Screwed Over By An Electrician - Desperate For Help, What Can I Do?

[Bazzzy]

Hi All,

Thinking I would get decent, honest service, I went with a locally advertised Electrician/workman for some electrical work & a complete room renovation.

At first he was very good but then started to slack off badly & eventually stopped turning up. I managed to persuade him to call round after a week & he said he was just in one of those moods!

We agreed that he would deal with his issues first & then start the following week but made it clear he simply keep me informed. I even brought back some duty free cigarettes for him from a trip! Unfortunately, he has again not turned up once and is refusing to reply to any of my calls.

I am recovering from a heart attack and am due to have major surgery in 3 weeks time for a very invasive & painful throat operation & informed him of that. I also live with a very ill elderly & disabled mother to whom this has caused so much trouble & hassle - it has broken my heart. She is really suffering because of this.

He has left my room completely gutted with various electrical cables lying across the floor (live) connected just to these metal boxes & sockets with wires hanging out of the wall as well as incomplete plumbing and destroying my phone line.

I am extremely upset about this & because he has hurt not only me & taken my money, he has actually hurt my very ill mother. Is there someone or some professional or official body that I can complain to so that they can take action against this guy? For all I know, he could have left my house as a potential death trap. Can I get him via some authority to either finish the work or repay my money by dictate or threat to have his license revoked by some governing or licensing body? I am hoping that faced with this, he will learn that will not get away with what he has done. If anyone can be of help, please kindly tell me what I can do? I am really desperate now & very depressed as my operations are only 3 weeks away & I will be bedridden for at least a few weeks to recover and there is no way I can live in the state he has left my room in. Please someone tell me how this guy can either be struck off or forced to honour his obligations.

With Sincere Thanks,

Bazzy.

 

[Bazzzy]

Hi All,

Once again, my sincere thanks to you all! I have managed to get hold of a digital camera and taken pics as best I can to show you the room - I am not too good at taking pics but I hope they are good enough.

At least this way, you kind folks can visually see things as they are and how they have been left. Hope this helps. By the way, to run some computer & speaker cables, this guy just took chunks out of the floor joists - I asked him is that was safe & OK, he said it was no problem?

Bazzy.

 

[bugsy]

Bazzy may I suggest you get a recce done first , looking through the pic.s my gut feeling start from scratch .

Can you pm me with your contact details so we can arrange an inspection

 

[Sav]

Hi,
What a mess.

Looks like low level dado trunking ??

I think best bet, start again !!

What do you guys say, and let me know if we are going there, or if you need help etc,

Regards,
Sav

 

[jeremy]

I don't live in London, and the internal works seem to have enough bods to take care of them, but as I haven't anything lined up for next week, I'd be up for tracing "local bloke" and gently suggesting that he repays any money that he's had. Theft from the vulnerable is despicable.

 

[jeremy]

Please don't be offended by my use of "vulnerable"!!

 

[Bazzzy]

Hi All,

I have pretty much found our where this guy lives and his parents - I do not want to confront him alone as my condition is too frail in case he gets physical but if we can shame him by letting his parents know so they pressure him or he is aware that others in the trade who he knows can take things further he might just do the right thing & give me my money back?

I am not working at the moment due to health reasons and also not claiming any dole (I just cannot accept doing that as mentally it makes me feel like horrible) but I would be only too happy to donate any money we can get back to some kind of electricians or tradesmen's charity of your choice - it would be a way of practically showing my very deep thanks and other decent people can benefit out of this so good can come out of good.

Also, so this scumbag will think twice about doing such things in future, I would like him to inspected by the body which gives his licence to do electrical & building work if possible?

Bazzy.

 

[mogga]

even my wiffey said WTF when I flicked through the pikkies

 

[Spudnik]

Also, so this scumbag will think twice about doing such things in future, I would like him to inspected by the body which gives his licence to do electrical & building work if possible?

Bazzy.

Bazzy, it has been mentioned a few times, that you should do this FIRST.

You need to find out if he is registered by entering his details HERE

Once you find out who he is registered with (if he is), then you should contact them ASAP.

