Consumer unit upgraded - no earth continuity question?

[Ccx295]

hi all,

I had my consumer unit upgraded by an eletrician and the test on the main socket circuit revealed their is a break somewhere on the earth wire so no continuity.

The eletrician had a quick look around and roughly located where it could be (somewhere under the floorboards between certain plugs) but decided that it would be a better option to downgrade the mcb to a 16amp instead of a 32amp and if we have any tripping issues we can separate the kitchen circuit so that reduces the load on the main circuit.
We are also lucky in that a lot of the kitchen appliances already run on a separate circuit so we may get away with the 16amp anyway.

My only issue is leaving the break, he assures me that it is safe and no real gain in finding the break and money would better spent on adding a new circuit for the kitchen if it is required.

Is this the best way to go in this situation?

Thanks

 

[Ccx295]

Presumably he has already had the socket fronts off to see if all the earths were connected properly.
I would of thought that he would of checked the end to end continuity before he carried out the board change though.

I was expecting to be told about any issues before the change

 

[ruston]

I was expecting to be told about any issues before the change

So would I to be fair.

Ps. The outcome would be the same though . It would still of needed attention.

 

[telectrix]

you raise the blade, you make the change, you rearrange me till i'm sane.

 

[Pete999]

I don't think he completely tracked it down, He knew at which point the socket was showing the issue but from there he mentioned having to remove floorboards.
The only other thing he mentioned was downgrading the MCB. I guess I should get on the phone to them tomorrow to find out the complete facts

I would!!

 

[Wilko]

Hi - My preference is to find the fault and replace the cable. But if that's uneconomic then by all means use the circuit in a new configuration but I would disconnect the damaged section, as per @spinlondon in post #7. I do this because I know it's been damaged somehow and it might get worse

 

[davesparks]

A certificate IS partof the works, therfore payment should not be made until certificate has been issued, in my opinion.

If it is specified prior to commencement of the works that certificates will be issued after payment is received then he won’t get it until he pays.

I always do this with new or one-off customers and it has helped me to get the money out of non-payers

 

[Pete999]

If it is specified prior to commencement of the works that certificates will be issued after payment is received then he won’t get it until he pays.

I always do this with new or one-off customers and it has helped me to get the money out of non-payers

Agree it's away of getting payed Dave, but is it a legitimate method, more importantly is it legal to use this method of chasing payment, after all the customer could argue that, infact you haven't completed until you issue a cert, wouldn't like to argue that in a court of law, you do the work, part of that work is certification, sorry I have to disagree withholding the certificate until payment is, in my opinion a bad move, no offence intended.

 

[davesparks]

Agree it's away of getting payed Dave, but is it a legitimate method, more importantly is it legal to use this method of chasing payment, after all the customer could argue that, infact you haven't completed until you issue a cert, wouldn't like to argue that in a court of law, you do the work, part of that work is certification, sorry I have to disagree withholding the certificate until payment is, in my opinion a bad move, no offence intended.

Originally I was advised to do it by an NICEIC assessor on an annual visit when I was a qualified supervisor, and I’ve done it ever since.

I don’t see why it shouldn’t be legitimate if it is made clear in the written contract or terms and conditions before the work starts.
I don’t spring it on customers at the end of the job as a surprise, I make them fully aware before I start.

Also I include inspection, testing and issuing the certificate as a separate line on my quotes (for a nominal sum), so I can, and have on occasion, invoice for everything but this item and get the bulk of the job paid before issuing the certificate.

 

[Toneyz]

Originally I was advised to do it by an NICEIC assessor on an annual visit when I was a qualified supervisor, and I’ve done it ever since.

I don’t see why it shouldn’t be legitimate if it is made clear in the written contract or terms and conditions before the work starts.
I don’t spring it on customers at the end of the job as a surprise, I make them fully aware before I start.

Also I include inspection, testing and issuing the certificate as a separate line on my quotes (for a nominal sum), so I can, and have on occasion, invoice for everything but this item and get the bulk of the job paid before issuing the certificate.

That is completely the opposite what they said when my previous boss used to keep the cert back until payment and I think it was a question put to them in their connections magazine. So what you are saying is if I am right is they pay for the work and could pay for the cert later?

 

[Pete999]

That is completely the opposite what they said when my previous boss used to keep the cert back until payment and I think it was a question put to them in their connections magazine. So what you are saying is if I am right is they pay for the work and could pay for the cert later?

No the certificate IS part part of the work withholding the certificate until payment. is in my book wrong, like I said in my ealier post would hate to argue this point in a court of law.

 

[Toneyz]

No the certificate IS part pf the work withholding the certificate until payment. is in my book wrong, like I said in my earlier post would hate to argue this point in a court of law.

I agree with you, Pete.

 

[Pete999]

I agree with you, Pete.

Thanks Ant like an MOT not going to pay until I get a cert ludicrous in my book sorry if I have offended anyone.

 

[Rpa07]

In my mind, getting paid is part of the work - if payment is on time and not with held then a timely certificate before payment or after payment is not an issue. This is after all a two way street. We do the work and deserve to get paid. And that’s my opinion.

 

[davesparks]

No the certificate IS part part of the work withholding the certificate until payment. is in my book wrong, like I said in my ealier post would hate to argue this point in a court of law.

If you’ve got a contract which states that the certicate will be issued after receiving payment then what’s the issue?

 

[davesparks]

So what you are saying is if I am right is they pay for the work and could pay for the cert later?

No I’m saying that it’s like any other stage of the work. You get paid for each stage of the job,