Is my electrician Part P?

[mobilejake]

Hi, I have just hired an electrician who assured me he was Part P certified. However, belatedly I am checking against NEIC/NAPIT/Competent Persons Scheme and his name or company name do not appear!

He says he didnt bother joining a scheme but has the qualifications...

Can this be? and is there a way to check on a single register who is part P and who isnt?

Thanks,
J

 

[riveralt]

There is no such thing as Part P certified.
The critical thing to remember is that if the work you are commissioning falls under the requirements of the Building Regulations and you live in England or Wales then the work must be notified to your Local Authority Building Control.
Essentially there are two ways to do this.
If the electrician is a member of a competent persons scheme then he/she is allowed to notify the work to the LABC through his/her scheme after the work has been completed - you will get a Electrical Installation certificate from the electrician and a completion certificate from the scheme within 3 weeks of the work being notified.
If the electrican is not a member of a competent persons scheme then you or he must apply to the Local Authority Building Control , pay their fee, and get their authorisation BEFORE the work commences. They will then require you or the electriican to supply them with the appropriate electrical installation certificate before they will issue you with a completion certificate.
http://www.harrow.gov.uk/downloads/file/9268/building_work_replacements_and_repairs_to_your_home

 

[mobilejake]

Wow - I live in Harrow so that's a pretty lucky link!

I think to play it safe, I will change to an electrician on an approved scheme so I have more transpareny and less doubts!

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

As riveralt has mentioned with regards to part p, this a building regulations that is to be complied to, not a certificate or qualification.
If the electrician is not registered with a scheme provider that does not mean he is not competent to do the work.
But must go down the path of notification with a building controls application, that is providing the work is deemed notifiable?
This must be done prior to work starting, with normally quite a hefty fee involved!

is there a way to check on a single register who is part P and who isnt?

yes But not part p, this is a register of competent people that are registered to the domestic installer scheme and can self cert work. http://competentperson.co.uk/

 

[mobilejake]

Thanks. I appreciate that but for the average unknowledgable customer like me, I think I am best just going for someone on that competent register (he is not) and part of a scheme.

Just watched another episode of cowboy builders and traders are just terrifying!

 

[EFLImpudence]

Cowboy Builders/ Watchdog etc. is (poor) entertainment.

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

yee-haw

 

[mobilejake]

Steady, you may knock my DIY skills but not my TV choice!

How can anyone not like cowboy and watchdog!? They tackle incompetence!

 

[RF Lighting]

What you have to remember is that the people who feture in those programmes make up a tiny percentage of our industry, with most being decent honest hard working folk, but that doesn't make good telly, so it never gets reported.

 

[mobilejake]

Maybe I have just been unlucky very often. But then do cowboys agree they actually are cowboys or do they justify to themselves that they are the victims of nuisance customers...

 

[peekay53]

well keep saying it due dilgence by your contractor is alway a big plus but
all persons looking for quotes should excercise due diligence check out tradesmen check trade qualifications elec/gas/plumbing check other work done by trades ppl speak to previous clients ask about work completed on time on budget clean and tidy dont accept builders /plumbers/sparkys/gas engineer word and then come on these sites moaning especially if you say i have been "unlucky often"
well you never checked out enough so your own fault not unlucky chap just not thorough enough

peekay53

 

[peekay53]

well mobilejake just feel i need to add one more point the watchdog/cowboy builder progs we as an industry are a pretty easy target but when you consider how many people work in the industry the number of "cowboys" is small and if you practice due diligence you will not become a victim of "cowboys" .
Anyhow the point i wanted to make was when did you belatedly realise you had not asked to see his credentials was this after he started work
because you mention the word nuisance customers and funnily enough most nuisance customers become so when getting near to payday and all of a sudden are not happy with everything and anything that may get them a reduction or a new contractor well i will never go and finish a job a fellow professional has walked off unless i charge a very hefty mark up and also have written contract
peekay53

 

[mobilejake]

Moaning? Really? I wasn’t here to take a pop at anyone just, ironically, to do some due diligence...

But to answer your question. I further checked his claimed credentials before he started any work. Maybe I/others are naive in believing contractors when they say they are qualified but to lay the blame as 'our fault' is a bit much. We were not asking for it. Can you imagine a judge taking that view in a court of law!

I agree that due diligence is good. But naivety is not a crime and dishonesty and taking advantage of customers is plain wrong. A victim doesn’t stop being a victim because they were stupid. Claiming it's their own fault is a bad advert for those who are genuine.

 

[peekay53]

mobilejake i am not having a pop at anybody but if you dont check out anybody who you intend to employ to carry out work how can it not be your fault if you end up getting cowboys and by your own admission you have been unlucky very often so you do not seem to learn by your mistakes so who else can be blamed but yourself

peekay53

 

[diynoobie]

How about the cowboy? Diligence is certainly no guarantee. Not by a long way. And not everybody has friends or contacts in the trades.

My point is that all the due dilligence is just a strategy that has come about as a way to minimise the chances of getting a bad one. It does not excuse or mitigate the actions of a disreputable trader in any way.

The cowboys masquerade as the honest type and have the gift of the gab and strategies. I have taken references and still been stung, as have many I know. They are not as easy to spot as you might think. Count yourself lucky you are able to do most of your jobs yourself!