No paperwork following new bathroom installation

[Hayley Roebuck]

Hi am new to forum. Just had 4.5day bathroom installation. Bathroom v good however was told on initial survey we wont need to touch your electrics - was keeping original Mira Sport shower and spotlights. Day 1 was then told "our sparky wont pass them, you need new spots, need bathroom rewire" this then led to "need new fuse board with rcd" ok. £480. Ok. We have a hotwater tank that was on a Diall timer (and worcester bosch CH only boiler) only moved in 1 month ago but worked perfectly timed at night on economy 7 tariff. Discovered to horror on thursday that timer been removed "cos its not safe" think timer fine, i still have it, but there was no trip for it on new fuseboard, something about incorrect current loop? So to stop a permanent tripping out theyve replaced timer with a fused manual on/offswitch? Wire from top of tank old and casing snapped of in places - not replaced. Ongoing argument about this but they say sparky says "its now safe". Other plumbing issues, leaking sink, stole my existing shower head replaced it with naff plastic one. No reasons given.My husband has paid them in full my question is what is safe/advisable re hot water tank and what paperwork should i have re installation of fuse board/new spots/partial bathroom rewire/extractor etc. I spoke to the sparky on Tuesday in person he was knowledgeable but they got him to complete job wen i was out on Wednesday. (I was told Thursday and had booked the day off )Bathroom company say "there is no paperwork" they came highly recommended but since found out they never issue paperwork even receipts! What should i have been given and how do i get it tested to make sure its now safe? Electrician said on Tuesday i ideally need a whole house rewire this would be "£3to5k"? It looks like its black/red cabling which is ok but been diy-ed. Family member who does commercial looked it over before the bathroom debacle started when on old fuse box said it was safe but didnt test sockets etc. Tearing hair out here, please help. They sending sparky back next week as gesture of goodwill but i dont know whether to use him/report to trading standards? I've no leverage cos husband paid thank you

 

[telectrix]

could it be that the old fuse board had no RCD??? therefore this had to be addressed when fitting new downlighters in special location???

 

[Hayley Roebuck]

could it be that the old fuse board had no RCD??? therefore this had to be addressed when fitting new downlighters in special location???

Yes and I'm not disputing that. I even raised that when they quoted (do i need a new fuseboard before you can do the bathroom) and was told categorically "we wont need to touch your electrics to do this job". Then once on job changed their minds and price increase of £1300. Its not the increase so much as they appear to have lied to secure the job?

 

[ferg]

Contractors can only advise on works with the information they have at the time.

It's not unusual to come across unexpected problems during a refurb the key word being unexpected.

In order to leave a safe and compliant job behind them additional works were required.

Again it's not unusual to decide that additional works must be completed for the job to progress. It is often the case that contractors will opt to walk away from a job if these required works cannot be completed as without them the job would not be safe or compliant.

 

[DPG]

You would have thought an experienced bathroom fitting company would have done a quick recce of the consumer unit before quoting for works being done. It should not have come as a surprise to them once things got started.

 

[ferg]

I think the issue was poor installation of the original downlights requiring partial rewire which led to the addition works.

 

[DPG]

I think the issue was poor installation of the original downlights requiring partial rewire which led to the addition works.

It was because they were doing installation work in a bathroom and then realised there was no RCD.

 

[ferg]

According to the OP the plan was to use the existing wiring but on arrival the Sparks decided, for whatever reason, the bathroom needed rewired.

We have all found little hidden treasures we were not expecting once work has started.

If I've missed something in the intervening 4 pages of posts then my apologies.

 

[DPG]

To be fair ferg you might be right. It's not entirely straightforward is it.

 

[45140]

Hayley,

I did ask you to look at the basis of Contract as "missing" something having given a quotation means the loss is potentially theirs NOT yours, hence my further question about E&OE.

If they have given you a firm quotation based on a survey then Contractually you have every right to challenge the need to pay for extra work that legitimately could/should have been identified at the time of quotation.

That is the difference between a Quotation - which is a firm price and is binding, and an Estimate which is an indication but is not binding. So in your case if they have said no need to sort out any electrics, then should they subsequently find that this is not the case you can refuse payment and they have to complete the works at the quoted price because they were given the opportunity to inspect and a competent contractor would have carried out their due diligence properly. If the have failed to do that then the loss is upon them NOT you.

This is different to a case where something unexpected had been discovered that would not have been obvious to a competent person. For example, an electrician is asked to fit metal light fittings to a 1960/70s house. From that era it is likely that there is no CPC (earth wire) in the cable. If during the work he finds that to be the case, the remedial work is entirely down to him because he should have known or made sufficient investigations prior to making a quotation. There is substantial case law on this precedent. Hence why I asked you so many questions.

 

[DefyG]

There seems to be lots of 'ifs and buts' about this but still cant work out 'why' a sparky was onsite if the project did not (as quoted in OP) involve any electrical work! Unless we are not being told the full story.