Advice: flat below me is being rewired by unqualified electrician.

[Mr. Harry]

Official Certificate Syndrome

It's a modern world ailment whereby people mistakenly believe that having a certificate actually proves something.

It proves something to the buildings insurance company.
Why did the block burn down?
Why didn’t you think to get the work certified?
If you had done it correctly then your cover would still be valid.

 

[Rockingit]

I've a degree of sympathy with the OP on this one. Whilst yes, it does smack of curtain-twitching interference, since Grenfell etc people are far more tuned into their own safety only being limited to part of a bigger community system - so the OP is right to consider that should a worse case happen he doesn't end up being the next shrimp on the BBQ.

 

[pc1966]

Given the serious nature of what might happen it would make sense for the OP to politely contact the leaseholder and building control to outline the key concern - that work is being undertaken which requires certification, but that the OP has reason to suspect may not be done correctly based on the first electrician's comments.

Now until the work has been done there is nothing but suspicion, so all it is doing is prompting them to check more carefully that the work really has been done correctly when the time comes.

 

[Zerax]

It proves something to the buildings insurance company.
Why did the block burn down?
Why didn’t you think to get the work certified?
If you had done it correctly then your cover would still be valid.

Having a certificate proves nothing to an insurance company... they just require a certificate.

A similar analogy is that of having an MOT certificate for your car. Even though it's a test of roadworthiness... the minute you drive out of the garage, you could be prosecuted for having an unroadworthy vehicle ! The law requires that your vehicle is roadworthy and that it has a current MOT certificate. They are two separate things. Having just had an MOT may help you prove that the vehicle is roadworthy, but in itself, it proves nothing !

It is for this reason, that the only people I use to do work for me, are people that I trust to do the job... regardless of what certificate they might want to issue me.

I recall many years ago having some gas work done... and I knew more about the gas regs than the fully Corgi registered plumber !

 

[Baddegg]

Having a certificate proves nothing to an insurance company... they just require a certificate.

A similar analogy is that of having an MOT certificate for your car. Even though it's a test of roadworthiness... the minute you drive out of the garage, you could be prosecuted for having an unroadworthy vehicle ! The law requires that your vehicle is roadworthy and that it has a current MOT certificate. They are two separate things. Having just had an MOT may help you prove that the vehicle is roadworthy, but in itself, it proves nothing !

It is for this reason, that the only people I use to do work for me, are people that I trust to do the job... regardless of what certificate they might want to issue me.

I recall many years ago having some gas work done... and I knew more about the gas regs than the fully Corgi registered plumber !

My postman knows more about wetpants regs than wetpants. ?