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Electrical

being fobbed off by a cowboy (complete re wire job)

Anonymous user 03/03/2024 - 3.08 PM

Im desperately needing to know a few things about a complete re wire ive had done on my 4 bed detached house. Apart from the complete devastation he cause aswell as the threatening abuse and the blackmail... this cowboy has taken 8 grand off me and ive still not got a completion certificate... to be honest I haven't a clue what ones suppose to look like. He's wrecked my sofa. .. left smoke alarms disconnected left a wire hanging into my shower for nearly two weeks... wrecked my sons bedroom floor but failed to tell me so covered it up with a cardboard box over the joists and put the carpet back down.... left all old wiring and boxes in... just to mention a few... what am I suppose to do? I've kept my calm and cried behind closed doors I dont know what to do. Hes now threatened to smash my husbands face in and blackmailing me with.... if I provide the other quotes if the other electricians he will provide a break down of bill and my certificate. ... PLEASE HELP --- I would like to thank everyone who replied to my question. Im new on here so dont know how to reply. I doubt very much the cow boy is insured or registered either. Ive tried to find him on the register but nothing. Who does he need to be registered with? I live north scotland The price has escalated. ... we gave him money up front and whist doing the job my husband asked him number of times if we were to pay any more. Answer was always no then turns up out if blue that he wanted another 8k after discussion he later dropped it to 5k which made it 8k in total. Nothing was agreed. My hubby told me to pay him to get him off my back as he works away and didnt want him to cause trouble. So I paid him with a cheque which was thrown in my face and demanded cash. Ive started to record him as my hubby away again and so I have something that might help me out if needs be. All I needed was the break down of bill completion certificate and also receipt that ive paid him.... whats to say he wont come back and demand more???? Ive now got a written receipt but thats it...

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4 Answers

Electrical Safety Services

Rating: 5 out of 5

Dereham

Unfortunately this sort of behaviour is all too common and you must always research and check all tradesmen carefully before hiring them to do a job. Firstly a 4 bedroom house rewire should not cost £8000 pounds! it should have been less than half that. - (did you get any other quotes? and how do these compare to the one you accepted?) However if there is not a written quote in place, did you agree to his price of £8000 before work started? or has it he just invoiced you for this amount? If its just a verbal contract that you have accepted or a formal written quote its worth speaking to a solicitor as whilst the electrical trade association may be able to assist you with the dangerous/shoddy work, the only recourse for money disputes is via small claims court. Without any written contract though, it is difficult to prove what was included and what was not included etc. If he is insured (and he should be if he is working legally), then he should offer to either pay for the sofa or claim from his public liability insurance. At the very least if he disagrees to either then you should make a reduction from the final invoice to cover the cost of repairing or replacing the sofa. With regards to the threats etc, try and write everything down, what was said, dates, time, any photos or tape recordings are also useful as evidence. Also contact the police and ensure that the threat is logged with them just in case anything does happen. If you suspect the job is poor, then it would be a good idea to hire an NICEIC registered electrician to come round and carry out a full Electrical Installation Condition Report. This takes about 2 - 3 hours and is a thorough check and test of the wiring. The report produced will detail if there are any issues and unsafe/non compliant work, all of which is good evidence to support you claim if/when it goes to court. Plus if the wiring really is bad and unsafe, its probably best to know what the issues are so they can be resolved.

Answered7 July 2014

Emelec Electrical Services

Rating: 5 out of 5

Wirral

You need to speak with the registered body he is with - NICEIC / NAPIT / ELECSA etc they will then tell you how to go about it. I'm sorry you're in this situation as not all trades people act in this way.

Answered6 July 2014

OHM ELECTRICAL AND IT SOLUTIONS LTD

Rating: 5 out of 5

Wembley

Dear Becky_231, Sorry to hear this bad experience you had from him. 1st : Rise this issue to the hir member body where is registered and if no help you can report trading standard and also this process can take few days to weeks. 2nd: If he harmed to your family member you can take this matter to Local police and take some legal advise or help from people you can trust also citizen advise centre may help you. 3rd: Take quote from local electrician who have real genuine helping nature and place this cost by small claim court to place all right by others or by him. Again since the situation may become more abusive from him you need to see all the options. I hope you get better out come from this and god will help you. All the best, Kind regards, Vin

Answered6 July 2014

kevin cassidy building contractors

Rating: 5 out of 5

Accrington

Eight thousand sounds like an awful lot of money for a rewire on a 4 bed house unless you have installed a lot of high tech equipment. Was that quoted or did it just escalate to that amount? If the later you need to think about trading standards for over charging. If he has not completed the job correctly or to standard you can request intervention from his governing body i.e. NAPIT, ELECSA, NICEIC. As for the threatening behaviour simply tell the police you are worried for your safety because of threats of violence.

Answered6 July 2014