Registered electrician advice please

[CaptainJack88]

Everything I was quoted was inline with other quotes I had elsewhere. The only thing is the £150 which wasn't on the quote from the boss/company itself as it would have been included.

ah this is what i feared for you: paying £150 more than the going rate I would be inclined to call him/her and explain that whilst you are grateful he arranged for his staff to work evenings to slot in with your kitchen work it was on the understanding as a registered firm with nic you would receive the appropriate documentation. You can also drop in to the conversation you understand they have a certain amount of time from when the job is completed to notify. he/she should then twigg you have seeked advice elsewhere and may not want to risk getting any calls from nic about the way he operates.
let us know how you get on.

I've just spoke to him on the phone and it got a bit awkward to be honest. As suspected, his lads aren't registered themselves, only under his business umbrella and the certificate is his business. It got a bit awkward and I know he knows, that I'm aware the £150 is by far excessive, however if I push it anymore, he can quite simply walk away and I'm in a more awkward situation in which I'll have to get the council out and pay £150 anyway!

 

[bubachuba]

I feel for you. You are paying £150 over what the job is worth (on the basis you say its now £150 more than the other quotes you obtained), although he has put himself in an awkward position by badly managing this. You have consequently spoken with nic and he knows this. Assuming you pay him £150 - what is this fee for? The electrical installation certificate for the work you have had completed needs to be completed by him (being the one registered with nic) but from what you say has had no involvement with it in any way - or has he?

 

[CaptainJack88]

I feel for you. You are paying £150 over what the job is worth (on the basis you say its now £150 more than the other quotes you obtained), although he has put himself in an awkward position by badly managing this. You have consequently spoken with nic and he knows this. Assuming you pay him £150 - what is this fee for? The electrical installation certificate for the work you have had completed needs to be completed by him (being the one registered with nic) but from what you say has had no involvement with it in any way - or has he?

Pretty much. I contacted the business, he gave me the quote, he put me in touch with his sparkies who did the work for the same price. It's not until now I've come to realise that sparkies themselves couldn't sign it off without going through the business and he was £150.

Essentially the attitude has been, "If I cant schedule the work in and I'm giving him access to my sparkies without me getting a cut, i'll charge £150 to sign it off so I make some money."

I'm fully for the whole, business has to make money kind of thing, but just wish I knew this before I accepted otherwise might have been a different story. Oh well! Suck it up, move on, learn for next time

 

[bubachuba]

Essentially the attitude has been, "If I cant schedule the work in and I'm giving him access to my sparkies without me getting a cut, i'll charge £150 to sign it off so I make some money."

It sounds like you just want this hassle over and done with (and who can blame you), but he has scheduled the work in by arranging for his staff to work in your home!

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Still think you should make as much fuss as you can

Complain in writing to NICEIC to make it official.

Ask for VAT receipts for everything which means he will at least have to account for that and hand over £30 of that fee to the taxman. You never know - there might be enough reluctance there for you to use with HMRC as "evidence" that he's engaged in VAT evasion. Who did you pay for the work? His company, or the electricians directly? Cash or cheque? Receipts for materials or not?

What makes little sense is that if his employees were prepared to work evenings and weekends then why could they not do that as employees and not moonlighters? If there's anything involving you paying the same for the job but directly to the employees and not through the books of their employer I think we can all make a guess as to how they effectively earned "overtime rates"

Even if it's only suspicions you might be able to justify a report to HMRC of systematic VAT, NI and income tax evasion by the company and its employees. I can hear the howls of outrage from those who think that it's the right of tradesmen to evade income tax, but it's not, no matter how unfair it is that the likes of Amazon and Starbucks get away with the most egregious avoidances. I can hear the howls of outrage from those who think its wrong to grass someone up, but it's not. When we have a government cutting expenditure to the point where they are causing loss of life then now is not a time for squeamishness.

You say you don't want to land his employees in a mess, which is understandable, but if they have done nothing wrong then they won't be in a mess. But if they are involved in a tax evasion scheme then they are stealing from the public and they should not get away with it.

And ATEOTD, even if HMRC investigations find nothing wrong, at least you'll have made the owner work for his £130.

 

[CaptainJack88]

Essentially the attitude has been, "If I cant schedule the work in and I'm giving him access to my sparkies without me getting a cut, i'll charge £150 to sign it off so I make some money."

It sounds like you just want this hassle over and done with (and who can blame you), but he has scheduled the work in by arranging for his staff to work in your home!

In a way, he said his lads might want to do it, asked them, they said yes and he sent me their number. Guess you could say he solicited it and I managed it.

Oh well, at least I got the cost down from the price of a new CU thanks to people here!

