Hi guys, I have an update. So the first electrician who failed the EICR never came back with my request to put the issues in writing. Surprise surprise!
I had someone else there today and has come back stating that only the two lights in the shower room need changing and that I definitely didn't require having all 20 lights in the flat changed as advised by the first guy who came. So, obviously I'm very happy about that and very glad I questioned the first report.
However I now need more advice as the electrician who conducted the check today has quoted 1-1.5hrs at £100 per hour plus cost of lights.
This seems a bit steep to me but I may be out of touch.
If it is steep and I get someone else to do the job would they amend the report from a fail to a pass. I'm not sure how this works.
£100 an hour to change shower lights does sound steep to me, outside of Central London maybe.
A lot of it is dependent on area and workload of course though - and a lot of firms will find a small job less convenient than a larger job, since it makes scheduling work harder. Whether they are VAT registered may also have an impact of course.
In terms of the report, no-one apart from the original contractor can 'amend the report from a fail to a pass'
However, that isn't what is needed by the legislation (though it's what many estate agents and letting agencies seem to think)
A report that is "unsatisfactory" merely means that there is remedial work that must be completed (specified in the legislation as within 30 days, though with no real basis for that other than picking a number).
As the landlord, you must show that the remedial work has been completed. How is not specified, though invoices/written documentation is the easiest method. (in theory there is nothing stopping a single hand written sheet of paper saying 'all remedial works are complete' from being appended - although of course that looks less than professional and would be easily open to question from anyone in future)
The combination of the original document plus the evidence of remedial work, is your proof that the electrical installation is as required in the regulations.
There is then no further need for a retest until the next 5 year period. There is
no requirement to obtain a new report that states 'satisfactory' on the front.
The issue with this is that many people know only to look for the 'satisfactory' box on the certificate and never look any further.
The wrinkle comes where the remedial works are not clearly specified, or indeed are questionable as in your case.
The ideal outcome would be to have a new report done by someone who knows what they are doing - after the lights have been done, so you get a nice simple 'satisfactory'.
One of the issues with the legislation is that the legal responsibility falls upon the Landlord to carry out suitable testing.
If there was an incident and the report you have was investigated by any expert body, I think there are enough issues with it to raise serious questions about its validity as a representation of your installation.
That
should not be your issue of course, since you used a supposedly competent person. And it's likely that none of the errors within the report are themselves 'dangerous' in terms of missing red flags that should have been picked up. But it may be something to consider.
An alternative that I think would be acceptable under the regulations, would be for another competent electrician to carry out the required changes (lights in shower) and then issue documentation that states that all necessary remedial work has been carried out. Whether you can find one willing to do that without themselves carrying out further testing is another matter.
Apologies that there is not a 'neater' solution in this case.
IMO the best outcome would be that you pay nothing for the first report and obtain a better quality report from someone who can proofread and knows how to fill in certificates.
