British gas wanna be sparkys

[sedgy34]

These people are going round the country i guess issuing danger notice stickers cause they dont know what they are doing but a warning sticker cover there arses
i had a db change when 16 edition was in on a tt system i installed a 100ma main rcd switch (time delay)on a split load board with a 30ma rcd (as you would have done before the 17th edition came out) tested fine certified it job done!!! 17th edition comes out customer got installation insured with BG they come out its not to 17 edition its dangerous blah blah blah so my customer calls me after 12 months or so angrily cause of BG,s actions so i pop over to see his report and my question was having read his report DID THIS GUY KNOW WHAT HE WAS LOOKING AT??? I CALLED HIS MANAGER TO MAKE COMPLAINT AND THE RESPONSE WAS I QUOTE"" IF THE ENGINEER HAS BEEN TO A PROPERTY AND NOTED THINGS ON HIS REPORT ITS CORRECT WHAT HES SAYING.
at that stage i was wishing i was in a cartoon so i could have popped out his phone and headbutted this idiot i couldnt pursue this matter as this was the guy who you have to complain to.
this guy was saying they need new db

THEY SHOULD BE ON WATCHDOG/ROGUETRADERS

 

[oldtimer]

I think we are all in agreement here when it comes to BG then you have to count to 10 before you say anything . Dont get me wrong yes its nice for one of their customers to give me a ring but all I am doing now is being the QA man for BG because they keep getting it wrong and I am not getting paid so as I said the next "I have had the BG man in and he says I have no earth can you come and check then it will cost.

 

[jay sean]

you your self then know what us proper sparkys are talking about

Iam an electrician

 

[sedgy34]

Bet u was only qualified spark working there then

 

[jay sean]

no,had been out of my time about 6 years after working for a commercial nationwide company- EIC

 

[Snapester]

Haha this is funny reading this i have had 3 callouts from a customer whom are insured with BG, first off there is no bonding CONDEMNED! I go out look at report then point the customer to the 10mm bonding to the nearest point on their water pipe as its plastered down the wall and cannot be bonded close to the tap!
Then a fault on lights they come out disconnected all lighting circuit!! And left because they said they saw mouse droppings and its health and safety so they cannot work until mice are gone! Left customer without lights, they come back 2 weeks later and say needs rewiring as there is a fault on the circuit???
I go out and connect up what they have disconnected all over the place and test it and voila all is working fine had no issues since????

What the hell are they playing at!

 

[sedgy34]

EXACTLY that's why i posted this thread not just in my area it's everywhere
We hard working sparkys wouldn't get away with doing what they do so why should them get away with it

 

[oldtimer]

EXACTLY that's why i posted this thread not just in my area it's everywhere
We hard working sparkys wouldn't get away with doing what they do so why should them get away with it

They get away with it because if anything goes wrong they have bigger lawers than anyone else and as I said they are like the AA basically a sales driven hungry beast. When I was called out to a house I asked did he check other sockets for no earth when I got there the customer had called him and he scurried back to..................test other sockets so whenI came in I goy my 1553 out and he had some Socket&See unit with red and green LEDs.

Why the AA you say well if you break down they will take you to a garage what theydo not tell you is the used to own it and they also get money from them for making them an AA approved garage

 

[Guest111]

Exactly the same with BT, last year we had a new line connected in work and the lad who came out was an old pal,anyway he was telling me how bad it had gone lately and showed me his laptop which they use for the jobs.As you enter the info about the job when you come to the bottom of nearly every page it asks "can anything be charged to customer?" he said they tell you when fault finding to try and find things they can charge for.Recently we had a fault on one line the cable is a 10 pair underground cable going to a dp in cellar, we have 2 lines and broadband speed on 1 is 10 meg,on 2nd it only 3 meg.So boss rings BT and gets all the usual try this try that,explains we,ve done everything and want an engineer out,they then start with all this about call out fees if it,s not their fault so boss tells them that I worked at BT for a spell and know its not our fault, total change of attitude.I have had people call me as they are frightened to get BT out for fear of a large bill.when I find it,s BT,s fault I usually ring up for them especially if it an oap.Seems these company,s are all the same now grab as much cash as you can,something should be done!

 

[GLENNSPARK]

EXACTLY that's why i posted this thread not just in my area it's everywhere
We hard working sparkys wouldn't get away with doing what they do so why should them get away with it

look, this isn`t just dave in the pub...its a nationally recognised company...a `household name` if you like....theres no hiding place for em.....

 

[GLENNSPARK]

a suspicion of incompetence....a conjecture...thats all it takes to knock public confidence in such an organisation......

 

[GLENNSPARK]

Exactly the same with BT, last year we had a new line connected in work and the lad who came out was an old pal,anyway he was telling me how bad it had gone lately and showed me his laptop which they use for the jobs.As you enter the info about the job when you come to the bottom of nearly every page it asks "can anything be charged to customer?" he said they tell you when fault finding to try and find things they can charge for.Recently we had a fault on one line the cable is a 10 pair underground cable going to a dp in cellar, we have 2 lines and broadband speed on 1 is 10 meg,on 2nd it only 3 meg.So boss rings BT and gets all the usual try this try that,explains we,ve done everything and want an engineer out,they then start with all this about call out fees if it,s not their fault so boss tells them that I worked at BT for a spell and know its not our fault, total change of attitude.I have had people call me as they are frightened to get BT out for fear of a large bill.when I find it,s BT,s fault I usually ring up for them especially if it an oap.Seems these company,s are all the same now grab as much cash as you can,something should be done!

well are DNOs any better?....

