More Cowboys.

[Specialist]

Had 2 callouts today, 20 miles apart but both after the same Bodgit & Run Cowboy.

1) An old couple both Disabled, been without lights all night because they did'nt want to disturb me on a Friday night. Got to the house to find the Lighting fuse was blown (1 fuse for all lights), the old woman apparently went to the Bathroom & as she turned on the light there was a big flash & bang then darkness.
When I looked in the Bathroom, I found the idiot they had to do the wiring when the Bathroom was altered had fitted a 240v GU10 spot lamp about 2 foot above the sink. Fitting was soaking wet & had gone to that great scrap yard in the sky, i've just disconnected it & made it safe for now & re-instated the fuse so they've got lights.

2) Public house 20 0dd miles away, apparently had a Fault last night & lights blew. They called the local "Electrician" & he came out & repaired the fuse but now they can smell a plasticy burning smell & this guy is apparently too busy (Are'nt they allways?), so a customer suggested calling me.

Got there & sure enough there's a nice burnt plastic smell in the air, checked the fuse that had been repaired & find not fuse wire but a short length of flex in place of it. Hmm anyway remove the cover of the box & find the wiring going to the fuse terminal loose & burnt. Cut back the wire & re-made it to the terminal, Re-wired the fuse with nice new 5A Fuse wire and to be safe checked the current draw on the circuit with all lights on (4A) so boxed it back up again. Talking to the Landlord & asked who the Genius was and Lo-behold it was the same moron did the old couples lights.


I know Cowboys keep us in work but they're scary.

 

[Cyberprog]

Yes mate, a few from the pub but did'nt have the heart to charge the old couple.

That's the best way to work sometimes, if it doesn't take long/much to fix, the word of mouth advertising that you'll get from it, and possible future work, will pay back many times over.
As long as they're not too old, and don't croak it soon...

 

[Richard Burns]

Good responses from you and I am glad they are safer, well done on the not charging, good if you can do it for small jobs.

Not quite so bad as your two but I have just changed a floodlight fitted by a "professional electrician" wired in white T&E coming out of a brick ventilator to light, flex out of light (only designed for one flex) drilled into unsealed conduit going straight down into external light switch as an override, which was nicely filling with rain and rusting, the switch wired in series with the neon so it didn't work, lovely.

 

[Knobhead]

Yes mate, a few from the pub but did'nt have the heart to charge the old couple.

They say what goes around comes around. Hopefully you’ll gain due to good reports. On the other hand hop-along will probably loose out due to bad reports. Never under estimate the power of the elderly chatting about good / bad service.

Just be sure you don’t become a charity.

 

[Specialist]

he was taking about sparks lenny..

:biggrin::rofl:

 

[Specialist]

Good responses from you and I am glad they are safer, well done on the not charging, good if you can do it for small jobs.

Not quite so bad as your two but I have just changed a floodlight fitted by a "professional electrician" wired in white T&E coming out of a brick ventilator to light, flex out of light (only designed for one flex) drilled into unsealed conduit going straight down into external light switch as an override, which was nicely filling with rain and rusting, the switch wired in series with the neon so it didn't work, lovely.

Oooh Richard, don't be so picky:tounge_smile: there's nothing wrong with a good water filled switch. Don't you remember, water makes an excellent conductor :smile5:

 

[Specialist]

They say what goes around comes around.
Just be sure you don’t become a charity.

I hope so mate, unfortunately useless thieving scumbags like this guy usually prosper & those of us who try to do a good & honest job don't. No mate I won't become a charity but once in a while you've just gotta do it Lol.

Allways wondered how these people can get even the simplest & most basic jobs so wrong ? Domestic aint exactly rocket science.

 

[kung]

As long as the old cpl dont tell all their friends you didnt charge or they might think you dont charge old folk and even if you charged another £1.50 for a rewire it might cause a fight ! i takee my hat off (not a cowboy hat) to you buddy for helping them in a nice way ! i charge with a discount for the old, single parents, disabled and emergency services, makes me feel better and still cover my fuel etc.

 

[Specialist]

As long as the old cpl dont tell all their friends you didnt charge or they might think you dont charge old folk and even if you charged another £1.50 for a rewire it might cause a fight ! i takee my hat off (not a cowboy hat) to you buddy for helping them in a nice way ! i charge with a discount for the old, single parents, disabled and emergency services, makes me feel better and still cover my fuel etc.

Mate: Under normal circumstances i'd have done the same, it was just they were such a nice couple & even after spending the night without light they still were'nt complaining. I walk through the front door & first thing I get offered is a Hot cuppa & breakfast (not many like that any more). Basically it was 30 minutes out of my day & i'm glad they called me rather than some Rip off merchant.

