Recovering cost of call out for fixing dodgy installation

[Jamesn123]

I had an electrician install an external rotary switch for an appliance 18 months ago. I had a different electrician investigate an electrical problem tonight which led to that switch being the culprit. It wasn't properly drained nor made water tight. It seems rainwater had leaked through the screw holes attaching it to the wall causing it to short. The cost of the call out wasn't astronomical (£80) but it still stings. Am I within reason to recover the cost of the call out and remedial work from the first electrician?

Cheers

 

[conny]

Highly unlikely. You would have to prove he was responsible, and most guarantees only run for 12 months anyway.
He may also come back with the response that, if you had called him back, instead of someone else, he would have rectified it without charge.
I'd put it down to a learning experience.

 

[Jamesn123]

Thanks, yeah that's why I was unsure, and posted but couldn't articulate it. The only mitigating issue is that I couldn't have known it was the switch that he installed that was the problem - someone has to find the cause of the problem in the first place. Also I had tried to contact him to do other work (that other electricians had ended up doing) but he never answered my calls so I overlooked him to get this problem sorted.

Live and learn.

Cheers

 

[conny]

Not being able to contact him doesn't bode well for even trying to get your money back.
Best to chalk it up to experience and move forward. I presume the call out guy fitted a new switch and made it waterproof?

 

[Jamesn123]

He didn't have a switch with him last thing today so drilled a drain hole underneath for tonight and will replace it later and waterproof it.