Your experiences of competent body schemes, and which you personally recommend ?

[JamesBrownLive]

One thing that nobody seems to have mentioned yet, is that not all schemes let you in if you are just starting out. The NICEIC used to have a requirement that you needed to have been trading for 12 months before applying, and I think that is still in place.
ELESCA don't have a 12 month trading requirement.

 

[PJK]

Hi
I have been with NICEIC as approved contractor and domestic installer for two years now, and have my second assessemnt on Tuesday. The assessor has been very helpful and it appears they want to everything they can to make you get hrough the assessment process. ( it is still a bit of a sweat though). I have to have three past customers willing to let us in their homes and mess about with their electrics for an hour or so, no everyone agrees to this. Indeed for the initial assessment it was five jobs. NICEIC are not cheap but in my opinion they are one of the most widely recognised and accepted by all potentil customers. Their standards are equally widely known and respected. Overall I am happy with NICEIC and their support.
Peter

 

[Welchyboy]

I was with elecsa for 3 years and i must say, before my assessor arrived for the first time i was a bag of nerves, but after my assessment i was thinking 'my god was that all i was worried about', the 'Assessment' was a total joke!

i am now with the NIC DI and about to upgrade to A/C, purely for business reasons.
lets not kid ourselves they are all just fighting over our money and if you are a smaller fish(elecsa) in a big market then you have to attract your members somehow! the harder the assessment is, the less people will want to do it.

bottom line is i have been asked countless times 'am i NIC registered?' not once has anybody asked me about anybody else!

Im not bashing anyone else or their chosen body but its about selling your business as best you can, and lets be honest, right now NIC are by far the market leaders, if however the ECA or NAPIT pulled it out of the bag in years to come and took over the NIC then i would change over in an instant, i have no loyalties to any of them they are a means to an end.
but i would be pretty confident if i do pass my A/C assessment i wouldnt be too concerned about passing anybody elses!

as an added comment i have not had any problems with their tech support line