Reporting an unqualified electrician

[andrew1919]

Hi, i recently had a new bathroom installed. The guy who did the work made a complete mess of it and ended up costing me a lot of money. At the start of the job he told me i didnt need an electrician as i was not making any fundamental changes to the electrics. I have later found out this is not true as under part P any electrical work undertaken in a bathroom (special zone) would need to be certified by a qualified electrican. The work that the guy did was faulty and he nearly started a fire as the electric towel rail he installed overheated and melted the switch. I have since had an electrical report done and all the faults corrected (faults were found with the wiring to the elcetric shower and to the new spotlights as well as the towel rail).

What i want to know is can i report this guy to stop him from doing this to anyone else? i have called trading standards who said i should contact NEICS (cant remember the exact name) but when i did they told me they couldnt help as the workman wasnt registered with them.

Would really apprecitae some guidance on this if anyone could help me. Thanks in advance.

 

[acat]

This is typical and the reason why so many cowboys are operating putting people like you in danger. If trading standards dont want to know the best suggestion I can give is write to your MP and ask him why no one is interested. Keep any replies you get and if you are still not satisfied pass all correspondence to the newspapers.

I have no doubt that you will have the full support of every professional electrician and keep us posted on the progress.

Hope that helps


Chris

 

[andyb]

Hi Andrew
This man should definitely be reported, try the building control office at your local council.
I had my niceic inspection yesterday and in discussion the inspector told me that the niceic had a place on their web site to report this sort of thing. I've not checked this but from your experience it seems that it is not true, I will try to find out.

 

[acat]

Hi Andrew
This man should definitely be reported, try the building control office at your local council.
I had my niceic inspection yesterday and in discussion the inspector told me that the niceic had a place on their web site to report this sort of thing. I've not checked this but from your experience it seems that it is not true, I will try to find out.

Good idea but that keeps it in house and under the carpet its about time this was aired in public before we get more rip offs and more injuries.


Chris

 

[andyb]

Good idea but that keeps it in house and under the carpet its about time this was aired in public before we get more rip offs and more injuries.


Chris

Totally agree.
It's about time that there was a simple, national method of reporting non registered 'electricians'
I've had a very quick look round the niceic and esc web sites and also labc part p site and on all of them I can easily find pages promoting part p but nothing on how to report a non registered person.

 

[ian.settle1]

If he is not a member of the NICEIC or any of the schemes then what can they do?

It is the LABC that need to know about it but will the property owner not be liable for not informing the LABC as the work was in a special location?


On a thread on here someone posted that an electrician had been posing as an NICEIC member which they were not and what did the NICEIC do? NOTHING

 

[UNG]

Totally agree.
It's about time that there was a simple, national method of reporting non registered 'electricians'
I've had a very quick look round the niceic and esc web sites and also labc part p site and on all of them I can easily find pages promoting part p but nothing on how to report a non registered person.

So you would report an non scheme registered qualified electrician !, this thread started about reporting an unqualified electrician

 

[andyb]

So you would report an non scheme registered qualified electrician !, this thread started about reporting an unqualified electrician

I would report both.

 

[kung]

This AGAIN highlights the lack of knowledge of part p doesnt it ?
Also hello and welcome Andrew !

 

[rocker]

I'm also going to say report to building control AND to your local MP. Building control won't care, but your MP might do something. You may also want to write to your local press to see if they can do anything. I only wish that more members of the public were as eager as you are to report these cowboys... most people just accept that they've been ripped off and carry on with their lives.

 

[acat]

Well said Rocker your spot on


Chris

 

[ezzzekiel]

Best of luck, no one knows, understands or cares and its even worse for registered sparks trying to do a decent job and make a living.

 

[Risteard]

I would report both.

What are you going to report a Qualified Electrician for? The last time I checked it was not illegal not to be a member of a private club.

 

[m4tty]

If he's doing work in special location and not notifying building control or whoever ain't he breaking the rules?

 

[andyb]

What are you going to report a Qualified Electrician for? The last time I checked it was not illegal not to be a member of a private club.

I'm not sure what being qualified has to do with it Risteard.

If I was called to look at an installation which was dangerous and carried out by a non registered electrician then I would be happy to report him qualified or not.(although as previously mentioned I'm not sure who too)

Are you saying that a non qualified person should be reported but not someone qualified?

