Am I expensive?

[Richard Andrews]

Richard,

Where did you find you expert witness. just in case we have the opertunity to bring one in for ourselves.

To put you in the picture, the court asked the defendant to come up with three experts and then we could choose one of them and send an instruction. this was done and we sent our instructon to the court for approval but nothing was heard from the court for over 6 months. we then recieved a court order stating that a witness (that we had not chosen) had been apointed by the court! therefore acting in breach of their own previous court order!

Honestly i have never been in a situation like this before and i have totally lost faith in the coutny court system. even the judges dont read their own orders. its a joke. i would never go through this again.

Right!

An expert witness is independant - did not know you prior to being consulted, etc, etc...

A court appointed expert witness cannot be independent if they provide judgement between 2 parties - I would make an approach to Her Majesties Court Service whose remit is to deliver justice effectively and efficienly to the public... And if this is the wrong department they'll steer you on to the right path. Once your on the right path simply email your correspondence and seek for "advice".

To find your own expert witness simply do a google search for 'expert witness electrical works' and you'll have your expert witnesses to choose from.

The trouble with non-business customers is you can't claim back your expenses of winning, but at least they're tax deductable.

Richard

 

[markythesparky]

Richard,

This may seem like a silly question but i have looked at this 'experts' creditials and he is a member of many organisations ie RICS, Australian quantity surveyors, Chartered Inst of Arbitrators, Hong Kong Instit of Arbitrators,
CEDR, Expert Witness Inst, Academy of Experts, RICS expert Witness Registration Scheme, The Worship Company of Arbitrators.

But he is not M.I.E.E!

Would this make a difference? and if so why.

 

[brian.l.child]

I have lost several jobs to our friends in the EU. I just can't compete as I have insurances, qualifications and the correct tooling to do the jobs in the most health and safety way. A friend of mine in the trade, when I asked him about rates quoted, "You're an Electrician, you did your time that is what they should be paying for." How right he is. Now I noticed that you can buy self install consumer units in B&Q. What next. Of course the other gripe is the companies that are setting up as intermediaries, they get people to contact them and they send out more that four to bid for the job after having charged each a fee.

 

[Richard Burns]

I have lost several jobs to our friends in the EU. I just can't compete as I have insurances, qualifications and the correct tooling to do the jobs in the most health and safety way. A friend of mine in the trade, when I asked him about rates quoted, "You're an Electrician, you did your time that is what they should be paying for." How right he is. Now I noticed that you can buy self install consumer units in B&Q. What next. Of course the other gripe is the companies that are setting up as intermediaries, they get people to contact them and they send out more that four to bid for the job after having charged each a fee.

Check the date on the posts, this was three years ago!

 

[brian.l.child]

Sorry about that, it came up as most recent for some reason. Good to see that you are still going.

Brian

 

[jase]

Check the date on the posts, this was three years ago!

yeah, you couldnt get away with charging £70 per socket it todaays economic climate!!!

 

[MarkieSparkie]

Richard,

Where did you find you expert witness. just in case we have the opertunity to bring one in for ourselves. ...

John Peckham of Astute Technical Services is well respected in the industry as a County and High Court Expert Witness in all electrical matters.
Astute Technical Services are professional independent electrical engineers

 

[krellaw]

Going to get worse for the PAT Testers With this being sent out..
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is urging businesses to stop undertaking unnecessary electrical safety tests, which is costing low-risk businesses an estimated £30 million a year.
Following feedback from a government-commissioned report into the current state of health and safety legislation, the HSE has launched a revised guide on portable appliance testing.
The HSE claims that misleading advice and advertising by other businesses that offer electrical testing services are the main causes of the problem. It says that the law only requires electrical equipment to be maintained to prevent danger. It does not state that every item has to be tested, nor does it state how often the tests need to be performed.
True or are the back tracking.

 

[Midwest]

I guess something as mundane as a socket doesn't really float the boat for the client. It’s like getting your car serviced, your cars comes out of the garage with no noticeable difference. Installing lighting for example, gives the customer that the feel good effect. My wife once asked me to fit a new socket to site a new lampshade or something similar. When she saw me knocking the wall about to get a new cable there, she nearly had a fit. She didn't realize the socket needed a new cable (hope she doesn't read this!), thought it just was screwed to the wall. People just don’t concieve the effect some minor things take.
Everybody wants things for the cheapest possible price.How many of us Google such & such, to get that last few pounds off our latest new toy/iphone/ipad etc.
Electrics have always been that, a neccity to make all those beautiful toys to work, flatscreens, power showers, playstations, bread makers etc, etc. Perhaps someone will invent a new power source!
When you still have the DIY stores selling CU’s, what chance have you got with pricing for a single socket?

 

[Sparky198421]

Been reading through this, its scary how much hourly rate varies £15 ph i would have no choice but to go back working for someone on that rate! The price for the socket was spot on, the amount of calls i get "my last electrician charged me half that" i think you can guess my reply :/

 

[Farmelectrics]

No that's not dear stick to your price smile and walk away

 

[KFH]

If you don't loose some you are not charging enough. If you loose them all you are charging too much.

 

[oldtimer]

Yep I tend to agree I give a cost and then I get What!!!! then I will get back to you then I do a job and I get told well a good service at a good price so why is that well not all customers are the same I am finding this out even more so as I stepped in for a guy who was semi retired and doing the job to keep busy only problem was he was cheap and he was busy so when he returned I thought great no more hassle then he retired so when his customers call he puts them on to me only thing is they expect to pay what they payed him 3 years ago so when they call I tend to take a sharp intake of breath be polite then say to myself some you win some you lose.

Also remember some customers will scream and shout at the cost then think nothing of spending £500 to let a garage give their pride and joy a wipe down with a oily rag and then convince them that it was a state of the art service.