The NIC v Elecsa, Napit and the rest...

[dixon9]

Question to all you Part-Ps out there;

Those of you who have changed from the NIC to one of the other 4 - or from the other 4 to the NIC - and whose majority of work is house bashing, have or did you notice any increase/decrease in business?

Is it worth the extra money to go over to what I´ve heard called "The Dark Side" ?

 

[sparks1234]

I thought they were similar money

 

[dixon9]

I understood you had to pay extra if you want to do PIR´s on their forms? (for example).

 

[sparks1234]

Can you clarify that
are you saying the NIC charge extra?

 

[dixon9]

I was under the impression that for testing and inspection you have to pay extra - as another module so to speak....I could be wrong.

Anyway...

Lets say there is no extra cost. Have you noticed any increase/decrease in business as I phrased the question above?

 

[sparks1234]

To be honest, I registered with Elecsa when part P came out and have been very happy with them. Last christmas I looked at going in the ECA or NIC for the full approval. The ECA own Elecsa and as such you get automatic membership to the ECA without inspection for 1 year so the choice was obvious.
I have now found that as we do schools etc, many authorities do not recognise the ECA as the same as the NIC, so I have now applied to go in the NIC.
The good thing about the NIC is that if you have the full approval you also get part P thrown in. with the ECA you still have be approved by Elecsa.
I do know that many councils are the same when it comes to part P, they will only accept NIC domestic installers.
Sorry I cant be of more help but hope it helps a bit

 

[dixon9]

Can you clarify that
are you saying the NIC charge extra?

You know what Sparks... Maybe I´m thinking on the difference between NIC DI and full scope - compared to the other part p bodies.

To be honest, I registered with Elecsa when part P came out and have been very happy with them. Last christmas I looked at going in the ECA or NIC for the full approval. The ECA own Elecsa and as such you get automatic membership to the ECA without inspection for 1 year so the choice was obvious.
I have now found that as we do schools etc, many authorities do not recognise the ECA as the same as the NIC, so I have now applied to go in the NIC.
The good thing about the NIC is that if you have the full approval you also get part P thrown in. with the ECA you still have be approved by Elecsa.
I do know that many councils are the same when it comes to part P, they will only accept NIC domestic installers.
Sorry I cant be of more help but hope it helps a bit

That is useful to know.

So the majority difference you have noticed is when you do non-domestic work (i.e Schools)? As for householders, you don´t find them asking you "Are you with the NIC?"

And that´s another point...

To register with the NIC your company has to be at least 1 year old I believe.

 

[sparks1234]

If I do work in a house as a rewire for the client and not say an architect, they have never even heard of part P let alone choose NIC or Elecsa.

Its usually architects that are a bit blinkered and just put NIC on their spec sheets without even considering ECA

You know what Sparks... Maybe I´m thinking on the difference between NIC DI and full scope - compared to the other part p bodies.



That is useful to know.

So the majority difference you have noticed is when you do non-domestic work (i.e Schools)? As for householders, you don´t find them asking you "Are you with the NIC?"

And that´s another point...

To register with the NIC your company has to be at least 1 year old I believe.

I thought it was 6 months but really am not sure, their website will tell you

 

[dixon9]

If I do work in a house as a rewire for the client and not say an architect, they have never even heard of part P let alone choose NIC or Elecsa.

Its usually architects that are a bit blinkered and just put NIC on their spec sheets without even considering ECA

I thought it was 6 months but really am not sure, their website will tell you

I am just getting back into the trade after a long absence. Been doing to odd private mainly commercial job here and there and some domestic stuff (non-notifiable) and one of the things that has pleased me is that quite a few have asked me if I was part-p. It gives me the impression that the "message" is starting to get through.

 

[Des 56]

The vast majority of the general public has never heard of or are aware of part p .notifiable work or certification
So if you rely on domestic private work then it makes not the slightest difference to joe public who you are registered with and most wouldn't care or know the difference between someone registered and someone who ignores it all

The NIC are by far the most requested and sometimes exclusively requested scheme for commercial and industrial installations,given that most of this work is done by large or largeish firms it doesnt affect the common one man band spark much if any
The nic domestic installer has to be assessed and pay an extra fee for pirs because they do not require the 2391 they are not covered for commercial and industrial work
Napit permit the full scope spark to do pirs,industrial and commercial (PIRs require public indemnity insurane)
The ECA has the potential to grind these schemes into the dust if they were to be more concerned with installation contracting,but unfortunately their reputation amongst work providors is getting less requested as the years go on

 

[dixon9]

It seems that through years of focused marketing the NIC have given many the impression that they are the ONLY part-p authority and have certainly seemed to have built up almost a monoply with LA´s.

But what´s the solution for the others to be equally recognised? Better or at least some marketing effort from themselves? More sparks joing the others instead of the NIC? (But then that might require some "bottle" - and it seems obvious that if you want more of a chance to earn a crust then with the NIC you have an advantage - therefore perpetuating NICs dominance).

 

[mazdaman]

Sparks 1234

Same here, I am with ELECSA but am thinking of going to NICEIC as I often see, especially from estate agents and landlords, requesting that electrical contractors must be NICEIC approved. I am not saying they are any better than ELECSA, just they are more popular and do better marketing. I have had some trouble explaining to people that I am registered with ELECSA which is the same as NICEIC but they take some convincing and I have not got the work as a result. I have no complaints with ELECSA and have found them very helpful but its marketing at the end of the day that wins and sometimes it's worth paying that little bit extra.

 

[sparks1234]

Sparks 1234

Same here, I am with ELECSA but am thinking of going to NICEIC as I often see, especially from estate agents and landlords, requesting that electrical contractors must be NICEIC approved. I am not saying they are any better than ELECSA, just they are more popular and do better marketing. I have had some trouble explaining to people that I am registered with ELECSA which is the same as NICEIC but they take some convincing and I have not got the work as a result. I have no complaints with ELECSA and have found them very helpful but its marketing at the end of the day that wins and sometimes it's worth paying that little bit extra.

I am really going to NIC due to the full approval bit rather than domestic, not looking forward to it as Elecsa and ECA have been so good and I have been with a NIC registered company before

 

[The Truth]

i left NIC...they only care about the consumer and always seem to be finding ways to charge the contractor more cash.. yeah most people 'know' niceic but every contractor ' in the know' knows that it dosent matter in the slightest. i rang there technical helpline once.....

and the biggest con of all was that even if you were full ECA or NIC.....you had to pay AGAIN for domestic installer status!! ...( the exact same domestic assesment ) ....what a joke....its probably the same now.

ECA all the way