New Consumer Unit

jasons6930

Un believable.

Its no wonder there are so many miserable tradesmen out there, especially with people screwing them over prices after reading forums like this.

Does anybody actually realise the costs involved in trying to trade especially at the moment???

No? Thought not.

£200 to change a consumer unit??:rotfl:

I hope they supply a free fire extinguisher with the one they use because i can tell you now, it wont be one i would have in my house.


For gods sake, why dont people just pay a proper amount for a proper days work instead of coming on forums and trying to shaft the tradesmen.

I can see all the new threads now with people complaining about the standard of work they got. And then they wonder why:rolleyes:

andy69_2

maybe because we are on a money saving website? trying to get the best deal, who would go for the most expensive deal and get ripped off? someone who is purely stupid, they are only trying to get peoples opinions to see if they are getting ripped off which MANY people do!

keystone

andy69 wrote: »

maybe because we are on a money saving website? trying to get the best deal,

Does the best deal = the cheapest deal in your opinion?

who would go for the most expensive deal and get ripped off? someone who is purely stupid,

Not necessarily the most expensive deal might just be the correct one for the job.

they are only trying to get peoples opinions to see if they are getting ripped off which MANY people do!

Agree and theres nothing wrong in seeking opinions but you have to have the nouse to know when those opinions are correct or not. I've seen prices for jobs on here that I would quote 50% of the quoted rate for. Those are the ripoffs. Oh and BTW I'd still be happy with my income at that 50% level and the client ould get a good, professional job done. BUT you don't compromise either with gas or electricity just to get the cheapest deal. That IS plain stupid and in some cases downright criminal.

Cheers

Happychappy

jasons6930 wrote: »

Un believable.

Its no wonder there are so many miserable tradesmen out there, especially with people screwing them over prices after reading forums like this.

Does anybody actually realise the costs involved in trying to trade especially at the moment???

No? Thought not.

£200 to change a consumer unit??:rotfl:

I hope they supply a free fire extinguisher with the one they use because i can tell you now, it wont be one i would have in my house.


For gods sake, why dont people just pay a proper amount for a proper days work instead of coming on forums and trying to shaft the tradesmen.

I can see all the new threads now with people complaining about the standard of work they got. And then they wonder why:rolleyes:

Jason

Would be interested in what you work for as a daily rate for an average 7 hour day? What do you believe to be a proper amount for a proper days work ?

poorlywallet

Hello All,

First post so please be gentle, but the 'sparky charges too much' theme often gets me going

Its not just the cost of the board he install + labour for a days work.

Part P registered sparkies have to part with around £400 a year in registration fees. Have to pay for expensive test equipment (mine cost over £600), Calibrated every year (Costs me £69). Some pay for professional indemnity insurance, depending on the type of work they do. They have to purchase reference books (£150-£200 for the ones i use) Relevent exams should be renewed every five years (works out about £250/year + time off the job to take exams again). Then there's the normal self employed traders overheads, Public liability insurance, van costs - fuel/business insurance etc. We dont have free stationary cupboards like employed office folk, paper pens and stamps all cost

Look at the tools he uses, they're not (or shouldn't be) cheap and nasties bought from a sunday market. They cost to replace (i pay about £5 for a decent screwdriver) when they wear out and the're easy to lose!:mad:

When he changes a consumer unit, he might uses some new bits of cable, if the existing ones are not long enough for the new board, New tails, bits of sleeving, connectors, earthing cable, bonding clamps etc - all just small costs, but they mount up!
Notifying each job to the council costs a a few quid aswell,(costs me about £2.50 per job)

Also, i don't understand how people can tell if the price is right from a simple "new box, straight swap £500"

SuicideVW may have had their box changed for £350, that may have been a cheap 8way +2 RCD's and mcb's (£60-90?) But SundayJumper's sparky might be quoting for a branded quality 12way board with RCBO's (£350-£400, yes really :eek:)

£200 for a new box fitted, , just make sure the sparky takes his boots off when he comes round, Sometimes the spurs have been known to cut carpets. Give him a nice cup of tea and a trough of water for his horse.

Cheapest is not best, VFM and a good deal is best.
We are talking about something that needs to be done safely. Would you apply the same logic to a child's car seat? I know you could easily pay £100+ for a quality one from Mothercare or similar but would you feel comfortable buying one from me if i said i could import one from China for £30 (BTW,no safety tests carried out, no certificate or anyway to show it will be safe? SShhhh, ask no questions!:shhh:)

hope that doesn't sound too much like a rant.

zax47

poorlywallet, a handful of us sparkies have been trying to make exactly your points for a while now and have posted loads of times (do a search for me, baldelectrician and others).

However, the blinkered thinking in these forums ("I must pay the least as that's what money-saving is all about") still insists that cheapest is best. You know it isn't, I know it isn't but try telling some of these numpties who just think all tradesmen are out to rob them and begrudge us actually making a living. They don't for one second consider that after I take out my fixed costs (as any business would do) then my actual take home pay is often not much above national minimum wage!! They just see £20 an hour (which is cheap) as expensive - thinking I get £20 an hour out of it, when it's probably nearer £7-8!!

Have a read of this thread from earlier this year - it's a cracker!!

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1692859

fto

Does anybody think, bringing in the part P building regulations has improved the qualty of work.........
I worked has a electrician for twenty years, now some of the cowboys who are part P registered,gives them a licence to print money.
Not all sparkies are like this,in fact I been quite impressed by some of the sparks on this forum, but please ask for recommendations before parting with your money.

nic_santorini

I had an electrical contractor fit a new consumer unit in my 2 up 2 down last year for £250 all in.

zax47

fto wrote: »

Does anybody think, bringing in the part P building regulations has improved the quality of work.........
I worked has a electrician for twenty years, now some of the cowboys who are part P registered, gives them a licence to print money.
Not all sparkies are like this,in fact I been quite impressed by some of the sparks on this forum, but please ask for recommendations before parting with your money.

But are they?? True registration with a Competent Persons scheme from NICEIC, NAPIT, ELECSA etc. requires a strict annual assessment which these cowboys would never pass (or pay their £400+ annual fee). Anyone can SAY they are "Part P" and the ignorance and "mystery" of Part P among the GBP means few are challenged to actually prove it, unfortunately. Just last week I went to "mop up" after a "Part P sparky" had worked in a kitchen - turns out he'd done a 3 day "Part P" course and took the certificate from that to prove he was Part P "registered" - unbelievable.

Participating in a "Part P course" merely means you (should) understand the in & outs of Part P as it affects your trade, is it not the same as being Part P registered.

fto

It's mainly the large companies that employ 2 decent sparks & 100 monkeys & guess whos work gets inspected.............