suspect rogue trader

[reddevil79]

Hi,
My in-laws had a new consumer unit fitted a couple of years ago. They are now about to move house and the estate agent has asked for the installation certificate. Apparently the electrician did not hand one over after completing the work. He is now asking for £300 for this certificate. I know he is completely in the wrong and would like nothing more than to punch his face in. My questions are 1. What should he have handed over in the first place 2. Can he now charge for something he failed to do and 3. How can I find out if he is legitimate. Thanks for reading.

 

[ricicle]

Hopefully find his company under one of the scheme providers he was or is a member of. Report him to them if he refuses the cert. handover. Give him another chance by asking him again and stating your actions if he doesn't play ball.
He is breaching BS7671 by not giving you access to the certification. If he wasn't a member of a scheme then try threatening him by reporting to local building control.

 

[Taylortwocities]

He/she should be listed here:

www.competentperson.co.uk

Your in laws should have:

An installation certificate that states that the work done complies with BS7671 and giving details of the tests carried out (its about 4 pages)

also

he should have notified the local authority (via his registration scheme provider) that the consumer unit has been changed. This is a LEGAL REQUIREMENT. Your inlaws should have been sent a Certificate of Completion. It look like this:

Untitled

• Taylortwocities
• 11 Oct 2008
• 14

As Ricicle says, his scheme provider will sort this for you - assuming he is/was a registered electrician. If he isn't then he has broken the law and the LABC should be informed.

 

[sherlockholmes]

Getting your LABC involved may end up being expensive, you may want to consider just trying to satisfy buyers with a PIR instead. Avoid lying, but you don't have to volunteer information. The estate agent will have come across this issue many times so can probably advise on your cheapest least hassle course of action if you can't produce certification.

 

[ebee]

Might I suggest a call to your local trading standards?


Outrageous

 

[1john]

He needs £300 for the job so he can do it again properly and pay someone from a competent persons scheme a bung to sign it off. Was the guy cheap? I bet he is unqualified, uninsured and not a member or a self certification scheme.

Getting a PIR will be alot cheaper than £300 and will highlight the severety of the cowboy you seem to have had in.

 

[mikhailfaradayski]

If you are happy that the in-laws really didn't get a cert then the wire-handler who fitted the box has not done the job properly.

Im not making any accusations, but i have heard customers use the 'we didn't get the cert' angle when what they really mean is 'we've got no idea if he gave us one or not, but we can't find anything anyway, but wouldn't know one if it bit us on the nose' It's the easiest way to pass the blame elsewhere.

If he did supply a cert, but the customer has lost it, he has every right to charge for a replacement copy, but even then £300 is eye watering.

Personally, when i hand over certs, i make a little song and dance about it and tell customers to keep them safe as i charge £50 for duplicates (i've never actually done that, its just a ruse to get the customers to hang on to them)

If it all goes south, remember, keep yr hands up, chin into yr chest and jab, jab, cross, give 'em a little ropeadope then drop the bomb