 

[Bazzzy]

I don't live in London, and the internal works seem to have enough bods to take care of them, but as I haven't anything lined up for next week, I'd be up for tracing "local bloke" and gently suggesting that he repays any money that he's had. Theft from the vulnerable is despicable.

Hi,

I have to be honest here as well, as I am not working or claiming dole (too much pride I guess), I had to borrow the money from my sister and my mum's disability allowance which she saves up. I felt sick doing so but after I lost my job, I cut up my credit cards a few months later as I could see I was spending like I was still working did not want to spiral too much into debt.

It would not have been hurt as much but he knew this as I had told him & he promised me he would not let me down. I even told him that if he did a good job, I would recommend him to others and use him for all my future work believe it or not.

Bazzy.

 

[Bazzzy]

Bazzy, it has been mentioned a few times, that you should do this FIRST.

You need to find out if he is registered by entering his details HERE

Once you find out who he is registered with (if he is), then you should contact them ASAP.

Hi Jason,

All I know is his full name (which I have verified) - I have entered that and the rest of the form details but nothing comes up. I take it he must be registered with someone in order to legally do electrical work so his details must be available with one of the organisations?

Bazzy.

 

[mogga]

Sorry bazzy but Anyone can " Do " electrics even appearing to be a ligitamate company but not register with trade body ect ect probably not registered with the Tax Man / Ect ect

 

[Sintra]

Who ever said he was doing it legally i very much doubt that he is registered or even a spark.

 

[bugsy]

Bazza, bit confused about the plasma, internet, and audio visual installation , what exactly are you installing , and can you also post you rouge electricians details

 

[DurhamSparky]

get them posted...!!

first thing about them pics is WTF!!! not going to start mentioning the defects and rule breaking..!

 

[Bazzzy]

Bazza, bit confused about the plasma, internet, and audio visual installation , what exactly are you installing , and can you also post you rouge electricians details

Hi,

Is it OK to post his details here? I know his name, telephone details, where he lives (but not sure of house number), Car registration, Parents address etc. I do not want him to get some "money for misery" lawyer firm like you see advertised on TV to bring these forums or its members in trouble!

He was not responsible for the brick work - the Polish guy did that (I ended up finally placing the cables properly & the up right dado tube & running all the speaker cables.

He just took chunks out of my floor beams to make room for the various cables but did also drill holes in them and run some of the cables through them. I gave him a complete job to sort out everything & he seemed like a real nice guy at first but then started to slack more & more. I ended up doing a fair bit & what I could with my very limited skills

I wanted to run a number of av cables, speaker cables and telephone cables from one side of the room to another as I wanted to future proof everything as in future my health issues will mean I will not be very active & will be spending a lot of time in my room so wanted to run all the cables etc that I could so I could connect my laptop to the eventual TV & av stuff I had planned to get in future. I know how hard it is to run cables in brick houses and it was suggested to me to run them under the floor so they will never be touched again & will always be out of the way. Also, as next year, I was hoping to get some wardrobes made, it was suggested to me to run trunking(?) inside the walls where the cables would be safe and have them come out of face plates in a flush fitting box inside the wall. The big hole in the wall is where the box would/will go.

As I will be spending a lot of time in my room, I also wanted to place a number of AV speakers as AV is my passion with small speakers placed in wardrobe doors & in ceilings mostly.

I am sorry if I have described anything incorrectly as I just do not know the correct names of most of these things!

Bazzy.

 

[acat]

Bazza dont name anyone for anything on here I will send you a PM


Chris

 

[Phil]

Hi All,



I am not working at the moment due to health reasons and also not claiming any dole (I just cannot accept doing that as mentally it makes me feel like horrible)

Bazzy.

the national insurance the government has taken off you in the past is what it says. an insurance mate for when things go rong and times are hard. there are people out there that do not need or deserve the money that you are entitled to mate. there would not be many people who would knock you for claiming money that you are entitled to and deserve. i know where you are coming from as a couple of years ago i got laid off and would not sign on. i ended up selling off a few drills and bit`s to make ends meet. i did end up signing on after a couple of months struggling by and they were great. they can tell the good from the bad and i got loads of great advice from them for getting back to work courses etc.i even gave one of the guys working in the job ctr advice on following his course he wanted to do. felt like i had a job swap for half an hour he was well happy. good luck with the works mate.

