Help with quote for electrical work

[Jack223]

Hi guys,

We have a quote from our electrician that I just wanted some professional advice on...

In our quote, some pendants and items such as thermostat were marked up as 'Client Supply' which is nice and clear. However all sockets / switches and downlight did not have this. Now everything is wired we have a large bill for ordering the sockets and switches. As an electrician, would you normally allow for some budget in the quote to buy standard fittings? Or is this always an expected additional cost for the client?

Thanks very much!

Jack

 

[littlespark]

Usually everything is for the electrician to supply, They like to supply equipment that they can ensure the quality.

I don’t know why pendants would be left out? Maybe he has had previous jobs where the customer supplied their own decorative light fittings.

 

[baldelectrician]

The quote should be for all the works carried out by the electrician, unless there are items that are marked client supply.

Is the electrician a member of a governing body?

Did they give you the cooling off paperwork?

 

[Jack223]

Thanks for your replies guys, really helpful getting some feedback... I've attached the original quote... I would have thought, for this price, and the way it is worded, this would include standard sockets and switches? But I now have a bill for £2,200 +vat for this, which we hadn't budgeted for :/

 

[Jack223]

The quote should be for all the works carried out by the electrician, unless there are items that are marked client supply.

Is the electrician a member of a governing body?

Did they give you the cooling off paperwork?

Thanks, I thought that too! - I didn't see a cooling off paper work, and he is a sole trader...

I may have missed this as the contractor who is doing the extension asked recently if I could deal with the electrician directly, so maybe this paperwork was given to the contractor early on? I'm quite out of my knowledge depth :/

 

[Jack223]

Usually everything is for the electrician to supply, They like to supply equipment that they can ensure the quality.

I don’t know why pendants would be left out? Maybe he has had previous jobs where the customer supplied their own decorative light fittings.

To be fair, he did have some of these included but we asked to take them out because we have decorative fittings - however we thought this would make a decent dent on cost, but not really.

Thanks for your reply! Appreciate the support

 

[Dustydazzler]

Those prices seem perfectly reasonable to me

 

[nicebutdim]

The original quote posted shows 2x room stats and 1x outside light supplied by client - no mention of pendants as per OP.

You mention asking that some items be removed as you were going to supply them, but it's not clear exactly what has been invoiced.

Have you been invoiced the exact amount on that quote and an additional £2250+VAT for accessories or have you been invoiced less than the quote with accessories added on top?

Information needs to be communicated clearly or it raises questions about how well information was communicated to the company undertaking this work.

 

[baldelectrician]

I include standard pendants / white accessories on a rewire, if the client wants decorative stuff they supply and we fit it.
I do not discount the cost for this ( I am saving £2.50 on a pendant). I am spending more time than the pendant would save in this instance as there is more time to put up a fancy light

 

[James]

So the original quote was £4270
is this bill for £2250 a part payment towards that or additional to the quote?

 

[Jack223]

I include standard pendants / white accessories on a rewire, if the client wants decorative stuff they supply and we fit it.
I do not discount the cost for this ( I am saving £2.50 on a pendant). I am spending more time than the pendant would save in this instance as there is more time to put up a fancy light

That makes sense, thanks for your feedback

 

[Jack223]

Those prices seem perfectly reasonable to me

Thanks, appreciate the feedback

 

[Jack223]

I include standard pendants / white accessories on a rewire, if the client wants decorative stuff they supply and we fit it.
I do not discount the cost for this ( I am saving £2.50 on a pendant). I am spending more time than the pendant would save in this instance as there is more time to put up a fancy light

That totally makes sense, thanks for the feedback

 

[Jack223]

The original quote posted shows 2x room stats and 1x outside light supplied by client - no mention of pendants as per OP.

You mention asking that some items be removed as you were going to supply them, but it's not clear exactly what has been invoiced.

Have you been invoiced the exact amount on that quote and an additional £2250+VAT for accessories or have you been invoiced less than the quote with accessories added on top?

Information needs to be communicated clearly or it raises questions about how well information was communicated to the company undertaking this work.

(There are more pages to this quote which have pendants marked up)

We have been invoiced the exact amount on that quote, with an £2250+VAT on top for sockets and switches...

Thank you for your support

 

[Jack223]

So the original quote was £4270
is this bill for £2250 a part payment towards that or additional to the quote?

It isn't unfortunately, that's what I would have presumed.

 

[Jack223]

.

 

[Dartlec]

Does the new bill state what it is for (i.e. supply of x white sockets, x white light switches, etc)?

If it is purely for supply of fittings it sounds rather high, on top of the existing quote.

If it is for 'second fix' which includes supplying the fittings and fitting them, then it should have been made clear that the first quote was for first fix only. It would also have made sense to be included in the original quote - even if separate.

I would certainly ask for a break down of the new amount if you don't have one already - to see what exactly it covers. Could it also cover any extras that came up during install as well?

As for the original question - IMO a quote given for a rewire should be for the complete job, including all necessary work and standard switches/sockets - or made very clear what wasn't included - otherwise you wouldn't have known whether the total quote was competitive or not compared to others.

This may be a breakdown in communication, but will probably only be solved by further discussion.

 

[Jack223]

Does the new bill state what it is for (i.e. supply of x white sockets, x white light switches, etc)?

If it is purely for supply of fittings it sounds rather high, on top of the existing quote.

If it is for 'second fix' which includes supplying the fittings and fitting them, then it should have been made clear that the first quote was for first fix only. It would also have made sense to be included in the original quote - even if separate.

I would certainly ask for a break down of the new amount if you don't have one already - to see what exactly it covers. Could it also cover any extras that came up during install as well?

As for the original question - IMO a quote given for a rewire should be for the complete job, including all necessary work and standard switches/sockets - or made very clear what wasn't included - otherwise you wouldn't have known whether the total quote was competitive or not compared to others.

This may be a breakdown in communication, but will probably only be solved by further discussion.

Thanks for your reply, very helpful. I think you're right, it is a clarity/ communication issue.

It wasn't clear in the first quote that the fittings were not supplied. It has now come to light it was just for fixings.

I guess my only option is to pay the amount, it just seems like a hidden cost... My mistake for not getting more clarity on original quote, first time I've ever done a renovation like this

 

[pjgtech]

Hmmm, sounds like the contractor is trying it on IMHO?
I'm not an electrician, but I am a surveyor and usually for a full or partial rewire the cost of standard (eg: basic plain white) fittings is included in the price.
So why is he charging you extra for those.
Have you still got the original quote/estimate and if so what exactly did it say?
I would sit down and have a chat with him.
Good luck

 

[Dartlec]

It's certainly worth just ensuring you have a breakdown of the fittings involved, and then you can work out whether the total cost of the new bill matches up.

In general, (good) electricians don't make a huge mark up on parts - they either just prefer to use a brand they are familiar with, or want to know that they will all be present.

Of course there are some who try it on, which is why it's good to have a breakdown. If they are plain white, then a good socket might be £2.50-£4 range depending on brand - fused spurs may be slightly more, light switches somewhat less.

So if you know how many were supplied you should be able to get an idea if the cost is reasonable. Then it's just a question of whether it was properly detailed early on and how you want to deal with that.