How many breeches of regs???

[jimmymac]

Hi guys, this is what i encountered this weekend...

One of my neighbours has had a shower fitted by one of his mates that 'knows all about electrics' (upon investigation i have found out that he is not a member of a scheme but is supposed to be qualified and experienced). The cable runs straight through the kitchen wall and exterior wall and up to the next floor, clipped direct, no conduit installed and no cable protection at all (see pic).

Secondly, his house is beside a public walkway so the cable is just there waiting to be damaged by a member of the public, kids play football against this wall and people park along side the wall.

Lastly, he has an old re-wireable fuse box so no RCD protection (i know this because he asked me to replace the pull cord which stopped working within two days - i politely declined)

So people, how many reg have been broken? I can count about 5 without even picking up my BGB...

 

[dingledong]

what a lot of biased whingers you are .
1 maybe the house holder is not very rich ,from the post it semme d that both people charged the same amount and he chose what he thought was the most experienced. . nothing wrong with that
2 on here there are sparkies moaning about cost of things see the elecfix post and wanting to save money
3 you cant always blame the house holder as he is not an electrician
4 going around his house and walking away seems irresponsible .i would have explained the things that were wrong changed the item and tested the system to make sure it was electrically ok
surely that would have been the best thing ! !

 

[Guitarist]

what a lot of biased whingers you are .
1 maybe the house holder is not very rich ,from the post it semme d that both people charged the same amount and he chose what he thought was the most experienced. . nothing wrong with that
2 on here there are sparkies moaning about cost of things see the elecfix post and wanting to save money
3 you cant always blame the house holder as he is not an electrician
4 going around his house and walking away seems irresponsible .i would have explained the things that were wrong changed the item and tested the system to make sure it was electrically ok
surely that would have been the best thing ! !

"Biased whingers"? The householder chose someone he knew wasn't part p registered as he thought the OP wasn't experienced enough? The job ended up being a dangerous, non-conforming botch-up which you then think someone else who didn't get the job should put right? What's the point of us getting qualified, paying out on part p assessments, test equipment, PL etc when these "mates" go around screwing peoples' homes up? Then, to put the cherry on the cake you tell us we're not entitled to moan about it....

 

[dingledong]

did the customer know the other electrician was not part p ? or like lots of my customers dont even know what part p is. also mates is some one you know so usually trust . where some one you dont know could be an absolute cowboy ( and we have all had that ) as the post said the householder went for the more experianced electrician
whats wrong with that
also if i turned down all work that had been done originally by a cowboy i'd have less work
i explain where the other person has done it wrong and usually they want it done right
ps i dont like cherry's

 

[jimmymac]

When i quoted i told him that i could do the job for £200 inc. tests and certification. I even told him that my brother , who is a very experienced gas fitter, would do the plumbing work required. He knows he should have certificates because i made this perfectly clear when i quoted and he works in the demolition trade so he is fully aware of how LABC works.

Also, how could i properly test the installation without first replacing the faulty isolator switch? If i do this i am taking some responsibilty for the installation by putting a dangerous installation into service. Last of all i told the customer that it was dangerous and his reply was....."na, it's ok cos i know it's all wired properly"

 

[Plonker 3]

You can replace the faulty switch as that is deemed maintenance and therefore you don't have to comply with the current regulations when carrying out that type of work.

 

[imago]

You don't need to be an electrician, or have any knowledge of LABC and the regs to see that an unprotected cable running on an exterior wall with public access is dangerous. It's a matter of (not-so) common sense.

4 going around his house and walking away seems irresponsible .

It would be irresponsible, but that's not what happened. The customer was given advice and information and chose to ignore it. Under those circumstances any responsible professional has no choice but to walk away. 'You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it brush it's teeth'.

.i would have explained the things that were wrong changed the item and tested the system to make sure it was electrically ok surely that would have been the best thing ! !

How would it be the best thing? "I've done the work you asked for, and ignored the more costly parts of the building regs." Not a very professional approach is it? Not to mention the insurance claim that would come your way as you had assumed responsibility for the safety and compliance of that circuit.

 

[jimmymac]

I agree that i could argue that i had replaced the isolator as maintenance work but i would still be leaving the installation unsafe and i wouldn't feel at ease with that and there's always the other point the customer didn't want to pay twice for this job so am i supposed to do the work for free? I think we'll all agree that this is not an option.

It's up to the customer now, i've told him it's unsafe and that he needs to get the original spark back to resolve the issues or i will do the work but at the same price of my original quote....i think i have been fair with him

 

[Guitarist]

I agree that i could argue that i had replaced the isolator as maintenance work but i would still be leaving the installation unsafe and i wouldn't feel at ease with that and there's always the other point the customer didn't want to pay twice for this job so am i supposed to do the work for free? I think we'll all agree that this is not an option.

It's up to the customer now, i've told him it's unsafe and that he needs to get the original spark back to resolve the issues or i will do the work but at the same price of my original quote....i think i have been fair with him

I think you have been more than fair by even giving him your time. He chose an electrician he trusted over you, case closed tbh