British Gas Electricians

ankspon

My power kept going off in my flat yesterday,i phoned BG for a one off repair about 5pm.Someone came about 9pm and removed the cover of the fuse board,wiggled and tapped a few times and the fuse board was arcing.He said he would return first thing this morning with a new RCD and replace it and told us to leave all power off till he came back.Noon today came and no sign of him so i rung BG who said they have no log of the job and nothing in system so they would send someone else out.They came about 5pm and fixed it saying it was melted and a big risk of fire.I was also told the first man who came and never returned was not qualified to remove the fuseboard cover and should not be touching anything in there.So i was left without power for 24 hours and an incompetent sparky messing with things he shouldn't be.Should i complain to BG and also claim for loss of food in freezer.

wealdroam

davidhwdn wrote: »

Should i complain to BG and also claim for loss of food in freezer.

Yes. Why not?

You could also thank them at the same time for helping you avoid the fire.

Did they say how much a callout on Saturday and again on Sunday to repair your consumer unit would cost?

squeaky

davidhwdn wrote: »

claim for loss of food in freezer.

Hi,

If you pop across to the Old Style board, they can tell you how to minimise your losses.

Things such as which foods you can cook and then safely re-freeze, which you should use straight away, and which will last for a few days in the fridge.

I'll edit in a direct link to a useful thread...

Edit:- Freezer been switched off / door left open - will food be ok?

Moody_Mare

I will let you know proceedures and this may help your case?

The first engineer who turned up will be the 1st line (not an electricain) they are primarily white goods engineers. In this situation the 1st line engineer has a look and if he cannot do anything he then calls control and books a 2nd line engineer (who is a qualified electrician) who should be out promptly. 2nd line carry most spares for common fuse boxes.

This procedure does not always work especially if there is football on the TV !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ankspon

I stated the fuseboard was arcing when i first called so a competent engineer should have been sent.He wasn't qualified to touch the fuseboard never mind removing cover and tampering with it.He also said HE would return in morning and replace RCD which he wasn't qualified to do.He never logged the job or arranged for a second engineer to call and do the work,BG have no record of him requesting anymore work on the fuseboard.Therefore 24 hours without power and a danger of fire because he wasn't competent or requested further work.

wealdroam

davidhwdn wrote: »

Therefore 24 hours without power and a danger of fire because he wasn't competent or requested further work.

Because he told you to leave the power off, the danger of fire simply wasn't there.

ankspon

So it is ok for an unqualified to mess with a fuseboard,fire hazard.

Moody_Mare

You should complain to a manager re a qualified electrician was not sent but an unqualified one messed with the fuse box. In your case as this was a one off call and not emergency under contract they should have sent a 2nd line electrician.

kazzah60

davidhwdn wrote: »

My power kept going off in my flat yesterday,i phoned BG for a one off repair about 5pm.Someone came about 9pm and removed the cover of the fuse board,wiggled and tapped a few times and the fuse board was arcing.He said he would return first thing this morning with a new RCD and replace it and told us to leave all power off till he came back.Noon today came and no sign of him so i rung BG who said they have no log of the job and nothing in system so they would send someone else out.They came about 5pm and fixed it saying it was melted and a big risk of fire.I was also told the first man who came and never returned was not qualified to remove the fuseboard cover and should not be touching anything in there.So i was left without power for 24 hours and an incompetent sparky messing with things he shouldn't be.Should i complain to BG and also claim for loss of food in freezer.

just playing devils advocate- but you only have the word of someone that the 1st chap wasn't qualified - did they know the man personally?
do they know that persons qualifications?

were you able to give them a name- in my experience lots of "qualified" professionals are very happy to class others as " not qualified to do a job"
just because he said it - doesn't make it so

ankspon

I actually received a call before the qualified man came from a manager asking who the first man was and that he would send someone qualified to do the job

shaun_from_Africa

Because he told you to leave the power off, the danger of fire simply wasn't there.

Leaving the main switch off may not have avoided a problem causing a fire.
This switch is normally an integral part of the consumer unit, and even if turned off, one half of it is still receiving power.
If there had previously been arcing inside the box, the whole unit should have been isolated from the input supply as without a competent engineer stripping it down and doing a detailed inspection, there is no way of knowing for certain what had been damaged.

It's no different to hearing "crackling" sounds coming from a light switch. You wouldn't just turn this switch off and assume that it was safe and couldn't cause a problem. You would totally disconnect the supply to the suspect item and then repair or replace it.