Electrician refusing to sign off own work because of tripping RCD

[shockin]

Hi, an NICEIC registered electrician is refusing to sign off his own work because I told him about an RCD intermittently tripping. He says he's willing to come out and test the wiring but if the tripping wasn't caused by him (e.g. builder trapped a wire somewhere, faulty oven or moisture ingress) then he will charge me for inconveniencing him. Is he right to demand this?

 

[Pete999]

yes

 

[Darkwood]

To be honest (and we only have your version here) he sounds like his approach with you isn't very professional.

What did his work entail, is the tripping rcd effecting multiple or a single circuit and is this due to a board change? If this was a board change do you have existing electrics in that board and if so did he test the circuits prior to changing the board?

 

[Lister1987]

What there anyone in after him? It may be that he did the work, tested out fine (1st fix) and upon going to undertake 2nd fix notices an issue that wasn't there when he left, possibily caused by any tradesman after him, before 2nd fix.

 

[HappyHippyDad]

I would sign off all the work I did, as I would have tested it and all tests would be fine.
If you then have a tripping RCD I would offer to return to investigate and fix this. If it was tripping due to something I had done, I would not charge you. If it was not related to my work you would be charged. I would make this clear to you before doing the work

 

[Intoelectrics]

As Darkwood says, to make a fair judgement we need the whole story. An objective one, not just your own perspective. It could be that the electrician is being unreasonable, on the other hand it could be that the fault was created by other influences that do not come under his responsibility.

Have you given him the opportunity to find out the cause and accepted that if it is proved to be caused by something out of his control, he is well within in his rights to charge for the extra time/rectification?

 

[Rockingit]

My take is that a) the electrician should already have tested all the work done regardless of whether or not the actual certs have yet to be generated so therefore b) if there's now some new fault after additional work by third parties then that electrician would be aware of it. So, two choices - either electrician back-dates to when the original work was OK (not recommended) and then has to d) come back out to do a fault find / EICR / whatever, or e) does as the OP suggests he has and doesn't issue paperwork until the fault is fixed. Either way there's a chance someone's going to be getting an additional bill.

 

[MJPD29]

He is well within his rights to charge from the information we know of. If however it is something caused by him he should be repairing for free.

 

[stevethesparks]

How long ago did he install the CU. I follow up with a cert on the same day.

 

[Soi disant]

The possible charging to investigate and fix a problem created by someone else seems perfectly reasonable.

Refusing to confirm that the previous work you'd done complied with the Wiring Regulations less so.

 

[shockin]

Electrics fitted months ago and worked fine for a while. I made the mistake of not getting the cert then (I assummed it was given to my builder). I mentioned the tripping to him when it happened but I let it fly because for months it worked fine again. Now that I've asked for a cert he refuses because of the tripping. Does smack of extortion. I have feeling he won't find the fault because it's intermitant. Looks like I just have to grin and bare it and grab that cert when I can.

 

[loz2754]

If you've paid for the work your electrician did, then you've also paid for the certification. It belongs to you.

 

[Soi disant]

If you've paid for the work your electrician did, then you've also paid for the certification. It belongs to you.

Shockin - I strongly advise no more messing around with this guy.

Step 1 - write to him, certified delivery, saying he hasn't finished the job you paid him for and you want the certificate or you will be seeking a partial refund (25%?) representing the part of the work he did not complete. Maybe people here can suggest a figure - the idea is that it should not be instantly dismissible (e.g. 100%) but it should not be so small that he can rest easy about it.

Did you get a Building Regulations certificate for the electrical work? If not that's a documented cost you can add to the bill - applying for regularisation.

Step 2 - if no certificate(s) send him the "letter of intent" Letter before small claims court claim - https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/letter/letter-before-small-claims-court-claim-aSFAC8Q6Jqan

He's probably thinking he can just ignore this - deliver him a sharp wake-up call regarding that.

 

[Teddy Lop]

Certification and the tripping RCD are two separate issues, cert is a legal obligation, the RCD he should investigate as profesional courtesy but may be a chargeable extra (is it new or old wiring?)

 

[Rockingit]

Electrics fitted months ago and worked fine for a while. I made the mistake of not getting the cert then (I assummed it was given to my builder). I mentioned the tripping to him when it happened but I let it fly because for months it worked fine again. Now that I've asked for a cert he refuses because of the tripping. Does smack of extortion. I have feeling he won't find the fault because it's intermitant. Looks like I just have to grin and bare it and grab that cert when I can.

Did you contract and pay the electrician directly or was it all done through the builder?