Help with a difficult customer!

[Keyur Patel]

Hello there my fellow electrician.
Need some advice about a customer who is being very difficult and annoying.
I was called out by the customer who got my number from the Niceic website for a fault in his kitchen. Cutting the long story short! His flat was a mess with many non Compliance’s so advise the customer to have a EICR done whilst we fix the fault in the kitchen. Customer was happy to have one done as the last EICR Expired in 2016. Fixed the fault in kitchen and tested the property. Sent a invoice to customer but now wants the report first before any payment has been made as he wants to discuss all non compliance in detail! When I mean detail I mean every little thing like why a metal light switch should have a earth connected, what are the regs on it and to explain the regs to a person who has no clue in electric’s. In total he has 4 C1, 7 C2, 5 C3 and many FI’s our report shows where the problem is with pictures had a verbal discussion on the C1 but being very difficult and now annoying. I haven’t got that much time and Patience to go through the whole report as it can take all day! What would you guys do?
Any info or advice Would be much appreciated.
Thanks

P.s I’m no longer a trainee and a fully qualified electrician as my status at the top says I’m a trainee

 

[Diddy]

Your customer does sound like they have potential to be a pain. BUT - If I have an mot id be a bit miffed to find a report written like our one is. Tyres c3 Emissions FI and all sorts of technical terms. Plain english is best for all concerned. I did look at some software a few years back that actually populates an explanation in the notes section to each and every c1,c2,c3 you put in. Even if it is simply a reg number then you can point to the current regs book (Give em an amazon link) and if a customer really wants to they can then read that regs book at their leisure lol .
The above scenario in op's case would have enabled him to say "Job done" to customer and proceed to payment. As soon as client asked for more info you just point them to the notes and let them cross reference whatever hey want.
It would also (if using that software i cant remember lol) add no time to the job in hand (an eicr).

Having said all of the above Id send the report in full and then chase for payment for work done including the eicr. Based on my judgement I may even decline to price for remedials. There is a fellow on one of the uk electrical pages on facebook who is basically a bona fide debt collector who chases problem clients with letters and phone calls and even court if need be and his fee's are lumped onto the clients bill. He seems to have a good success rate as a lot of the time it isn't can't pay it's wont pay and faced with a CCJ a lot of them pay up.

In 30 years the only debt i let go was £130 when i found out through friends of friends that the nice chap was infact a fairly big coke dealer and it was "best" to let it go. He eventually went down for about 8 years (served) and when he come out he got shot in his cab office. I was best well out of it for what was probably half a days work way back then.

 

[pc1966]

Without reading other folk's replies in detail, don't waste your time going through the regs, send him a link or copy of the free Best Practice Guide '#4 as it is reasonably readable and should satisfy them you did not make it up:

https://www.----------------------------/professional-resources/best-practice-guides/

 

[baldelectrician]

Dont let it go.

If you’re in the right, and they are not paying, then they have stolen time off you.
Final demands, and a solicitor letter usually does it.

Don’t come over as the soft git that will let a couple hundred slide. Word will get out.

I’m still waiting for a £300 bill from about 4 years ago. I won the case, customers wages were to be arrested… she changed jobs… covid hit….. back to the courts to get wages arrested from new employer…. She’s paying £300 plus all my solicitors fees.

I would have been inclined to put a charge on her house- you will get the money back eventually but it will cost her wellmore than £300 for a lawyer to remove the inhibition and it will hold up the house sale.
The £300 will also grow at 8% (statutory interest)

Yes, I am petty.

 

[baldelectrician]

Hello there my fellow electrician.
Need some advice about a customer who is being very difficult and annoying.
I was called out by the customer who got my number from the Niceic website for a fault in his kitchen. Cutting the long story short! His flat was a mess with many non Compliance’s so advise the customer to have a EICR done whilst we fix the fault in the kitchen. Customer was happy to have one done as the last EICR Expired in 2016. Fixed the fault in kitchen and tested the property. Sent a invoice to customer but now wants the report first before any payment has been made as he wants to discuss all non compliance in detail! When I mean detail I mean every little thing like why a metal light switch should have a earth connected, what are the regs on it and to explain the regs to a person who has no clue in electric’s. In total he has 4 C1, 7 C2, 5 C3 and many FI’s our report shows where the problem is with pictures had a verbal discussion on the C1 but being very difficult and now annoying. I haven’t got that much time and Patience to go through the whole report as it can take all day! What would you guys do?
Any info or advice Would be much appreciated.
Thanks

P.s I’m no longer a trainee and a fully qualified electrician as my status at the top says I’m a trainee

Make sure you are extremely polite and send him an electrical danger notification.

Inform him you are oblijed to do this to make him aware of the seriosbess of the install and these documents are classed as matrerial information for insurance purposes

 

[buzzlightyear]

Inform him you are oblijed to do this to make him aware of the seriosbess of the install and these documents are classed as matrerial information for insurance purposes

Where you on buckfast when you typed in
That or do you need glasses for buckfast
Specsavers are good for the eyeballs.

 

[baldelectrician]

Where you on buckfast when you typed in
That or do you need glasses for buckfast
Specsavers are good for the eyeballs.

Yep, I need specs- was trying to multi task and failed miserably. Hope the OP got the jist

 

[nicebutdim]

I would have been inclined to put a charge on her house- you will get the money back eventually but it will cost her wellmore than £300 for a lawyer to remove the inhibition and it will hold up the house sale.
The £300 will also grow at 8% (statutory interest)

Yes, I am petty.

My sister's ex father in law took this approach. Usual requests for payment, but no messing about with bad debtors - straight to having a lean placed on property. He wasn't short of money and saw no reason to waste time with a process that might result in debts being paid in small amounts each month (we don't have the option of baliffs in NI), so he was happy to play the long game - sooner or later they'd want to do something with the property which would be problematic due to that charge and would leave no option other than to clear it.