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Electrical

Do I need to pay £150 upfront to electrician to check whether house registered/ has Certificate P?

Anonymous user 23/02/2024 - 3.02 PM

Hello, I've asked an electrician to check the wiring / sockets in my house. He's told me that I need to pay him £150 upfront "to see if the work previously carried out has been registered or certificated". I paid him the money with a touch of unease (because he didn't properly explain why it was needed; he just kept telling me it was complicated and I wouldn't understand.) He claims he's checked and that no previous electrical work has been registered. However, it turns out that this electrician (electrician A) isn't actually registered with a professional body. He's brought a registered electrician (electrician B) to do the actual work (who's a member of a competent person scheme via Stroma). Electrician B has completed an electrical installation condition report and has charged me £170 for the check (which the initial electrician said I need to pay in addition to the £150). I now need to pay extra for the work that needs to be completed to rectify the Code 2 items listed on his report (which all seems totally legitimate). I managed to talk to Electrician B away from Electrician A. Electrician B told me that he has no idea about the upfront payment of £150. He said the £170 should cover everything related to the electrical installation condition report. My question is: Does anyone know anything about paying an upfront fee of approximately £150 in order to check whether a house has previously been registered with the government/ has a Certificate P? Electrician A keeps talking vaguely about "government regulations" and Certificate Ps and the fact that every household needs to pay this fee upfront before their electrics are tested and an electrical installation condition report is completed. But I can't see anything online to back up this claim and, despite repeated requests, he's not provided me with any documentation or website links. Is he scamming me or is this a legitimate payment and check? Thanks for any help you can provide.

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7 Answers

BBT Electrical Services

Rating: 5 out of 5

Witney

Hmm, you know when you get an email that looks legitimate and after you have opened it things don't seem all that right?, well....... All homeowners have to do BEFORE parting with any money or arranging for work to be done by a 'Competent Person' is check on: http://www.electricalcompetentperson.co.uk Put in the details and it will tell you who's telling the truth! An EICR will give a report on what's good or bad with your electrical installation. Electrician B has done his job, it's just unfortunate that you paid out the £150 to the person who left his horse at the end of the road! I feel that this clown likes to refer to himself as a "Middle Man", decency prevents the term I would like to use! The phrase 'Live & Learn' seems to be appropriate to this particular circumstance. If the property had been subject to a consumer unit (fuse box!) change or indeed an EICR previously then there should have been some paperwork or a sticker in a prominent place. I am willing to bet that your installation does not comply with the current regulations, by the way they are not "government regulations" they are BS 7671: 2008 Amd 3 IET Wiring Regulations - Requirements for Electrical Installations, because it's outdated. This does not make it illegal, it just makes it less safe (or dangerous if anything was discovered) than a new system. You don't have to pay money upfront, you could contact Building Control at the local authority and see if they may have any records. You did the right thing by having it all checked, but the wrong thing by how you went about getting it checked I'm afraid. I don't think that Elec A is scamming you, he HAS scammed you.

Answered17 May 2016

Omnivolt Electrical Solutions

Rating: 4.9 out of 5

Denny

Sounds like you were scammed, EICR should have been all that you were paying for.

Answered19 May 2016

Anonymous user

Hi, This is very strange! There's nothing in the regulations that state you need carryout any pre checks that your Electrician A is claiming. If any previous work has been carried out then an electrical safety certificate should have been issued and your local council informed (depending on the nature of the work). A record of the any non minor work can be obtained from your local building control for a very minimum admin fee (nothing as much as £150). It sounds very much like you have been ripped off by Electrician A and personally I would be seeking a refund. To carryout whatever checks he has done must have produced an audit trail of some sort and therefore should be able to produce proof in the way of receipt / invoice. Electrician B appears to have charged you a reasonable price for an EICR.

Answered27 May 2016

AK Domestic Electrical Services

Rating: 5 out of 5

Mansfield

Lots of these guys going about so be careful. Always ask to see his Part p certification if unsure.

Answered19 May 2016

DPW Electrics

Rating: 5 out of 5

York

Hello A respectful electrician doesn't need to check if something is registered. All he has to do is make sure his work is done properly and if needed, certificates issued. I would call him to get back the upfront charge. Regards Damian

Answered24 May 2016

Southern Property Renovation and Refurbishments

Rating: 5 out of 5

Woking

never never pay an (up front fee to check if your house is registered for electrical work under part p ) all you need do is contact the governing bodies , like STROMA/ NAPIT/EIC NICEIC TO SEE IF THEY HOLD ANY RECORD OF NOTIFICATION OF PART P WORK . ALSO contact local building control , they may charge a fee , but its a simple job of checking the address against the records they hold , we have so many cowboys and girls out there saying they can do this and that , an oh i will get it sorted, they are rip off merchants, ALWAYS DO YOUR OWN BACKGROUND CHECKS ON ANY TRADERS, i dont care if they are registered with trading standards/check a trade/ my builder as examples. please if they say they are certified the ask for the certificate and phone the issuers to check. never pay up front and only pay when you are satisfied with the work. always have a contract and keep to it. fmb do good contracts and like wise some of the competent persons schemes also do them

Answered11 October 2020

CP Electrics

Rating: 5 out of 5

Manchester

Sorry to say it doesn't look great. The guy has ripped you off, the current electrician has no need to know about any previous work, he will be testing it all and know what has been done anyway. No competent electrician would use anothers results anyway. I hope you manage to get a refund. Regards Chris. Cp electrics

Answered26 August 2017