 

[kung]

Good on you mate ! as said it makes you wonder how some people can sleep ! and when you get a nice customer its even more of a mystery how someone can do it. Your get a good name as said also on being a good honest caring spark. Makes you feel good being self employed ! last year i done some cover work for a company named on here before that was charging £78 call out ! not to bad for a big ind job but to a hard up family, pensioner etc its alot anyway went to this nice womans house for a smoke alarm fault ! job sheet said replace batt and hover sensor ! phoned comp to say smoke was shot and was told thats going to cost her £78 call out plus another £78 revisit after getting a new smoke plus £30 for the new smoke ! when it was just unplug knakered smoke and replace with £20 new smoke = £30 1 hr call out plus £20 for smoke and discount = £40 for me when they were charging £186 for same job ! and believe me they are flooded with work ! does make you wonder !

 

[kung]

By the way i didnt stay at that company ! i couldnt bring myself to knowing they were as far as im concerned being ripped off !

 

[Specialist]

Yeah I know the sort of Company your talking about, stupid thing is that they thrive when we struggle. Went to a house a while back to look at a tripping RCD, the woman had called 1 of these companies from Yellow Pages & been quoted £70 + Vat for call out & told she'd probably need a new CU if the RCD was tripping & the cost of this would be £500 + VAT. After she picked herself up I got called in, anyway turns out her Washing machine was in an outside shed & soaking with damp. I unplugged the machine, tagged it as unsafe & re-set the RCD. Quick 10 minute job so charged her £25 & got an extra £20 as a thank you, now I get the work for all the Family.

 

[Specialist]

Not the same Cowboy but another cracker: Get a call to house where Central heatings gone down, heating guy took 1 look at it's Electrics & says call the Electrician. Oh joy for me :tounge_smile: Get to house look at boiler supply & go ditch the Power, her ex "Electrician" husband has done the wiring. Found a 1.5 T/E tapped off a radial in the kitchen, this went to a double socket in the Utility room & from the back of this there were 2 Flexes. 1) 0.5mm 3 core feeding the Boiler spur & 2) 1.5mm 3 core flex which went off to feed the Double socket for the washing machine & dryer plus 2 other doubles, from the back of 1 of these there was another 1.5 3 core flex which fed an outside PIR halogen light & went off from there to the Garage. Ripped it all out & re-wired to 1 Double socket & the boiler spur / boiler. Then she says she's been having a little tickle from the Kitchen Fridge Freezer, Plug in loop tester & find No Earth at all. Open socket & it's wired OK so traced the wire to where it went into a spur on the other side of the kitchen, open that up to find the idiot has wired the Earth from the radial into the terminal on the PVC back box & the Earth from the socket to the Faceplate Earth so no path between the 2. Put it back together & checked all other sockets some of which hadd dodgy connections & told her she needs to get some smoke alarms and have the house Re-wired ASAP. Anyone got any Valium ? Lol

 

[GLENNSPARK]

firms like that have professional marketing teams that like to emphasize faults by playing on the inoccent`s ignorance....then present themselves as the solution......a tried and tested add campaign.....expensive but effective

 

[Specialist]

Thing is people look at the big adds & think oh they must be proffesional (Yeah Right) and then once they're in the door a lot of people feel pressured into letting them do the job, we know what happens then with a lot of them: Sorry to tell you but your Consumer unit / Wiring is old & needs replacing.

 

[dingledong]

my mate worked for one of those firms when he went on holiday i stood in for him iremember a bloke wanting a shower put in i worked my nuts of to get it done as quick as i could to save him money got it done rang the company up so they could tell him the price when i left i gave him a bit of advise " get some one out of the local paper next time " but all these people have p[aid by credit card first so nothing they can do

 

[Specialist]

my mate worked for one of those firms when he went on holiday i stood in for him iremember a bloke wanting a shower put in i worked my nuts of to get it done as quick as i could to save him money got it done rang the company up so they could tell him the price when i left i gave him a bit of advise " get some one out of the local paper next time " but all these people have p[aid by credit card first so nothing they can do

At least you tried mate, I did'nt realise that the people were paying up front with these firms. Lot to be said for not having a credit card

 

[1shortcircuit]

" but all these people have p[aid by credit card first so nothing they can do

To every contract sold in a clients house there is a MANDATORY cooling off period. So there is plenty they can do providing they have been bothered to read the small print instead of just signing the contract.


:thumbsup

 

[Specialist]

Hmm said i was getting too old for this Lol, I forgot about that.