PIR Pricing - ridiculous

[lloyd1980]

This is the problem unfortunatly, commercially ( exception of shops ) clients care about the regs being met and seek someone who can do a good job even if they may not always be the cheapest
Domesticly its a different kettle of fish, all they care about is that figure at the bottom of the estimate, they dont care about quality, its purely the cheapest person will get it, if someone offered to rewire a semi for £90 then mrs jones down the road would snap their hand off, and would assume she was getting the same job as someone whos quoted £1700. this is the nature of the beast and joe public is always searching for a bargain which is why although I dont mind house bashing there is no money to be made there at the moment if you are doing things how they should be done and not being a cowboy
I priced a rewire the other week, fella says to me look i need it as cheap as possible i can pay cash if that helps - told him it needs certifying so labc informed and that cash is more expensive to deposit than cheques etc, did him a quote to the bones making hardly anything on it and didnt hear anything from it, god knows what the fella who got it priced it at, hed prob have just changed the board socket and switch fronts and left the cable as it was
(and yes unbelevably I have come accross houses where this has been done )

 

[MvP Electrics]

only inspection i would do for £85 is a visual inspection.

I know there are some dodgy estate agents who got some dodgy electricians that would certify anything for £100. I heard some dont even need to look at the property and they can certify.

amazing stuff taking electrical inspections to a whole new level.

 

[Phil]

only inspection i would do for £85 is a visual inspection.

I know there are some dodgy estate agents who got some dodgy electricians that would certify anything for £100. I heard some dont even need to look at the property and they can certify.

amazing stuff taking electrical inspections to a whole new level.

yeh seen all that before, one day that hundred quid may not be worth the corporate manslaughter charge that may follow if something goes wrong. i for one will not put my name to something i am happy to go to sleep on when i get home.

 

[DurhamSparky]

i just took on some agent work on @ £25 for visual inspection and that consist of looking at the plastic fittings to see if any are broken, 2x loop tests and up to 6 pat tests!! THATS ALL !!!

i also check the rcd and the inner workings of the CU for any obvious signs..!! (beyond scope but it keeps me happy)

for PIR they Pay £70 quid which is not an awful lot but any faults i found i dont have to fix..!! i just note them down and i then get a second job paid hourly / up to £150 per day for labour.

i can see how certain companys do 4 a day and cheat but im too honest and i like my ability to sleep at night.

i dont mind earning £70 quid in a day as the way i see it is there is little outlay in expenses on a PIR and i book them for days when im not busy any way so it fills my book out..! (plus i like working mornings only so its handy! and bear in mind most rental houses my way are 2 up 2 down and have about 4 circuits only!! TYPICAL EX PIT ACCOMODATION... 1 light circuit 1 socket circuit , cooker and smoke!! ocassionally a shower!

even better for a visual as i got 3x in one day very close together!! all knocked off in 1 morning!


any private landlords coming my way get my full price of £50 visual and £125+ for PIR

 

[eddielarge]

i just took on some agent work on @ £25 for visual inspection and that consist of looking at the plastic fittings to see if any are broken, 2x loop tests and up to 6 pat tests!! THATS ALL !!!

i also check the rcd and the inner workings of the CU for any obvious signs..!! (beyond scope but it keeps me happy)

for PIR they Pay £70 quid which is not an awful lot but any faults i found i dont have to fix..!! i just note them down and i then get a second job paid hourly / up to £150 per day for labour.

i can see how certain companys do 4 a day and cheat but im too honest and i like my ability to sleep at night.

i dont mind earning £70 quid in a day as the way i see it is there is little outlay in expenses on a PIR and i book them for days when im not busy any way so it fills my book out..! (plus i like working mornings only so its handy! and bear in mind most rental houses my way are 2 up 2 down and have about 4 circuits only!! TYPICAL EX PIT ACCOMODATION... 1 light circuit 1 socket circuit , cooker and smoke!! ocassionally a shower!

even better for a visual as i got 3x in one day very close together!! all knocked off in 1 morning!


any private landlords coming my way get my full price of £50 visual and £125+ for PIR

The problem is your selling yourself cheap,, WHY

 

[jamie-spark]

jedisparks

that quote is cheap your doing them a favour for that price. I work for a small family company we do work for a small college and like some of the other guys say, a company that does there PAT testing also plugs a martindale into the sockets then sticks a pass sticker on and thne college thinks this is inspection and testing. We are trying to educate them but it could take a while. I think some sort of goverment body should step in to tell them whats required.