 

[andyb]

If he's doing work in special location and not notifying building control or whoever ain't he breaking the rules?

Not rules m4tty, the law.

 

[Risteard]

If he's doing work in special location and not notifying building control or whoever ain't he breaking the rules?

I didn't say that he/she shouldn't notify Building Control if (and only if) in England or Wales. I was disputing that he/she must be a member of a club.

Also he/she is not breaking the law - the homeowner is.

 

[Risteard]

Are you saying that a non qualified person should be reported but not someone qualified?

No. I was suggesting that you could not report a Qualified Electrician for not being a member of a club because they are not obliged to be.

 

[andyb]

No. I was suggesting that you could not report a Qualified Electrician for not being a member of a club because they are not obliged to be.

Your right Risteard, I was replying to the op re dangerous work and non registered persons or not notifying.
Of course there is no law at all that says that electricians have to join a scheme.

 

[Notsosmart]

No. I was suggesting that you could not report a Qualified Electrician for not being a member of a club because they are not obliged to be.

Well said Risteard

As long as building control has been informed (either directly of through a scheme), and the work is done to the correct standard then there is no reason to report anyone ~ the OP's issue is that the work wasn't done professionally (or in safe manner by the sounds of it) the fact that it wasn't disclosed to Building control just compounds the issue.

 

[mogga]

doesnt Anne Robbinson deal with things like this ?? or Dom Littlewood lollol

 

[m25maintenance]

wooo hang on a sec, what did u hire him to do, building r electrics. did u ask him if he was qualified to do electrical work, if not the buck stops with you, you are the home owner, would you biuy a car without asking if the seller owned it

 

[rocker]

If the guy hasn't notified, which he hasn't because he said it 'didn't need to be reported if they didn't do that much' or words to that effect, then yes he DOES have to be part of a club/gang/crew/one of the happy clappers or to put it in proper terms a registered member of a part p scheme.

This is all, however, just schematics. From what the OP said, this berk deserves to be nicked, and moreover, people need to realise that others like the aforementioned berk should not be trusted to tie their own shoelaces, let alone be let loose on a live installations with a neon screwdriver.

 

[martysparky]

The fine from LABC is for the person who does the work or the building owner so if the person who done the work has vanished etc whats the next step.

I guess there is an element of people being afraid of shooting themselves in the foot.

fine 5k plus £50 per day of contravention the last I heard.

Good old UK eh!

 

[Notsosmart]

Agree with you there Marty; that's another place where the system falls over, if the dodgy spark doesn't report it then the savvy householder won't either, for fear of incurring the fine. Part P has not been publicised widely enough and enforcement seems virtually toothless.

 

[acat]

Agree with you there Marty; that's another place where the system falls over, if the dodgy spark doesn't report it then the savvy householder won't either, for fear of incurring the fine. Part P has not been publicised widely enough and enforcement seems virtually toothless.

What enforcement

Chris

 

[martysparky]

I was speaking to a retired spark the other day and he said most of his mates have not bothered with Part P and most of them do work in domestic.

He said they say as long as its safe who cares.

Why is P not advertised and made public??????????????????

 

[Notsosmart]

Loving the new avatar chris

Perhaps we should get watchdog to investigate the Part P shambles!

 

[andrew1919]

thanks for everyone who has replied so far. i wasnt expecting this much of a reaction so it seems like its a touchy subject. I will take the next step of reporting him to building control and then my local mp. I am not expecting anytyhing to happen as no one seems to care but i will do as much as i can as i am extremely angry about the whole situation. Surely electricians should be protected to stop people like my builder doing work they should not be doing.

 

[m25maintenance]

thanks for everyone who has replied so far. i wasnt expecting this much of a reaction so it seems like its a touchy subject. I will take the next step of reporting him to building control and then my local mp. I am not expecting anytyhing to happen as no one seems to care but i will do as much as i can as i am extremely angry about the whole situation. Surely electricians should be protected to stop people like my builder doing work they should not be doing.

as i said u let him do it

 

[andrew1919]

as i said u let him do it

i cant believe you think this is my fault. how on earth am i, or anyone else, supposed to know the latest regulations are? surely your just trying to cover your own back by blaming it on the home owner. a responsible worker whould know what his obligations are if he carries out the work. if you truly beleive what you have just written then your just as bad as he is in my opinion.

