Just gone along the road to screwfix to pick up a click and collect order for tomorrow before they close. Place usually like a ghost town this time of night.
However, There is a lady at the counter with a pile of stuff including a small consumer unit, a box of sockets, switches etc and some twin and earth. She is having a conversation with the guy behind the counter who is being more than helpful in selling her all the bits and discussing her planned job.
She intends to wire up her shed with power and lights now spring is coming and is doing it herself. I know most of the staff in the store and he says to her you need somebody like him (me), she says how much would it be? I said ball park figure depending on cable run and the condition of existing stuff, clipped direct/conduit? etc.. £500+ if it involves a long supply cable and rod.
She said thats far too much and she is going to carry on doing it herself! I said I hope you are going to notify it and test it afterwards. Her response was a classic... My partner will help if i get stuck!! Is he an electrician? No hes a teacher! , what about yourself? Oh, I am a community mental health nurse!
Surely there comes a point with these stores where they have to stop people being a risk to themselves and others in buying things they dont really understand... She might have read a book and watched youtube but is not competent to do the job.
I have long thought that certain stuff should be restricted and only available to people in the trade and qualified or accredited somehow.