 

[telectrix]

marginally.

 

[Guest55]

The bigger the organisation , the more ruthless the practices.
BG play on their respectable brand image with the public to punt for over-priced
work with scare tactics thrown in for good measure.
Their service when they provided my gas was truly shocking , made up bills and charges galore , not in the least surprised at their rubbish attempts at domestic electrical repairs.

 

[GLENNSPARK]

The bigger the organisation , the more ruthless the practices.
BG play on their respectable brand image with the public to punt for over-priced
work with scare tactics thrown in for good measure.
Their service when they provided my gas was truly shocking , made up bills and charges galore , not in the least surprised at their rubbish attempts at domestic electrical repairs.

this is a sharp, pressure selling practice in the old tradition....create the illusion of there being a problem in `your world`..then present yourself as the solution....throw in a few `scare tactics` for good measure...just to reinforce the message......its the same act of piracy that any old time windows n doors sellers ever practiced...

 

[Guest111]

this is a sharp, pressure selling practice in the old tradition....create the illusion of there being a problem in `your world`..then present yourself as the solution....throw in a few `scare tactics` for good measure...just to reinforce the message......its the same act of piracy that any old time windows n doors sellers ever practiced...

agree Glenn, they rely on the thing that a lot of people still see them as they were before denationalisation, BG say so so it must be right,well I disagree these days they are more often wong than right.A quick example, here I am having downed 10 vodka and cokes when phone rings a friend has had new service main fitted and BG find a leak on her house so can I help.Yes I know I,m not gas safe regd but I know my stuff so she picks me up and I go round. took me 10 mins to find a leaking compression fitting which had been done by a BG employee 6 months ago, no sealant on joint worse still if he had done a drop test after doing repair he would have known it was leaking. I rest my case ok i,m not regd for gas but doesnt that make it worse for then when a so called untrained person finds a leak left by a so called regd gas fitter?

 

[oldtimer]

Well Well my gas fire broke down today so I had a chat the the BG or SG guy as we say up here and we got talking about testing for no earths and I mentioned that I have had 4 calls due to this so he explained that when they change something electrical they have to do a Zs test I highlighted tha they used a LED meter ie pass or fail yes he said here it is a Socket & See LED ZS tester I asked why is it a major problem when you get a red light well we have to issue a safety notice to inform the customer there is a problem but he said they are finding more of these problems.

I said do you want my view he said ok well you live in a flat or in a block of 4 terraced houses so Transco are replacing the metal pipework with plastic and if you dont have an earth and the guy next door does and both of you have bonding cables attached to their gas & water pipework thenyou could have a situation of what I call a shared or borrowed earth which goes undetected until the supply pipework is replaced with plastic. So I said do me a favour next time you test a socket then test another random one in the property just to confirm it is the whole house and not the actual socket being tested.

 

[GLENNSPARK]

Well Well my gas fire broke down today so I had a chat the the BG or SG guy as we say up here and we got talking about testing for no earths and I mentioned that I have had 4 calls due to this so he explained that when they change something electrical they have to do a Zs test I highlighted tha they used a LED meter ie pass or fail yes he said here it is a Socket & See LED ZS tester I asked why is it a major problem when you get a red light well we have to issue a safety notice to inform the customer there is a problem but he said they are finding more of these problems.

I said do you want my view he said ok well you live in a flat or in a block of 4 terraced houses so Transco are replacing the metal pipework with plastic and if you dont have an earth and the guy next door does and both of you have bonding cables attached to their gas & water pipework thenyou could have a situation of what I call a shared or borrowed earth which goes undetected until the supply pipework is replaced with plastic. So I said do me a favour next time you test a socket then test another random one in the property just to confirm it is the whole house and not the actual socket being tested.

well i`v seen these "pass or fail" Zs thingys....and mark my words they dont belong in any electricians toolbag/box.....i`v said it before and i will say it again....when conducting loop....either external or system.....you need a value.....simple as....or how the hell are you supposed to interpret whats going on......a test instrument "talks" to you.....pass or fail indicators are just a nonsense......

 

[maffa ent]

years ago, the rec's did this with a team of salespeople going out telling customerss their installations were unsafe.

they ended up on watchdog! rec's then used their own sparkies to do the 'free visual inspections' - it was a good number.

they had 3 days of sales training, then sparks wages guaranteed every week, plus commission after hitting a certain value of sales.

only stopped after 9 months because of a cock up from royal mail with the flyers.

 

[oldtimer]

well i`v seen these "pass or fail" Zs thingys....and mark my words they dont belong in any electricians toolbag/box.....i`v said it before and i will say it again....when conducting loop....either external or system.....you need a value.....simple as....or how the hell are you supposed to interpret whats going on......a test instrument "talks" to you.....pass or fail indicators are just a nonsense......

I agree these are one step away from a neon screwdriver

 

[Strima]

BG had to explain a few things on Watchdog tonight about their boiler shenanigans, could be worthwhile letting them know about their electrical practices.