EICR – Rogue electrician scam?

We're in the wrong trade, I had two consumer units fitted the same day = £1,000 for one days work!!! They have to be seen doing something and consumer units are spot on for that. I spent 5 years studying electronics and could do it in my sleep and consider myself as a 'competent' person but I've other things. On the plus side - they're valid for 5 year!

Reply to the comment left by LaLo at 04/12/2020 - 15:39
That's why I'm asking what the regulations say.

Do the regulations say that you *must* have a qualified electrician fitting the consumer units or that you *must* have an electrician who is specifically qualified to fit the consumer units? Or do the regulations say that an existing consumer unit that is fitted must be inspected and shown to be safe? So that you could fit it yourself if you wanted to, even if you still had to have it inspected afterwards.

Reply to the comment left by Mike at 04/12/2020 - 15:01
Hi Mike - an EICR at £100 is very low cost, although price will vary depending on complexity / size of the wiring circuits (e.g. 1-bed flat to 4 bed house), and the local market. Consumer Unit at £500 is not that unreasonable, although will be influenced by local market trading conditions, and thus should be lower in some areas of the country. Lesson is to beware low charges for EICR and potential excessive profit on remedials (think vehicle MOTs).

Reply to the comment left by Beaver at 04/12/2020 - 16:36
Would someone please answer Beaver's question?

Reply to the comment left by Beaver at 04/12/2020 - 15:20
The 18th edition regulations is for (current) electrical installations.
If a consumer unit was fitted by a non qualified electrician and was deemed safe and passed an EHICR test, I believe that would be fine..

Reply to the comment left by LaLo at 04/12/2020 - 15:39Similar background here. A increasingly great frustration is when you are obliged by state process to employ people who are legally qualified but should never have been trained in the first place. The lack of a moral compass comes after that. This is a much bigger problem than a simple thing like an EICR certificate. This lack of judgement to assess ability to judge and replace it with process is a global disaster. I really do not know how the human species has survived this long, but the future looks increasingly bleak. Covid has accelerated this.

Reply to the comment left by Jireh Homes at 04/12/2020 - 16:57
£500 for 3-4 hours work minus the cost of the consumer unit of £80 - £100 seems very excessive to me when the average wage of an electrician is around £30- £40 an hour. £100 plus an hour!
No wonder they want you to upgrade your consumer unit when you don’t need to.

Quite frankly to charge £500 to replace a consumer unit is a clear rip off. Maximum I would pay a fully qualified Electrician is no more than about £200 to £250.

But wait, yes if a landlord is a lawyer or a Doctor, or a Barrister, then yes any Electrician should double that charge to £1000, why not? So always ask a Landlord what is his profession, then rip them off as they rip us off.
Nothing I cannot do myself for free.

BTW, cheaper to buy your own test equipment and learn from Youtube and test your own installation and fill up your own certificate with figures and readings and checck against rules to see if this passed the safety standards.

i had quote for 20 year old one floor flat all electric

£300 plus vat--apparently needed 8 hours of engineers time!!!!

ttfo--quote elsewhere £129

Reply to the comment left by Mike at 04/12/2020 - 15:01
Thats a mixed one. To do an EICR for £100 is too cheap and you're either getting a duff service or someone using the low price as a leverage for unnecessary improvements- my business is full of rogues and I see it everyday- you get what you pay for.

RCDs aren't technically required and would as a minimum attract a minimum c3 providing complex old hat supplementary bonding in special locations is satisfactory- generally it isnt.

I personally I tell any customer on a phone enquiry that I dont do EICRs on properties that arent fully RCD protected. To me its a minimum necessary standard to meet and new installations have required this since 2008. I do tell them it could still pass but to get someone else to do it.

£500 isnt expensive or the top end for consumer unit replacement. I charge that for a replacement complete with EIC,EICR and building control certification provided- a legal requirement when such work is undertaken- CU replacement is notifiable work.

I also put right all the small stuff that would fail it too within that cost- subject to sensible 'fair usage policy'. However i am criticized a lot by fellow sparks who say I work to cheap.

And as someone commented it is the clients responsibility in law to enensure the person doing the work is competent. A lot of people dont realise that but are now finding out.

Would you let a Joe bloggs fit you a new boiler without checking his credentials- thought not. Harsh learning curve maybe but really commonsense