Tonights call out...

[uksparks]

Hi,

Got a call this afternoon, my cooker has packed up...

"ok" ill pop round later to look....

Jeees, your lucky I said. He said it didnt trip anything... I had a new board fitted two years ago too.

Looked at the board, all incorrectly labled on circuits, not water bonding or gas, no warning labels, oh and no this circuit has no CPC label either (lights had no CPC).

Anyway, this is what I found...

The cooker was a 16A, 3.2Kw cooker, with a plug top on it that the kitchen fitter had done a couple of years ago...

The plug circuit was not even connected on the RCD side of the board to my horror.



Then he said, the cooker hasnt worked for two months... yet it stank of burning... somehow didn't believe it. He then said, some of the lights upstairs are not working.. I said ok ill take a quick look... no power to three of the rooms and no power to switches... Strangely all the ceiling roses looked brand spanking new! Id say he has been doing a bit of DIY. I did ask him to confess, but no he didnt. He was a painter.

Anyway, id say he has been dabbling and messed it up.

Anyway, I changed the faceplate and tested it quickly, stuck a couple of stickers on, removed a few light fittings to see if there was anything obvious and said thats £35 please, this was at 7pm. He was shocked that it was so much!!!

Anyway, got to go back saturday to put a 20A switch in the ring so that the cooker can be wired into that directly instead of via a plug top, just going to be tight putting it in and the like, I reckon I can put a 20A switch hard against the top of the existing double socket in the cupboard and wire the cooker onto that, should be ok then.

I did say though, im not doing it until the plug circuit that its on is moved onto the RCD side of the board, I suspect its full of faults which is why the cowboy who did it, didn't do it to start with. It was a real rough job they had done, oh and he had no paperwork...

Id say the bloke is lucky the house is standing!

 

[Brightspark2]

£35 for a call out too much?!?!


Is he for real..

 

[uksparks]

Oh and the light switches, I popped a couple off to look, and noticed the nice wooden back boxes.... and no CPC.

The house was built in 1964, think I saw some green goo also.. to be honest, it would benefit from a rewire!

 

[uksparks]

£35 for a call out too much?!?!


Is he for real..

I know, and I changed a fitting for that!! I like the £35 fee as most people pop to the cash machine and cannot get a £5 note, so you end up getting £40 more often than not and it made you look cheaper saying £35. But this bloke happened to have a fiver!

 

[Farmelectrics]

Surely there's a grand to be made in that job lol

 

[GMES]

Bloody hell mate that is too cheap the call out should be more plus extra for swapping fitting, you have got to remember a call out charge should only be to get you there, then hourly rate from there. or am I being harsh I suppose you got some remedial from it so maybe swings and seesaws

 

[Megavolt]

By time you work out time getting there and back fuel ect, ect, ect your robbing your self at £35.

 

[uksparks]

It was only 4 streets away, so only round the corner, but yes, a bit cheap...

 

[GLENNSPARK]

test the circuit for compliance before connecting the cooker up wont you...

as this fella sounds like just the sort who would claim any fault once you have done was your doing...

if it dont comply then tell him it needs sorting first....

 

[uksparks]

Well, I'm going back to put the plug circuit on the rcd side, add a 20A switch in next to the plug, wire cooker in, and test. But I have a feeling it won't be that straight forward as I bet the cicuit is full of faults hence it not being on the rcd.

I am right in thinking the new 20A outlet should be rcd protected, I won't do it otherwise which is why I'm going to move the breaker.

Oh he also said when I turn the bathroom light on, the bedroom goes out. I bet £100 he has touched it.

 

[telectrix]

as glenn said. test the bloody circuit before you do anything else. the tightarse will want any faults fixing for free if you do any work first.

 

[jaypp]

anyone notice lack of paint on ONE of those switches?

 

[uksparks]

All the ceiling roses were brand new... And a few of the light switches.

I said, are you sure you haven't changed anything, he was alimentary he hadn't, and he had lived there 11 years... Ok he will now pay for fiddling.

 

[uksparks]

Just out of interest, is a wooden back box a C3? I don't think I'd be happy replacing fittings where it was a wooden back box as its a combustible material.

 

[jimjimjim]

I know, and I changed a fitting for that!! I like the £35 fee as most people pop to the cash machine and cannot get a £5 note, so you end up getting £40 more often than not and it made you look cheaper saying £35. But this bloke happened to have a fiver!

I do that as well, although the other day i had someone counting a fiver's change out in my hand!

 

[uksparks]

It kind of works with anything involving £5. Nice little trick.

 

[telectrix]

i've been called a rogue for charging £40 for a call-out including 1 hour on site and a fiver's worth of bits and pieces.

 

[kingeri]

That cooker could do with a dedicated circuit really!

 

[uksparks]

That cooker could do with a dedicated circuit really!

On the consumer unit, there's a circuit labeled up cooker, but not a cooker switch outlet in sight anywhere...

If I just hard wire it into a 20A switch that will be sufficient for now, but yes in an ideal world it could do with its own circuit.

- - - Updated - - -

Nothing else seemed to be correctly labeled, the person who did it wad a cowboy at a guess.

 

[telectrix]

or you could just give the guy a few brochures for gas cookers.