I Was Just Wondering What You Thought About This?

[OnlQQker]

I was speaking to an electrician last year.
He told me he'd gone round to a job where bell wire had been used to power sockets, the consumer unit had no cover on it and the cables showed signs of deteriorating.

He told me because they didn't want to pay to have it all put right he just walked away. I'm not an electrician so I wondered if this was/is the right thing to do.
I know Gas people will turn off the supply but I guess it's not that easy with electrics apart from pulling the main fuse but people will bridge that in reality.

Just wondering what others would do?

 

[Pete999]

I was speaking to an electrician last year.
He told me he'd gone round to a job where bell wire had been used to power sockets, the consumer unit had no cover on it and the cables showed signs of deteriorating.

He told me because they didn't want to pay to have it all put right he just walked away. I'm not an electrician so I wondered if this was/is the right thing to do.
I know Gas people will turn off the supply but I guess it's not that easy with electrics apart from pulling the main fuse but people will bridge that in reality.

Just wondering what others would do?

If it was that bad I would inform the owner of the best option, and my Professional mind would say Isolate, and this is what I would advise, as the last person on the scene it would be my responsibility, so I would advise that it was, in the realms of safety to Isolate, better that than some poor Person or House getting destroyd, that's my take some snowflake options may differ, better safe than dead or burnt down, wonder what the insurance people would say, until the Brown stuff hit the fan??????, you tell me.

 

[littlespark]

Best thing any professional would do would be to isolate the affected circuits, explain the dangers of being reenergised and leave it in the hands of the homeowner.
A simple disclaimer signed by the homeowner to say what was done.

 

[StephenRowley]

The gas guys have a bit more legal backing to isolate supplies than sparkies do.

Leave breaker off affected circuits/hole board advise customers preferably in writing and walk away.

 

[davesparks]

I was speaking to an electrician last year.
He told me he'd gone round to a job where bell wire had been used to power sockets, the consumer unit had no cover on it and the cables showed signs of deteriorating.

He told me because they didn't want to pay to have it all put right he just walked away. I'm not an electrician so I wondered if this was/is the right thing to do.
I know Gas people will turn off the supply but I guess it's not that easy with electrics apart from pulling the main fuse but people will bridge that in reality.

Just wondering what others would do?

If it is a private dwelling and the owner refuses to have it made safe or corrected then an electrician cannot force them to have anything done, anyone with any sense will do there best to explain the dangers and importance of having it our right and make a written record to cover themselves if the worst happens.
There is no law preventing you from living in a dangerous house by your own choice or preventing you from putting your own life in danger. If there are children or vulnerable people living in the house who are being put in danger then you may be able to raise your concerns with social services or tbe police.

If it is a private rented property and the landlord is refusing to carry out necessary repairs to make it safe then the local authority can step in (I think its the planning department/building control who would deal with it)
I can't rember the full details but in that situation the tenant does not have to pay full rent whilst the property is unsafe, and they cannot be evicted for a period of at least 6 months after a complaint to the local authority is upheld.
The tenant can get out of a rental contract early if the house becomes unsafe to live in but a landlord does not have to provide alternative accommodation whilst the property is unsafe.

If it is a non-domestic installation then the health and safety executive would be the first port of call to report the dangerous situation.

It is physically just as easy to turn off the supply with electrics as it is with gas however the law is very different. With gas the law requires that the installation be switched off of it is unsafe, with electrics there is no such law.

 

[Julie.]

I have come across this a few times over the years, twice with my own houses!!

There is nothing you can really do, in most cases I found this sort of thing whilst fixing something, so it became part of the fix; in others you know full well that once you leave, the power goes back on!

I just leave with a copy of my recommendations, which includes "the x circuit was switched off, with recommendation not to re-energise until the xx is replaced" or similar - then you have a defence if there is an issue - you left it safe!

It's one of those things though, from our point of view we all have kittens when we see that sort of thing, but to the homeowner "if it's been like that for x years, what's the issue?"

 

[OnlQQker]

The electrician I'm talking about here ended up rewiring some offices that was turned into flats, as I was running the job I spoke to him quite a lot, he seemed to know his stuff and made an amazing job of fitting the consumer unit which I wish I had took a photo of as it was one of the neatest wiring jobs I had ever seen. I guess this is what surprised me the most about what he told me about walking off the job, but then I did not know what the procedure would be anyway in the case of walking into somewhere and the wiring being deadly as well as the people not wanting to pay to put it straight!
I know with Gas they shut it off in such a way it would not be that easy to turn it back on again, as well as that they put a note on it warning people it is an offence to turn it back on again. I really would of thought the same thing would apply to electrical work, after all in my eyes it is just as deadly, if not even more so in some cases!

This is a great forum by the way and I'm already becoming addicted to it, some amazing people with vast knowledge, I only found it because I was doing a Google search on electrical questions and all the answers kept leading me back here. I guess this is where the best electricians hang out

 

[littlespark]

I guess this is where the best electricians hang out

Of course we do. Cheers!

 

[telectrix]

Of course I do. Cheers!

corrected that for you. no point in hiding light under a bush.

 

[Wilko]

Interestingly, I understand the local Distribution Network Operator is the one who has legal backing to de-energise a dangerous installation. I’ve not heard of this happening though (?).

 

[DefyG]

A simple disclaimer signed by the homeowner to say what was done.

Tried this once but owner refused to sign.
I sent them an email (as proof) explaining the situation and why I refused to re-energise a particular circuit. Never heard any more but feel covered my a....e by covering email.