Ripped off by cowboy

[Str82ais]

Hello all,

I just bought a flat and had an electrician install a new fuseboard, 2019 compliant, do some surface trunking to install new sockets, and prep the kitchen for renovation. Well, he turned out a “bad guy.” I could tell halfway in because he started saying that’ll cost extra to everything. His apprentice drilled six holes through the other side of the walls he was drilling through. Just to afix the surface trunking. I had chosen to do surface trunking to avoid chasing and to avoid redecorating costs. Needless to say, I am now redecorating!

By the end, it was evident he was rushing the job. Kept saying I wasn’t paying him enough and that’s what you get.

He said I would get a certificate. In the end, he rushed off in a huff and did not hand me anything. I paid him £1120. He said he was owed £250 more.

I got a new electrician today and he said he would charge £750 to “correct” the other guy’s mistakes and issue both flat and kitchen certs of compliance with regs.

What is going on? How should I have handled this better!

I am planning to live in the property, do I need to get certs at all?

Am I being ripped off? (YES!)

 

[Str82ais]

Don’t see a safety issue with 1.8m wire to boiler.

You said earlier that to avoid expense and redecoration you didn’t want anything chased.
Also if the cable isn’t chased it doesn’t need to be within zones, so the diagonal wire I don’t see an issue if there is no chance of drilling through it accidentally.

Hob directly wired without isolator. If it’s the only load on a circuit I don’t see any major safety issues other than local isolation, but yes Guidlines do state a local means of isolation.

Doesn’t sound like any major issues except fitting an isolator for hob.
Was it an existing circuit to the hob that was altered or was the hob replaced. Or is it a whole new hob circuit.

If it’s an already existing circuit that didn’t have an isolator, if it’s swapping like for like upgrade with an isolator would be advisable, but it depends on what you where quoted for instructed or wanted

* The 1.8m cable will run on floor under kitchen sink unit to cross over to the other wall where the boiler is.

* YES, I wanted to avoid chasing to avoid redecorating but he did anyway on some pretext or other and it was shoddy chasing, which he filled with a rubbery white compound. He said it’s all behind the cabinets anyway.

His apprentice drilled many holes to attach surface trunking to wall. Guess what? Six of those times he went through the wall.

* I agree with you that the diagonal thing is a strict understanding of the regs that the 2nd electrician stated so he can rack up the number of mistakes he could point to. But Nigel’s solution is a risk. It assumes I will never drill through the kitchen cabinet.

* The hob was replaced. He used the old cable feeding the old cooker to feed the new hob without an isolator. And he wanted me to plug the oven into a normal socket. 2nd electrician says that too is wrong.

* By the way the points are from my recollection. Tomorrow I will post a fuller breakdown.

* The quotation was vague and gobbledygook as far as I am concerned. It’s easy for you to say stuff in hindsight but if I was talk C++ at you, you’d say “right, excellent, whatever, can you just see to it that it’s taken care of.” Nigel spoke breezily and gave me the impression that he’s fitted hundreds of kitchens. He’s around 60. I trusted him. I am not a trained “instructor of electricians” so let’s all stop this wishy-washy nonsense of “well, it depends.” He did shoddy work and ran off. End of.

 

[Str82ais]

This is what he stated in his quote:

“Kitchen

F. Reposition 4 sockets flush & cooker switch, Replace centre light [free issue] “

He did not replace centre light for starters.

 

[Dustydazzler]

Cable laying loose under kitchen units is pretty common

Especially if it’s an existing kitchen being worked around

 

[Str82ais]

Cable laying loose under kitchen units is pretty common

Especially if it’s an existing kitchen being worked around

It is not an existing kitchen, sir. It is a bare kitchen.

The 1.8m cable has a join in it. Edit: the join is a type of bridge connector, connecting the boiler white cable with a pre-existing isolator switch cable that was dangling from the previous kitchen installation.
Water can touch this connector because it will run under the kitchen sink.

 

[Dustydazzler]

A cable laying under the units is as I say fairly common

Having a join in it isn’t ideal but again if done correctly is ok

Need to see pictures to really comment further

 

[DPG]

You never mentioned a dodgy joint in your original post.

 

[Midwest]

It is not an existing kitchen, sir. It is a bare kitchen.

The 1.8m cable has a join in it. Edit: the join is a type of bridge connector, connecting the boiler white cable with a pre-existing isolator switch cable that was dangling from the previous kitchen installation.
Water can touch this connector because it will run under the kitchen sink.

I can understand your frustration, if you feel you’ve been had over, but from your tone here, I suspect you think ‘we’ are closing ranks. Nothing further from the truth; if you puruse some threads on this forum, the guys are quite critical of each other.

Some ‘customers’ have a concept of what an electrical install should be like, and on the face of it, yours doesn’t sound as if it’s very good.

But pictures may help us make an abstract decision.

 

[telectrix]

as above.without pictures, we're guessing. description is OK up to a point, but sometimes your description may give wrong impression so something that is OK may seem bad, and vice versa. we need pics. but please not of cheesecake. spoon is already drooling.

 

[Deleted account]

If after seeing the photos and I think it’s bad workmanship or a safety issue I will say so and I will criticise him.
but I am trying to be objective and don’t want to start second guessing what may or may not be. It would be unfair on the first electrician to do so if he has done nothing wrong.

I’ve commented on what your second electrician has stated only.

Sorry if you think my comments are wishy washy nonsense.

I’m trying to give you an informed opinion on requirement in electrical installation which I presume is what you wanted.

 

[Gavin John Hyde]

Well if hes on checkatrade complain to them about him. They will take him off the site and might stop him fleecing others.

 

[Diddy]

I think what some of the guy's are saying is watch out as you might find that electrician 1 has been a little shoddy or even "followed what you asked for to the letter) albeit his apprentice drilled through wall 6 times - i mean that is careless but can usually be "fixed" pretty easily.
It is difficult to do electrical work without ANY decorating.
Like I say though the chaps are trying to make sure electrician number 2 is not just making it all up to suit a "concerned customer" with the aim of having you over for hundreds of pounds more when strictly speaking you may not need to.

 

[GeorgeCooke]

Water can touch this connector because it will run under the kitchen sink.

In that case you need a plumber. Kitchen sinks should not leak.

 

[GeorgeCooke]

Running hob cable directly without isolator.

An isolator may 'nice to have', but it is not a requirement in the regs as you can isolate at the CU.

 

[Str82ais]

I have a few videos to upload. Too big. How do you suggest I share them?

 

[Str82ais]

Kitchen design for this wall: partition 1 (60cms) free standing fridge, partition 2 (60cms) builtin oven under a normal worktop, partition 3 (60cms) hob, partition 4 (30cms) a unit, partition 5 (60cms) free standing washing machine.

Fridge socket over on left — no changes here.

Chasing in the wall leading to the box: this has been deepened and widened based on 2nd electrician’s instruction. Prior, it was half as wide and less deep. 2ndEl plans to house to cables in the widened channel.

The blue cable fed the power switch of the oven in the old kitchen.

Nigel had decided to have no use for this channel and box — wanted them filled in. Instead, he extended the blue cable to the right and hung it on a clip. Nigel repurposed it to feed the hob directly without switches intervening. The length of the cable is too short to reach the hob but Nigel thought it’ll make it just.