As for the £150, don't worry, Ill be asking for a receipt and all the relevant paperwork if he's going to charge me for it. And the NIC already know the situation, so I'll leave it up to them if they want to investigate why/if my work hasn't been notified.
I'm still getting the certificate at the end of it all so I've got everything I need to sign it off.

 

[CaptainJack88]

Qwikline I RCBOs will be rather more difficult to obtain and cost a bit more, although certainly not impossible to find.
One here: http://electricsoutdoors.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=4837

I've just heard back from Schneider and they've said the following:
The new part for RCBO will be QO132C10RCBO30F (32A) QO120C10RCBO30F (20A)
MCB QO132VSC10 - 32A SP

Totally confused now!

EDIT: Ignore that. Got hold of Schneider again. The one flameport sent was an old model number, but its the same thing.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

You need a 6A one....

 

[ban-all-sheds]

NIC already know the situation, so I'll leave it up to them if they want to investigate why/if my work hasn't been notified.

It will be notified if you pay up. That's the whole point.

I'm still getting the certificate at the end of it all so I've got everything I need to sign it off.

You will, once you've paid up and they have notified.

And then the revenge can start....

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

Sorry if this has already been covered in any previous post, as I have not read every single post/reply been given to this thread.
It sounds like the company that undertook the electrical work are a registered member of a domestic scheme?
But they want additional payment for notifying work to the value of £150.00. Even though thier scheme will only charge them around £3.00-£6.00.
As a member of a scheme they have an obligation to notify their work where applicable, they should not be adding on additional charges for this outside the original quote.
Their scheme provider will have a complaints procedure and the company should also keep a complaints log.
The company is being very unreasonable and holding you up for ransom, regarding completing the correct documents and applying/notifying the electrical work for you, is morally wrong and you must complain and make a song and a dance about it. They will be in-breach of the scheme providers policy regarding this issue.
I would also be tempted to contact trading standards/CAB over this too.

 

[bubachuba]

Sorry if this has already been covered in any previous post, as I have not read every single post/reply been given to this thread.
It sounds like the company that undertook the electrical work are a registered member of a domestic scheme?
But they want additional payment for notifying work to the value of £150.00. Even though thier scheme will only charge them around £3.00-£6.00.
As a member of a scheme they have an obligation to notify their work where applicable, they should not be adding on additional charges for this outside the original quote.
Their scheme provider will have a complaints procedure and the company should also keep a complaints log.
The company is being very unreasonable and holding you up for ransom, regarding completing the correct documents and applying/notifying the electrical work for you, is morally wrong and you must complain and make a song and a dance about it. They will be in-breach of the scheme providers policy regarding this issue.
I would also be tempted to contact trading standards/CAB over this too.

I whole heartily agree with that statement. I would be interested to hear what NIC would be prepared to do about this (if anything). I think the owner of the business has left himself wide open to grief with this which could have been avoided IMO.
Lets assume Evostance pays the £150 and receives their paperwork and then complains to NIC. It will then come to light that he has had no involvement with the installation work he has signed off to say he has. Which may mean they ask an independent to test what has been done and sign off. Not sure if they would foot the bill for this if it did happen?

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Sorry if this has already been covered in any previous post, as I have not read every single post/reply been given to this thread.

So it would seem

It sounds like the company that undertook the electrical work are a registered member of a domestic scheme?
But they want additional payment for notifying work to the value of £150.00. Even though thier scheme will only charge them around £3.00-£6.00.
As a member of a scheme they have an obligation to notify their work where applicable, they should not be adding on additional charges for this outside the original quote.

The company did not do the work.

The company is being very unreasonable and holding you up for ransom, regarding completing the correct documents and applying/notifying the electrical work for you, is morally wrong and you must complain and make a song and a dance about it. They will be in-breach of the scheme providers policy regarding this issue.

They are in breach, that's for sure, not for adding a charge for notifying but for notifying work they did not do.

I would also be tempted to contact trading standards/CAB over this too.

Well yes, but if it all comes unravelled how much will it cost Evo to get his Building Regulations completion certificate? NICEIC and TSO might make a bit of noise, but will probably do nothing in reality.

 

[bubachuba]

Well yes, but if it all comes unravelled how much will it cost Evo to get his Building Regulations completion certificate? NICEIC and TSO might make a bit of noise, but will probably do nothing in reality.

And i fear you have hit the nail on the head with this BAS.

 

[CaptainJack88]

Well yes, but if it all comes unravelled how much will it cost Evo to get his Building Regulations completion certificate? NICEIC and TSO might make a bit of noise, but will probably do nothing in reality.

And i fear you have hit the nail on the head with this BAS.

Pretty much. Council will charge £150 for the competition certificate, and if recent experience with removing my wall is anything to go by, it'll be a complete nightmare.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Council will charge £150 for the competition certificate

That's cheap.