GOOD move or BAD??????

[mickytuff]

Hi all, been offered some work through Homeserve, anybody that would be kind enough to comment would be most appreciated, seem a very big company/organisation

 

[Adam W]

Apparently they're basically 'Mr Electric' but you drive a red van instead of a bright sunburst yellow one.
They're franchises so the exact particulars are down to the franchisee which will depend on which part of the country you're in.
'DurhamSparky' used to work for them; apparently the franchise he was with (wherever that was) 'wasn't everything it could have been'. I expect he'd be happy to fill you in on the details himself.

 

[DurhamSparky]

Are you buying into a franchise agreement / lease or are they using you as a subby for overflow work??

i can commment on the franchise one! (the assign you a patch which has 3 shares init...!) one contractor can have a MAX of 2 shares so to keep it fair... any work assigned is then split 2/1 between the contractors the one with the bigger share getting on paper twice as much.. "in theory"

they pay a fixed price call out for simple fixes 70+VAT that has to cover materials and your expenses!! so if a faulty socket front your laughing but on tricky wiring faults it may catch up on you...

you need to remember to draw a line on how much time you spend trying to fix before "accessing" the customers policy limit!! (most are £1k)

they key to remember is "treat it as if you were the AA"

Get the call out and respond
attempt to fix using basic tools / find fault
if a one off fault fix it there and then and wave goodby
if a more complex fault and or parts will cost more than £10 "tow it to a garage to get looked at" or in your case price up remedial work and inform home serve who will authorize the work (hopefully)
complete the work and get power back on! Bill home serve for your agreed price.

customer happy! your happy now just waut 30-60 days to get paid!!

also a key wording in the policys is that the electrical installation must meet current regs to be covered!! look into that as you will but there is plenty of scope to go to call out and refuse to attemp a fix as its past its sell by date or its been tampered with by people other than qualified sparks! and / or its in dire need of updating!! (which can be a nice side earner as teh customer will want the power back on and if the insurance electrician says it needs doing they tend to pay as they dont associate BGAS HOMESERVE etc as cowboys!)

any more info please dont hesitate to ask!


as said by novus! my last boss could have made a killing from this market but he just ran it back to front and arse about face and kept interfering TOO much with the day to day jobs..!

 

[mickytuff]

Thankyou for your detailed answer durham, it was a potential franchise offer, sounds ok if you can afford the initial 30 60 day wait for your wage, but the small print bit bout the electrics being up to standard could work in your favour if they are shoddy or bein bogged to get more money from the initial repair visit, what if you change a fuseboard what price do they pay, or do you quote them a figure, seems to me like they have a good workload/busyier than others, all your advice is greatly welcomed...........

 

[DurhamSparky]

what area mate!!!???

they normally pay abouut 400 for the box!! all depends though!! the way home serve see it is the cheapest method should be used as they are insurance company!! you have to justify the replacement i.e it was on fire not because it looked old!

 

[mickytuff]

west midlands area, thanks for your help bud, topman!!