend of a friend asked me to assess the wiring in his recently deceased father’s house – a small bungalow in fact.
Now the Dad (‘Frank’) was a bit of a botcher so I was expecting the worst.
Consumer unit – perfect with the wiring all neatly fitted etc. Wiring for the ring finals was exemplary.
But, I found a ‘change-over switch’ with cables running into the loft. I traced the ‘Line’ cable to a Henley block hidden behind and screwed to a piece of asbestos, with the cable connected to the other side (hot side) running behind several other cables into….the top of the meter! Closer inspection revealed the seals on the meter fuse had been cut as well as the paper seals round the meter housing. So Frank had wired in a cable on the live side of the meter and used a change over switch to get himself some free power.
Bugger is though, he’d already been done for the same thing some years before. The engineer that replaced that meter said to Frank that it was tamper proof but Frank clearly took that as a personal challenge!!
I attached a summary explanation of my findings to the EICR and left it with the 'client'.
I understand that following my investigations the nefarious cable running to the output of the Henley block was removed (but not the cable connected to the meter) together with the change-over switch and about a dozen sockets connected to the output of the change-over switch….
So there are no circuits connected to the wrong side of the meter now.
Question is, what should this guy do now because the meter will need changing when the house is extended and the dodgy wiring is bound to be spotted (it’s green)?
Possible choices:
1. Deny knowing anything about it?
2. ‘Fess up and throw himself on the mercy of NORWEB/Scottish Power?
3. Do nothing at all and hope nobody notices?
4. Something else?
The friend in question reportedly said he’d happily blame his dad if ever it went to court!
)