 

[DurhamSparky]

Eddie, Until i have the ability to turn down work like some sparks i have to take every thing i can,

So far i have done a few jobs for the management company and i have been lined up more, i would rather be out earning some money rather than none at all..!

like i said it fills my book and keeps cash coming in maybe not as much as i like but rather me than some body else!

 

[eddielarge]

Eddie, Until i have the ability to turn down work like some sparks i have to take every thing i can,

So far i have done a few jobs for the management company and i have been lined up more, i would rather be out earning some money rather than none at all..!

like i said it fills my book and keeps cash coming in maybe not as much as i like but rather me than some body else!

My point is that u are doing work very cheap , therefore people will tell there mates that u are cheap , and then expect similar.

where i work i am constantly competing with companies who employ cheap labour . therefore the average daily rate is forced down to compete.

If we didnt charge low just to get work then the average price would increase

 

[jedisparks]

Ok just to give you an update. I spoke to the client today and she said the letting agent told her that the their sparks would do an "EIS certificate". I just said ive never heard of one of those, but if thats all they want you to have then go for it.

She said she didnt want to risk it and rather they used me because they know me etc. and can take care fo any probs while theyre away. so ok ive got the job in the end albeit for a cheap price. But has anyone heard of an EIS certificate coz i havent?

thanks for all your replies by the way

 

[Patrick_g46]

The problem is your selling yourself cheap,, WHY

What would you say is a good price then?

 

[Phil]

eis, could be a companys own offer of a service i have heard one offering a "electrical inspection service" could be that as you know it`s not a pir most probably just an inspection but when the customer thinks they are getting the same thing for a lot less money thats where the genuine sparks loose out. glad your customers value and trust you to take your offer rather than the cheaper option customers like that are great, and plenty of good word of mouth follow up`s.

 

[martysparky]

I have not read much of this post but
They don't have to do a PIR legally do they.

sounds like a scam to me just giving there clients something that sounds important but has no merit really.
You thought PIR the client would prob think she's getting just that for £85

Scam being do over the electrician and make them look expensive so the client pays the agent £85 for next to nothing.

I would be inclined ask your customer to ask for an example cert from the agent and then you could explain the reality.

I bet the agent would not do that though.. Alarm bells for your client subsequently

Just my thoughts

 

[rocker]

Ok just to give you an update. I spoke to the client today and she said the letting agent told her that the their sparks would do an "EIS certificate". I just said ive never heard of one of those, but if thats all they want you to have then go for it.

She said she didnt want to risk it and rather they used me because they know me etc. and can take care fo any probs while theyre away. so ok ive got the job in the end albeit for a cheap price. But has anyone heard of an EIS certificate coz i havent?

thanks for all your replies by the way

I would say she probably means an EIC certificate. They will probably do a Zs, estimate an R1R2 from that, make up some RCD tripping times and write '>200' on an installation cert! Yay!

 

[jase]

We do alot of work on rented properties, when we were approached to do something similar, we gave a price and the same thing, they thought we were miles out, I then asked to see previous "Landlord certificates" and the people who currently do the testing, simply do a visual and Earth loop tests on socket circuits, and thats it.

Until people are educated on what is required, or the whole PIR system is revamped so that people know what they are paying for, this kind of thing will continue.

The beloved NICEIC those would be rulers of the universe actually sell pads of DOMESTIC VISUAL CONDITION REPORT which as we all know doesnt exsist anywhere within the regs and isnt worth the paper it`s written on as it clearly states on the back of it that it is a joke and a full PIR is a proper test, i believe the going rate for one of these is £50 so the letting agent is bunking this up to £85 and the householder sods off abroad believing the house is nice and safe when really no-one knows, A big shout out to the government and the NICEIC for ousting the cowboys with part P

 

[Johno]

It all just makes a mockery of the rules we follow