UK Opinion on these pics please

[Apple1973]

Hi,
I am the wife of an electrician feeling absolutely gutted. We have had a complaint from a customer who is seeking a £500 refund for a consumer unit change that my husband undertook for her. I joined here in the hope other electrician's could shed some light on what's happened as I have no clue what consumer unit wiring should look like. I can't confront my husband over this at the moment as his mum is dying and I don't want to add to his stress so I am trying to figure it out myself. My husband has been an electrician 30 years. He is a part P domestic installer, Niceic registered and 18th edition updated last year. We have hundreds of happy customers since he went self employed 2 years ago. I do all his books and customer communication etc and he has never had a complaint up until now.
So basically he started on a job where there were other tradesmen present , including another electrician who was retired .My husband did lots of various electrical jobs for this lady who paid us promptly after each installation and was very happy with his work ,even leaving a good review on Google ads for him ..but then something happened, roughly 4 days after he replaced her consumer unit she called us to say it keeps tripping. He went back over there to try to figure out what was happening and spent half the day there. He came back very frustrated saying he couldn't figure it out. There were 5 other tradesmen there,( the place is being renovated) including this other electrician who apparently couldn't understand why it was tripping either. My husband said he ended up ripping all the wires out in order to get to the bottom of it. ..It ended with my husband telling the customer he was completely stumped and that she should get a second opinion.... I then get sent these pictures a week later from the customer of what she says is my husband's work. I am baffled! To me it looks a mess but I realise she probably took this photo AFTER he dissected it for the tripping fault??
Please can anyone of you guys offer me some opinions here as I'm really distressed by this.

 

[richy3333]

That's a good idea. Where do you get the seals please?

Here you go, link below. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07WQRCM9P/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[loz2754]

Here you go, link below. Amazon.co.uk - https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07WQRCM9P/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Great thanks

 

[Mike Johnson]

Here you go, link below. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07WQRCM9P/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Ohh I like those, must get me some, do they print them in French, kidding. ?

 

[Timbo]

Or for those who have a Brother P-touch label printer:

Brother TZE-SE4 - 18mm Black on White Security Tape

TZ-SE4 - 18mm Black on White Security Tape for Brother P-Touch printers. Free UK delivery & fast despatch.

www.labelzone.co.uk

and create your own.

 

[nicebutdim]

Or for those who have a Brother P-touch label printer:

Brother TZE-SE4 - 18mm Black on White Security Tape

TZ-SE4 - 18mm Black on White Security Tape for Brother P-Touch printers. Free UK delivery & fast despatch.

www.labelzone.co.uk

and create your own.

The Amazon labels would work out cheaper.

 

[Mike Johnson]

True, but I can't get them in French.

Thanks for that Timbo, did not know that existed.

 

[nicebutdim]

Sure you can..

Amazon.fr : étiquette de sécurité

None in dog bone shape, but plenty of suitable French text alternatives.

 

[Mike Johnson]

Must try harder, past my bedtime. ??

 

[Rockingit]

We always take pics of our finished work and have now started using stick on seals that can only be removed by cutting them - so you know somebody has tampered with the CU

I carry a pot of blue nail varnish - tiny dab acts as a security seal on screws.

 

[pc1966]

I carry a pot of blue nail varnish - tiny dab acts as a security seal on screws.

Nail varnish is also a great option as thread-lock substitute on small screws, or for stopping trim pots moving, etc, and often readily available nearby in chemist or supermarket.

 

[Mike Johnson]

Its also good as a sealant to stop the threads from unwrapping on fishing fly's.

 

[littlespark]

Can’t imagine a load of burly sparks heading to Boots at lunchtime to peruse the colour options of nail varnish....

hit your thumb with a hammer and get that perfect dark blue hue

 

[Rockingit]

Can’t imagine a load of burly sparks heading to Boots at lunchtime to peruse the colour options of nail varnish....

hit your thumb with a hammer and get that perfect dark blue hue

Can’t tell you what colour (for security reasons, obvs ?) but I’ve been using the same shade of Rimmel for years! Only trouble is that ten year old mini-me has realised both this and the fact that she likes to wear it.

 

[pc1966]

Can’t imagine a load of burly sparks heading to Boots at lunchtime to peruse the colour options of nail varnish....

Well I'm not exactly "burly" but my experience of going to the local chemist was this:
Have You got some nail varnish?
Certainly sir, what colour do you want?
Doesn't matter.
Well we have this range...<blah, blah>
Really not important. Red is fine.
Do you mean....<blah, blah>

 

[Mike Johnson]

I buy my "Hard as nails" on line, make what you like of that. ?