 

[Bazzzy]

Hi All,

Would it be OK for me to say arrange things with you via PM as I wish to respect the moderators?

I can PM say Bugsy & together him & I can converse with cbw, Sav & GaryinDerby? AC.Electrical also was kind enough to offer help. I am free most of next week but of course, fully flexible to your schedules. If possible, I would like to at least get things to state where i can sleep in the room as after my throat operations, I will be in bed for up to a month so will be stuck in that room!

Once again, very many thanks to all,

Bazzy.

 

[netblindpaul]

I thought this thread had been locked?

 

[acat]

No need to lock it mate so long as no one is named and shamed on the forum we dont have a problem. Our OP has had enough problems without slander/libel lawsuits being added if he reported anything incorrectly, he should I hope by now be kicking the door in with his local trading standards and to be fair if he did state something that was incorrect it would also reflect on the forum as we allowed it to be seen by all.

Thank you to everyone who has advised and helped him with a special mention to those who are going to help sort it out. Just goes to show why this forum is the only forum.


Chris

 

[jase]

Pleased to hear one of the members has offered to help out, however, please be aware that if any remedial works are carried out beforehand, then you will not have the opportunity to bring the rogue trader to task.

Your call, however, good luck!

sounds urgent though, could take pics of bodged work before remedial done

 

[Spudnik]

sounds urgent though, could take pics of bodged work before remedial done

See post 41.

However, the original 'electrician' if registered, would have the opportunity to put the work right first.

That, of course, is assuming he was allowed to.

 

[bugsy]

Hi Bazzy,

Having read the ads this guy put in the local paper I think you were a little bit on the foolhardy side by employing a handyman to carryout your electrical installation,
I will try to contact him but I need a bit more info first
1: what work did he actually qoute to carry out
2:How much was he going to charge,
3: How much have you paid him to date ( and have got a receipt )

 

[Bazzzy]

Hi Bazzy,

Having read the ads this guy put in the local paper I think you were a little bit on the foolhardy side by employing a handyman to carryout your electrical installation,
I will try to contact him but I need a bit more info first
1: what work did he actually qoute to carry out
2:How much was he going to charge,
3: How much have you paid him to date ( and have got a receipt )

Hi Bugsy,

Thanks again, I will reply the details via PM if that's OK? I had been ripped off before by Polish guys & then given the runaround by countless others & after months of this got really fed up. I have a guy who lives down the road from me who is an electrician & even he let me down so many times as he kept promising me he would be free in a two weeks which turned into months & then he said he had a new long term contract and could not do it!

I got so fed up from the Gumtree type of ads & asked everyone I knew if they could recommend me a decent person but none knew any. I finally decided the best course was to use someone who was native to the country so there were no communication issues, someone who who local so they could be chased up in case of problems in future & who could be used again with confidence on the basis that they would have to maintain their reputation & therefore care about their work as they depend on local custom & his customers would know where he lives/operates. Also, that he would not just disappear like some of the Eastern European types after they have got some money. After being let down by everyone else, I thought going local was the best thing to do! I had no where else to try sadly.

The reason I kept him on to do everything was he turned up as said & the first day he seemed to to a really good job & offered all types of work, not just electrical. He was very friendly & amenable but things started to slack after that.

It has been about 2 months now - I had a five day break within that & after the first time he disappeared for over a week, he returned & apologised citing he had to take his friend to hospital and was very busy etc. After I explained to him how delicate things were, he promised it would not happen again but I have not been able to contact him again. I have been able to contact his friend who was in hospital & he informed me that he has not heard from him in quite some time so he was very clearly lying about taking him to hospital sadly.

Bazzy.

