I have employed a cowboy electrician: What now?

[Iggifer]

Excuse me if this has already been covered somewhere and I missed it, but:

He ended up saying ‘make me an offer to go’ and he ended up saying he would take £150 to leave and not rip his stuff out so I just paid him rather than risk him ripping all his stuff out which would have left me even worse off and without downstairs lighting, and without power to the fridge-freezer.

Exactly how did you pay him when you were elsewhere? By giving a card number over the phone on the spot, perhaps?

Internet banking was mentioned, so I presume bank transfer.

 

[PBC_1966]

Internet banking was mentioned, so I presume bank transfer.

Ah, sorry, missed that but I see it now. If it was paid by credit card there would be a good chance of getting the transaction reversed as being carried out under duress, although there would probably be a need to back that up with a police complaint.

Even if a direct transfer, it might still be worth checking with the bank and explaining the circumstances under which the transfer was made to see if they'll reverse it. You'll probably need to get through to somebody at higher managerial level though.

 

[PHILOSOPHERDAN]

Internet banking was mentioned, so I presume bank transfer.

Ah, sorry, missed that but I see it now. If it was paid by credit card there would be a good chance of getting the transaction reversed as being carried out under duress, although there would probably be a need to back that up with a police complaint.

Even if a direct transfer, it might still be worth checking with the bank and explaining the circumstances under which the transfer was made to see if they'll reverse it. You'll probably need to get through to somebody at higher managerial level though.

Yes, he gave me his bank account details and I paid by internet bank transfer. Thanks, that's an interesting idea. I would probably need to report it to the police first, but once I had then the bank might well reverse it...

 

[ericmark]

1) There are at least two spurs each feeding two double sockets and wired with standard 2.5mm cable. One in the bedroom and one in the kitchen. I was told that, for example, in the bedroom were someone to use an electric heater and a hair dryer and perhaps another couple of things plugged in, then the wire might overheat and catch fire. The double sockets in the kitchen are above the work surface and might easily be used for kettle, toaster, microwave etc simultaneously. Is it correct that this is a problem and/or against regs? What is the solution – given that the channels have been decorated over (with polyfiller and repainting the wall in the bedroom, and with newly installed tiles in the kitchen)? Installing a Fused Connection Unit, or is there any other easy, cost effective option?

fused or unfused this is very important. If there is a FCU then it complies.

2) It is the earth sleeve which has been left off in at least one single socket – the bedroom socket from which the there is a spur to two double sockets. I was told that if it were to touch the live cable then the radiators and/or sink might become live (there is currently a 1961 vintage fuse unit – putting in a new consumer unit is one of the things I needed the electrician to do). Is this correct?

Not quite if the earth and live touch it should blow a fuse which will automatically disconnect the supply and make it safe

3) The wire to the 10.8kw shower says on it ‘2x6.5+2.5sqmm’. Paul the electrician claims he thought it is a 9.5kw shower – even though the box was standing there in the bathroom.

I have not seen 6.5 mm² cable I will guess it is 6 mm² cable in real terms it does not matter what size the shower is what is important is that the overload device be it fuse or MCB is matched to the cable. So using reference method 100 and 6 mm² cable to feed a 12 kW show will mean the supply will likely disconnect before you have finished your shower but does not result in danger, if the correct size MCB/fuse (30/32 amp) is used, only if the fuse/MCB does not match the cable is there a problem.

4) We can differentiate the issues of competency from the issues of honesty. Paul the electrician said he would install 10sqmm cable to the shower and install thicker cable to the hifi and charged me for it. He also said he would be finished before Christmas…
5) He said he would provide the requisite notifications to the council upon completion of the work – though I cannot find him listed in the ‘competent persons scheme’ so do not know what this amounts to. What fees does the council require if someone who is a member of the competent person’s scheme installs news sockets and/or circuits? What about if the installer is not a member? Does it apply to rewiring of the lighting circuit or only to sockets?

This is a major problem for you, be he a member or not he will not need to produce an installation certificate for uncompleted work so after being kicked off site your only method is to go to the LABC and tell them what has happened and find if he paid the fees or not. However once you tell them you can’t un-tell them so if they decide they want it ripping out and redoing then that is what will happen, and if he is not a scheme member and not paid the LABC their fees then you will need to pay them their fees. So it is very important to you to find out if he said anywhere that he is a scheme member, if he said anywhere he was a scheme member and was not then he has broken the law, however if he never claimed to be a scheme member then you have broken the law if the LABC was not informed before the work started.

Fact that he said he would provide the paper work means he should either be a scheme member or will have already paid the LABC but how you can find out without asking the LABC I am unsure?

6) I was an hour’s drive away, and talking to Paul on the phone during yesterday’s confrontation, so I had very little influence on what he did.
7) Paul refused to reason or negotiate to come to fair and equitable agreement – that is what I was willing and planning on doing.
8) The front door was unlocked, unfortunately, and he just walked in. He was threatening to remove and/or cut the wiring that he had done – which could be argued to be criminal damage. Would that not be sufficient grounds for the policeman to remove him.
9) Paul clearly does not understand the law so given that Paul was emboldened to act by the policeman’s failure to do anything, I had every reason to think that he would do the damage if I had not paid him the £150 – which would leave me worse off.

Not sure if that leaves you worse off or not, as he has in front of the Police accepted a reduced payment so now he can no longer ask you for any more money.

10) Reading on the web, extracting money from someone through threats to perform criminal damage is blackmail – it is what mafia ‘protection’ rackets involve after all. So I guess that means I can report him to the police and see if they charge him. As well as complaining about the policeman who just left him to get on with his blackmailing.

Not sure on that, I would consider anyone who gains lawful assess can remove some thing which is legally his. However Shakespeare did a play about some merchant in Venice who was the owner of a pound of flesh and he was told he could have it if he did not spill a drop of blood.

In your case he would likely be allowed to remove his property as long as it did not make the house uninhabitable and I can’t see how he could remove anything without making the house technically uninhabitable.

I think you have two separate problems. One is monitory and trying to claw back money paid under duress that I have no idea on how you can proceed.

Second is getting the work corrected and the house safe to live in. Since you say you have lodgers then you have a problem, you can’t on one hand say the house was not safe and on the other hand say you allowed lodgers to stay in an unsafe house. So much hinges on how this Paul was going to provide you with paperwork. If under LABC then the LABC inspector would need to say if the house was fit to live in before power was supplied to any circuit.

When I had a run in with builders in my dad’s house over a wet room being installed I went to the LABC and told them what had happened and how I wanted to take over the job. Only at this point did I find out the builders had not informed the LABC or paid any fees. I was lucky that due to the work being done to enable the house to be used by my disabled mother there was no LABC charge, however I would have likely needed to pay at least £200 to council had that not been the case. The inspector went around the work and had to decide if the floor needed removing for inspection or not lucky again he said the floor looked OK. As to electrics he was very loathed to allow us to finish the work, he did in the end allow it, but he was sticking his neck out and really he wanted some one else to carry the can should anything go wrong.

This is your problem too, tell the council and you will likely end up with charges if everything goes to court then you would be trying to get back the money paid to the council but for that to happen the guy has to remain solvent.

In my case the company folded after the council got to grips with them so there was no point taking them to court as there was no money to be had. Had I not involved the council maybe they would not have folded and I would have got my money back.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Perhaps you need to reread my posts. I was speaking on the telephone to him – I was not present

Indeed I do - I knew you started out talking on the phone but for some reason I thought you did it to buy time until you got there.