 

[Ha6923]

Hi,
I am the wife of an electrician feeling absolutely gutted. We have had a complaint from a customer who is seeking a £500 refund for a consumer unit change that my husband undertook for her. I joined here in the hope other electrician's could shed some light on what's happened as I have no clue what consumer unit wiring should look like. I can't confront my husband over this at the moment as his mum is dying and I don't want to add to his stress so I am trying to figure it out myself. My husband has been an electrician 30 years. He is a part P domestic installer, Niceic registered and 18th edition updated last year. We have hundreds of happy customers since he went self employed 2 years ago. I do all his books and customer communication etc and he has never had a complaint up until now.
So basically he started on a job where there were other tradesmen present , including another electrician who was retired .My husband did lots of various electrical jobs for this lady who paid us promptly after each installation and was very happy with his work ,even leaving a good review on Google ads for him ..but then something happened, roughly 4 days after he replaced her consumer unit she called us to say it keeps tripping. He went back over there to try to figure out what was happening and spent half the day there. He came back very frustrated saying he couldn't figure it out. There were 5 other tradesmen there,( the place is being renovated) including this other electrician who apparently couldn't understand why it was tripping either. My husband said he ended up ripping all the wires out in order to get to the bottom of it. ..It ended with my husband telling the customer he was completely stumped and that she should get a second opinion.... I then get sent these pictures a week later from the customer of what she says is my husband's work. I am baffled! To me it looks a mess but I realise she probably took this photo AFTER he dissected it for the tripping fault??
Please can anyone of you guys offer me some opinions here as I'm really distressed by this.View attachment 65213

I would be interested to see the Electrical Installation Certificate. Whoever has put their name on that and notified the relevant building control authority will know what state the board and installation was left in. Can you upload the relevant certificate? Redact names/addresses etc.

 

[UNG]

Can’t tell you what colour (for security reasons, obvs ?) but I’ve been using the same shade of Rimmel for years! Only trouble is that ten year old mini-me has realised both this and the fact that she likes to wear it.

Just got this vision of a nail varnish shade register for electricians security marking to avoid a duplication of shades used

 

[Teddy Lop]

Something isn't ringing true with the OP for me, there is no clear reason why the customer wants a refund, the language also seems a bit strange my wife would talk to me not confront me,
Those points aside we are told the RCD tripped 4 days after install and keeps tripping but with no indication of the frequency or timing of the continual trips
Another electrician has apparently unsuccessfully looked for the fault after the OP's husband so does this fault really exist on the fixed wiring as 2 electricians haven't found any reason that would cause the reported issue
I think until the electrician involved can post his account of events leading up to the customer requesting a refund it is difficult to make a judgement

Yeah theres something peculiar about this.

As opinions are expressly sought, I wouldn't say that consumer unit is messy - it's a downright disgrace, its been carelessly chucked in and I don't think its because of the speculated downstream additions, even the tails feeding the isolator are sloppy (and is that a compression mark on the L where the cover has been forced onto it?)

I dont understand the hoo-hah about finding the fault either, there's a methodical approach which should take it down to one or two suspect circuits within a hour or so - although this is made more difficult when faced with a consumer unit as messily installed as the one shown - I'm of the opinion that especially as consumer unit/circuit counts get larger it's actually quicker and easier to take a few moments to dress things in neatly.

While its fair that a fault on the system causing the RCD to trip is a chargeable extra in addition to the install cost, a tradesman who can't resolve routine problems like this is not providing the full service a customer has every right to expect, and so the attempt to claw back the fee is not completely without merit.

 

[Gavin John Hyde]

I always take a photo of the board as I leave it if I remove the cover, A less than honest customer tried to blame me after i changed a board as her oven kept tripping the RCD... turns out her partner had added a new mcb and it was wrong rating. I know also apply a printed label with time and date printed on along with company name and customer address using security label tape for the brother printer. once removed it can not be reapplied so shows if the board has been opened up since I was last there.

Brother TZE-SE4 - 18mm Black on White Security Tape

TZ-SE4 - 18mm Black on White Security Tape for Brother P-Touch printers. Free UK delivery & fast despatch.

www.labelzone.co.uk

 

[Micktw68]

Just got this vision of a nail varnish shade register for electricians security marking to avoid a duplication of shades used

We could have a register like clowns have for registering their face makeup .

 

[Timbo]

We could have a register like clowns have for registering their face makeup .

We do seem to get a few clowns round here!

 

[joelee131]

Tidiness is a good practice, does not mean its unsafe. Did he do a full wiring test before changing the CU? I don't think you can just go and change the CU without doing a full test, as that will classify as an installation and should be notify. The test will help you to identify any wiring issue(s) and correct them before making the change. This will eliminate any issues like tripping. Any un-use MCB should be taken out and blank off not tape off, just good practice. I will not leave any flammable material such as paper under the bus bar, any arcing due to loose termination is a fire risk. You need to get your husband back to the job to fix any issues related to his work, its only fair to the client.