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

 

[Octopus]

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

Did you pay said sparky to do a full inspection prior to the change?

 

[Pete999]

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

If that's the signed agreement then yes I agree, otherwise?????

 

[Octopus]

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.

Disagree.

If the spark states on the estimate or quote that the Certificate will be provided once payment has been received, and the customer goes ahead on this basis then thats whats been agreed.

If said spark states nothing on the estimate / quote then I would expect the certificate to be provided with the invoice.

As for what BS 7671 suggests - thats purely guidance...

 

[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.

Ive never been challenged on this legally, but I have got my money on a job where other trades never got theirs.

 

[Pete999]

Disagree.

If the spark states on the estimate or quote that the Certificate will be provided once payment has been received, and the customer goes ahead on this basis then thats whats been agreed.

If said spark states nothing on the estimate / quote then I would expect the certificate to be provided with the invoice.

As for what BS 7671 suggests - thats purely guidance...

Agreed but a Judge would use BS7671 as a guidance aid, wouldn't He/She, but as said before if stage payments have been agreed by both parties, no arguments isthere.

Ive never been challenged on this legally, but I have got my money on a job where other trades never got theirs.

Thatsbecause other trades can't hold their client to ransom over a certificate.

 

[Deleted member 9648]

I would say that until said spark has conclusively identified the location of the fault, and corrective work has been undertaken, the job is not complete, and the bill is increasing......

This is the most common fault in houses

That would depend. Most people ask for a quote for a CU change. A lot of tosh is spouted about EICR's before a CU change. Well anyone who wants to do a free EICR in order to quote for a CU change they may not even get is welcome to.
I provide a quote clearly stating that full tests will be carried out prior to and during the job and any faults found will incur extra charges to be agreed with the client.

 

[Deleted member 26818]

Unless it is agreed the work will comply with BS7671, there’s nothing saying certification has to be provided.

 

[Deleted member 9648]

Unless it is agreed the work will comply with BS7671, there’s nothing saying certification has to be provided.

Does not have to be agreed, as it comes within part P it's a legal requirement that it complies with 7671

 

[Deleted member 26818]

As far as I am aware, there is no statutory requirement in the Building Regulations to comply with BS7671.
Guidance in the form of the Approved Document is not a statutory requirement unless identified as such.

 

[rolyberkin]

Cert after payment here, never had an issue, if it gets to court on the basis that I have not issued a certificate and on that basis payment is being withheld something has gone horribly wrong. I normally take payment prior to leaving the house by cash or card. Certification and notification follows, some of you are far too trusting! I never have my hair cut and asked the barber to send me an invoice!?

 

[Toneyz]

How many times on here have we had jobs been paid for and no certificate issued together with electrician never seen again.
What about Reg 632.1?You have been contracted to do work in compliance with BS7671.

 

[Rpa07]

How many times on here have we had jobs been paid for and no certificate issued together with electrician never seen again.
What about Reg 632.1?You have been contracted to do work in compliance with BS7671.

You are stating that as if, now the spark has been paid he/she decided not to give a certificate for work done BUT if you think about it, you’ll find that a certificate was never going to be issued - that’s the type of tradesperson they are and shouldn’t reflect on what we are discussing.

 

[Toneyz]

Just an observation on past posts on the forum from the general public when we ask them regarding the certificate and they have paid the bill with no certificate forthcoming. There is nothing wrong with stage payments. Sorry but if the electrical installation certificate is not issued the contract is not fulfilled and BS7671 is not compiled with.

 

[rolyberkin]

Just an observation on past posts on the forum from the general public when we ask them regarding the certificate and they have paid the bill with no certificate forthcoming. There is nothing wrong with stage payments. Sorry but if the electrical installation certificate is not issued the contract is not fulfilled and BS7671 is not compiled with.

I am struggling to see the link between a contract and compliance to British Standard 7671? There is not and never will be a specific link between BS7671 and completion of a contract unless it was specifically a written part of the agreed contract between the two parties. To say that if a certificate is not issued a contract is not fulfilled is simply not legally correct. There may be a non compliance of BS7671 by not issuing a certificate but this may have no bearing whatsoever on the terms of a contract. In fact payment (valuable consideration) is a fundamental part of the law of contract for which a breach (non payment) may be subject of legal action per se. In a legal situation whether the certificate was issued prior to or immediately after payment I would suggest would be seen as a minor issue, non payment though would have more of a bearing in court.

 

[Deleted member 26818]

Well, if it’s a condition of the contract, that the work complies with B7671, then failure to supply certification would mean the work does not comply with BS7671 and that particular condition has not been met.