 

[rocker]

Come one, be fair, if a member of the public with no background has an apparently skilled tradesman in who says he can do a job, why would the customer question this? It shouldn't be up to the customer to go researching whether somebody is supposed to be doing what they said they can do.

If the powers that be, who decided that electrical safety in dwellings is such an issue (which it undoubtably is), put so much effort into raising awareness as they do getting money out of honest sparks, we'd be in a much better position as the customer would know what to ask for.

 

[m25maintenance]

as i said if i hire a trades man im gona do my best to make sure he is a trades man. your house is the most expencive thing u will buy so why would you just belive what youe hear. this is not 1910 its 2010, its easy can i see you papers and id please, if he dont have get another worker, waste a day not £5000

 

[martysparky]

The good ol Grey Britain paradox like everything.

two valuable points above and both true I thinks.

 

[martysparky]

how on earth am i, a layman homeowner, or anyone else in that position, supposed to know the latest regulations are? .

Agreed and true too.

 

[ezzzekiel]

so he shows his papers and id and mr. general joe public knows exactly what hes looking at, recognises the nic emblem and understands what the 2382, 2391 mean etc etc....

 

[rocker]

Exactly. But if it was on the telly 'only have an electrician from ELECSA, NIC or Napit, otherwise you must get planning permission' then people would know at least to look for something. I've only been asked if I'm 'part p' by customers who have other trades in who have told them to ask - the general public haven't got a clue and why should they? There has been no pubicity for part p except in the trade press; you know, for the electricians to know who to give their money to. People always go on about 'part p doesn't work' and in my estimation this is one of the main reasons why: nobody knows it exists.

 

[UNG]

If the powers that be, who decided that electrical safety in dwellings is such an issue (which it undoubtably is), put so much effort into raising awareness as they do getting money out of honest sparks, we'd be in a much better position as the customer would know what to ask for.

You hit the nail on the head when you mentioned money this is in my opinion the primary driver behind Part P joe publics safety became a secondary issue when money could be raised from it and jobs created as that is all Labour wanted to do to make them look good

May be in the government cost cutting Part P should be scrapped as not fit for purpose

 

[Johno]

Yep, i don't think you can expect the customer to understand the ins and outs, half the bloody sparks don't.

This is a just a lack of educating the public about part p, which has been the problem since it was introduced over 5 years ago.

There definately needs to be a clearer rule so that joe public knows. If this means every spark has to be registered then so be it.

 

[Deleted member 9648]

I always struggled with the logic of part P only covering some installations,this is where the confusion comes from,most people dont know what they can and cant do. It has to be all or nothing at all.

 

[bluesky]

i checked the local council website, it says clearly that any elcetrical work in bath room should be finished by competent person, anyone one failed to do so could be fined 5,000 pounds,

try to contact labc, they will let you know how to report this guy

 

[acat]

Thats very true but I think you will find that the householder is also liable so who in their right mind is going to stitch themselves up.



Chris

 

[bluesky]

Thats very true but I think you will find that the householder is also liable so who in their right mind is going to stitch themselves up.



Chris

it is true, he really should have checked the guy's registered membership in the first place

 

[ezzzekiel]

yes he should,
my mother always insisted on corgi registered to service her fire, does she know why? no she just knows if its gas its corgi (she wont have a clue about gas safe but thats irrelevant here)

if she wanted a fuseboard she would call an electrician - not a jib or partp or niceic or any other form just an electrician, yet she woulde also be held accountable even though she only knew she needed an electrician


and at 75 with her only son being an electrician and having tried to explain it to her a million times she still none the wiser......

 

[topquark]

Would be simpler IMHO if most things needed to be signed off by a "registered person". That'd prob put a lot of cowboys out of the picture.

It's very confusing at the moment for householders as to what needs to be signed off and what doesn't. If everything except say like for like replacement needed signing off would that be better or worse ?

 

[Risteard]

If everything except say like for like replacement needed signing off would that be better or worse ?

Why leave out "like for like"?

 

[topquark]

Didn't want to be too "draconian"

 

[Des 56]

The system is too complicated
Its too complicated for the sparks operating under it
Its too complicated for Labc to concern themselves about
Its too complicated for the customer who happens to know of it

Its a piece of cake for the lucky vast majority who have never heard of the damn thing and carry on regardless, oblivious to the fiasco of part p