 

[eddielarge]

Hi Bugsy,

Thanks again, I will reply the details via PM if that's OK? I had been ripped off before by Polish guys & then given the runaround by countless others & after months of this got really fed up. I have a guy who lives down the road from me who is an electrician & even he let me down so many times as he kept promising me he would be free in a two weeks which turned into months & then he said he had a new long term contract and could not do it!

I got so fed up from the Gumtree type of ads & asked everyone I knew if they could recommend me a decent person but none knew any. I finally decided the best course was to use someone who was native to the country so there were no communication issues, someone who who local so they could be chased up in case of problems in future & who could be used again with confidence on the basis that they would have to maintain their reputation & therefore care about their work as they depend on local custom & his customers would know where he lives/operates. Also, that he would not just disappear like some of the Eastern European types after they have got some money. After being let down by everyone else, I thought going local was the best thing to do! I had no where else to try sadly.

The reason I kept him on to do everything was he turned up as said & the first day he seemed to to a really good job & offered all types of work, not just electrical. He was very friendly & amenable but things started to slack after that.

It has been about 2 months now - I had a five day break within that & after the first time he disappeared for over a week, he returned & apologised citing he had to take his friend to hospital and was very busy etc. After I explained to him how delicate things were, he promised it would not happen again but I have not been able to contact him again. I have been able to contact his friend who was in hospital & he informed me that he has not heard from him in quite some time so he was very clearly lying about taking him to hospital sadly.

Bazzy.

did u actually pay this guy a penny for what he had done

 

[Bazzzy]

did u actually pay this guy a penny for what he had done

Hi,

Sadly, yes, most of it as I trusted him as a local guy and he said he would take care of most of the issues after the walls & flooring were done as that would be best. As he lives only a few minutes from me, I did not think he would even consider doing such a thing and initially he seemed like such a decent guy if you could possibly believe?

Bazzy.

 

[m25maintenance]

Give us his number. We will give him lots of nice fake bookings, ill even give him my local police station address

 

[m25maintenance]

Mate im in london. If u need help ill pop over

 

[Bazzzy]

Mate im in london. If u need help ill pop over

Hi!

Many Thanks matey - a few here have offered to help & I am sure I could do with your help!

Bazzy!

 

[m25maintenance]

sparks in london lets book this ******* to visit a site in london we can all be at and pretend we know nothing bout electrics and see what **** he feeds us. any 1 up 4 it. lets fight against ***** who give us all a bad name

 

[eskimo39]

sparks in london lets book this ******* to visit a site in london we can all be at and pretend we know nothing bout electrics and see what **** he feeds us. any 1 up 4 it. lets fight against ****** who give us all a bad name

Alternativley we could just book him to turn up at a deserted building and give him a Twizzler!!!!

Moderators.... I am just joking of course and do not condone violence in any way shape or form.

 

[cbw]

I should learn to keep my mouth shut!!!!

 

[eskimo39]

My offer of help still stands,

however why is Bazzy not answering all the questions put to him?

The standard of work in those pictures is SO bad it resembles a DIY disaster?

Are we being told the full story?

I know I can be very suspiscious so sorry in advance if I am being over cautious.

I think Bazzy is in contact with a member on here and has sent him the cowboys details etc.

 

[Sintra]

Bazzy has been in contact and the cowboys details have been pm'd. The details of this guy can not be posted in this forum so please guys do not ask bazzy to post them.

 

[cbw]

Excellent, my post will be removed, cynical old bugger that I am!!!!!

As previously stated I am available, now looking 17th May for my first free day......I will make tea!

CBW

 

[Bazzzy]

Hi All,

I am so very, very sorry - I rely so much on the net but since this guy has cut my telephone line I have lost both my landline & internet which I rely on. This is why I cannot get on the forums most of the day as I have to wait for my sisters to come hoe & use her company laptop which is connected to her work router & will not allow anyone to add a network to for security reasons. It means I might be a little late in getting back to all if that is OK? I have tried going to the local library but they are taken & booked for most of the time! I will keep trying though.

