- Reaction score
- 3,569
A rather large kitchen/bathroom design company that we carry out electrical work for has decided to use another contractor. It was another one of those situations where they were starting to ask us to carry out dodgy work which we just weren't prepared to do. It would seem that the final straw was this last job we are half way through with them; a kitchen refurb, we've done the first fix (half of the kitchen) using the existing kitchen ring final, the circuit was left dead (obviously) for the plasterers to do their making good and one of my guys was due to second fix and T&I this week coming. Apparently the end customer has been chewing their ear off over the phone that they've been left with no power in their kitchen and the buck was passed to me! This is despite the fact that I left them with an extension lead and made sure they had working central heating and a fridge/freezer. *Cooker on seperate circuit*. I told them essentially "what does the customer expect?!" obviously I put this across in a more polite and less disparaging way, and that livening up the circuit would be dangerous and against regulation, even the law! (I didn't really fancy facing a corporate manslaughter charge). I also asked why they didn't make the customer aware of this before the job was to start?
I got an email saying that they had to get another 'electrician in' to connect some temporary plastic sockets to the circuit regardless of the fact that I had previously told them that it would be highly dangerous to do so and against both statutory and non-statutory regulation. Not only is the ring final split but the sockets would just be flapping about and not enclosed, not to mention doing so leaves live cable flapping around on the unfinished stud wall. They asked if we could finish off the work as arranged.
My response was along the lines of: "Ok, but you understand i now accept no liability for this work as you went against my professional advice and my work has been interfered with and left in a dangerous condition etc... Happy to finish and sign off as long as I can ascertain that this fella hasn't made any changes or affected the future safety of the install etc... Will accept liability again at that point...
"Don't worry" they say, this other fella is now going to complete the work to 'maintain continuity and limit damage already caused'????
This is obviously going to be their new go to guy.
It gets me thinking that I am doing something wrong as this is the third or fourth time that this type of thing has happened this year?! I know at heart I have acted professionally on every occasion but it aint half demoralising!!
Seems these days you've just got to be prepared to do anything and everything to get the work! Blimmin' annoyin' it is! That's a fairly lucrative amount of money we make annually just gone, and all because we weren't prepared to compromise on safety! Is a 'can't beat 'em join 'em attitude' really what I need to be musing over at this moment in time?! Sad that I'm even entertaining thinking about it!
Now, on to write a stiff letter. It'll be long and professionally written, but 'good riddance' will be the overriding message!
:angry_smile::angry_smile::angry_smile:
I got an email saying that they had to get another 'electrician in' to connect some temporary plastic sockets to the circuit regardless of the fact that I had previously told them that it would be highly dangerous to do so and against both statutory and non-statutory regulation. Not only is the ring final split but the sockets would just be flapping about and not enclosed, not to mention doing so leaves live cable flapping around on the unfinished stud wall. They asked if we could finish off the work as arranged.
My response was along the lines of: "Ok, but you understand i now accept no liability for this work as you went against my professional advice and my work has been interfered with and left in a dangerous condition etc... Happy to finish and sign off as long as I can ascertain that this fella hasn't made any changes or affected the future safety of the install etc... Will accept liability again at that point...
"Don't worry" they say, this other fella is now going to complete the work to 'maintain continuity and limit damage already caused'????
This is obviously going to be their new go to guy.
It gets me thinking that I am doing something wrong as this is the third or fourth time that this type of thing has happened this year?! I know at heart I have acted professionally on every occasion but it aint half demoralising!!
Seems these days you've just got to be prepared to do anything and everything to get the work! Blimmin' annoyin' it is! That's a fairly lucrative amount of money we make annually just gone, and all because we weren't prepared to compromise on safety! Is a 'can't beat 'em join 'em attitude' really what I need to be musing over at this moment in time?! Sad that I'm even entertaining thinking about it!
Now, on to write a stiff letter. It'll be long and professionally written, but 'good riddance' will be the overriding message!
:angry_smile::angry_smile::angry_smile: