part P (dobbing someone in)

[pk1was]

heres one for you proffessional tradesmen.

iam niceic regd (domestic installer scheme)

somebody in my area is advertising for electrical work and under cutting me big style on fitting showers, rewires etc.

who do you report these people to when they arent part p regd, and are carrying out elec work in houses, tried the nic they just say, were a technical orginisation we dont look into anything like that speak to your local building control, which i did and they said, we aint got time to start looking for dodgy electricians.

so let me get this right, you comply with the criteria, spend a fortune on new kit, play the game, then sit on your a**e and let some cowboy under cut you

sounds like a cracking scheme to me

HELP

 

[JohnD]

If he's advertising, and clearly in business, I would have thought Trading Standards would be responsible for interfering.

?and HSE for the dead punters?

 

[crystal ball]

Do you know for certain he is not part p registered, or he may be notifying LABC and paying the fee

 

[ban-all-sheds]

tried the nic they just say, were a technical orginisation we dont look into anything like that speak to your local building control, which i did and they said, we aint got time to start looking for dodgy electricians.

How very interesting.

You could try referring them here:

http://www.niceic.org.uk/index.html (their home page)

where it says

or here http://www.niceic.org.uk/consumers/whatdo.html

or here http://www.niceic.org.uk/approved/whatdo.html

where in the second sentence of the first paragraph they can find the words:

The NICEIC's sole purpose is to protect consumers from unsafe and unsound electrical work.

Perhaps I'm reading too much into that.

Perhaps NICEIC think that the best way to ensure that the public are protected is to register anyone who's been on a 5-day training course, rather than working with TSO to identify rogue traders.

I'm sure they know best.

 

[TopTrumper]

heres one for you proffessional tradesmen.



so let me get this right, you comply with the criteria, spend a fortune on new kit, play the game, then sit on your a**e and let some cowboy under cut you


HELP

Ok he is not NICEIC, but how do you know he is a cowboy?
Tell me please do, before you got your NICEIC was you a cowboy?

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Maybe this other guy is one of the 5-day wonder instant electricians. A bit like a wild west deputy - a cowboy with a badge....

 

[megawatt]

Nothing you have said is any reason for believing the other guy is dodgy, the fact that he is able to undercut your quotes may reflect lower overheads and a desire to gain more business/market share and build a reputation.

If undercutting costs was a crime Tesco would have been sued out of business by now

Be very clear of the facts before you consider reporting anyone for bad practice or you could find yourself on the wrong end of a lawsuit

 

[pk1was]

i rang a prospective customer back who i had quoted for a shower, upgraded earth bonding and a stand alone RCD unit fiiting.

when i telephoned back which was a week later the response was i have had it fitted by somebody else now, to which i replied, can i ask why you chose the other company, she said their price was considerably lower, it was fitted for £175.00

now then when i estimated the job i noticed the earth bonding was 6mm there was no cross bonding, there was no room on the wylex rewireable fuse box, and it needed 25m of 6mm t+e.

(there was 2x5a lighting circuits though) hhhmmmm wander what happened there then.

i asked if she had been provided with a certificate and she said the installer said that she didnt need one, as there was a lot of grey areas in the new regs

she took somebody elses advice based on the cost of the job

in fact, if anyone can install showers to the above spec for £175.00 i will use you as a subby

 

[Softus]

It sounds like you don't have enough work, and I mean this in a kindly way.

What you need to do is get more custom and/or more customers. Target those people who need the job done right, and safely, and for the right price. You'll build a reputation, and a large and loyal customer base, and you'll be overrun with work and no longer have time to (a) quote and (b) chase cowboys.

There will always be people who are prepared to do a sub-standard job, or work illegally, and there will always be customers who want the false economy of employing those people.

So, stick to your principles and ignore the cowboys - they'll get what they deserve, one day, and so will their customers (when they try to sell a house to someone who knows the law).

 

[Bazdaa]

It sounds like you don't have enough work, and I mean this in a kindly way.

What you need to do is get more custom and/or more customers. Target those people who need the job done right, and safely, and for the right price. You'll build a reputation, and a large and loyal customer base, and you'll be overrun with work and no longer have time to (a) quote and (b) chase cowboys.

There will always be people who are prepared to do a sub-standard job, or work illegally, and there will always be customers who want the false economy of employing those people.

So, stick to your principles and ignore the cowboys - they'll get what they deserve, one day, and so will their customers (when they try to sell a house to someone who knows the law).

Question. If he does not quote for work, then how will he get business? I also will not pay fopr a quote. I dont care how good you are (even if you will take it off the price).

Got to say however that when I find someone good and trustworthy, that I use and recommend that person always. I do have a rule however. I wont rec them to anyone that I think is going to mess them around, as I would expect the same from the trades person.

One of my reasons for forcing myself to learn DIY, was when I had a so called plasterer turn up to remediate a bit of damp in a wall. Only for him to plaster on top of the wallpaper 8-(

Once bitten, twice shy.

Bazdaa

 

[Softus]

Question. If he does not quote for work, then how will he get business?

Er, I don't know - is this a trick question? The usual way? Advertising perhaps? Friends and family?

Got to say however that when I find someone good and trustworthy, that I use and recommend that person always. I do have a rule however. I wont rec them to anyone that I think is going to mess them around, as I would expect the same from the trades person.

That's good! I expect the same code of conduct of my customers

 

[Bazdaa]

Question. If he does not quote for work, then how will he get business?

Er, I don't know - is this a trick question? The usual way? Advertising perhaps? Friends and family?

Got to say however that when I find someone good and trustworthy, that I use and recommend that person always. I do have a rule however. I wont rec them to anyone that I think is going to mess them around, as I would expect the same from the trades person.

That's good! I expect the same code of conduct of my customers

OK, lets walk this through!

After someone has seen your ad or been recommended to you. How does the client find out how much the work should or will cost i.e. a quote.

Bazdaa

 

[baldelectrician]

I think your approach may be the reason.

I am assuming that you are good at what you do. If you try the hard sell you will just come off worst.

mail me at my website
mail addresses on this site is not permitted.

Better to reply by email rather than on an open forum

type my login name to a search engine and you will get my website, you can email me from there

 

[paulandlaura]

I have also ove the years found myself in a possition of having 20 - 30 good customers who trust what I do & charge and I don't run around loads doing quotations.

 

[baldelectrician]

I agree with paul&laura

People will usually come back to you if you are reasonable.

Got a call from a customer yesterday (Fri) who wanted a new consumer unit.

I suggested this two and a half years ago. He is going to build an extension and thinks a new consumer unit is a good idea to be starting with.