I would love to confront this guy if we can all get together - taht way he knows we mean business & may well see sense not to do the same to others. I loved the idea of booking a n appointent somewhere & getting him to turn up & then see his reaction - is this viable?

Can I report him to the local Council somehow - is there a standards or safety division that I can approach as well & get an Officer to investigate?

I am happy to accept help at Any Time - I really am - I was just following advice so you all could co-ordinate things together so you can agree to the best course of action. Like I said previously, if we get any (or hopefully all) of the money back that I paid this guy, I will most gladly donate it to a pertinent charity of your choice.

I Pm'd Bugsy yesterday with the details he requested as well as acat, sintra & others & was waiting for them to suggest things & convey to everyone.

Please let me know if there is anything else I can do & once again really sorry about the internet thing.

Bazzy.

 

[eddielarge]

sorry but this post is just becoming a joke ,, ok i know i will get ripped to pieces but all this talk of meeting him mob handed and setting him up was a joke , and now bazz want to do it .

enough is enough

Bazz i know your ill but why have you paid him for work he didnt do , you employed polish builders to do work , that in its self goes against my beliefs , then you get a jack of all trades to do electrics with no proof of qualifications.

i know i will get shot over this but it sounds like you have gone for cheap options each time ( not that i know what they charged)

And all this rubbish about too proud to claim benifits is crazy , your entitled to it.

just a suggestion why dont you claim the benifits long enough to pay an electrician to do it properly.

IM NOW DUCKING FOR COVER ( this is my view and not the view of the other sparks on this site)

 

[mogga]

Im tending to agree with Eddie although neither I nor Eddie have been party to the PMS that have been sent One thing I do feel needs nipped in the bud is this gungho "Lets get him " ect ect REPORT him to trading standards Thats what they are there for your local council has one its free to use Rant over now Im ducking down

 

[Bazzzy]

Hi,

To eddylarge & mogga, = In no way was I suggesting a mob mentality or harm in any way - I mentioned I was a Buddhist & believe in non violence accordingly. I only meant to imply that on my own, he would not tale any notice but if he knew I had other professionals with me who know about things, them maybe that might spark his conscience somewhat & he might act with reasaon for fear losing his license etc & take remedial steps as well as think twice about doing the same to others that's all.

I did not do anything on the cheap - he quoted a price and I did not even barter - I was so happy to find a supposed decent local guy that I could use in future, I agreed to his price & paid him what he wanted & when so as to please him. He was contracted to take care of everything, gave me a quote & I agreed - including the damage done by the Polish guys which I was upfront & honest about & did not hide in any way.

As for not claiming benefits - may I should claim but I can prove I am not doing and will gladly do so if need be. Maybe I am being silly & too proud but I was always brought up with some very old school values where a man that does not work is of no value or is not a man etc type of culture. If was claiming, then the flip side would be that maybe some in society might say I was sponger and just milking the situation so I cannot win I guess.

Yes, I chose a cowboy, but I did not know that at the time & have already explained why I went with someone who was a UK citizen, English National, English speaking & local so what more could I do. I have been too naive and thought if this one person who supposedly does most trades, then why not let him take care everything rather than get a a bunch of different people for different things & wait till high heaven for them to all be available when needed etc.

As for the Pm's stuff I was told not to post regarding the guys details I emailed Sintra & acat Pm'd Bugsy yesterday for the info he requested - I am sure he will pm everyone soon. I am happy to post here but did not want to break any rules and did as I was told. If I missed anyone it was only because I assumed that members would get in touch with other when they had a chance or could.

I understand & appreciate your views & opinions & fully agree, I may have been too trusting & a little naive but in no way was I suggesting anything that was untoward or harmful in any way.

Bazzy.

 

[All Sorts]

I've just read through this thread and smell a rat.

Too much information, with so much of it a distraction due to it's irrelevance to the issue at hand. It's all too perfect... and I'm surprised to read from a seemingly intelligent buddhist, such a sweeping generalisation as "like some of the Eastern European types" (and I thought Gordon Brown was supposed to be this weeks bigot!).

I can see there are some good hearts on here (and it's nice to be nice) but don't believe all you read!