dodgy electrics - anything i can do

AJS33

Hi,

Recently my transformer went for my bathroom lights, i got an electrician out and when he went up to the loft, he found some horrific and dangerous electrics.

Originally the house had one light fitting in the centre of the room, bathroom/bedroom and someone had decided to put in spot lights and just run them off the main hub, with inadequate wiring, it was a miracle an accident hadn't happened. Obviously a surveyor never checked electrics when i purchased the house.

Is there anything i can do, i would like to some how find out who did the job and make them pay to rectify it. It was obviously not a trained electrician that fiddled with it?

Is there such a thing as a no win no fee solicitor that could take the case, i think whoever did the work, should pay to make everything safe and correct????

Any suggestions or advice would be welcome

Hackman_2

Get it sorted, move on and forget about it.

WestonDave

It could easily have been done by the previous owner! In any event they have no liability to you whether it was the owner or a contractor - when you buy a house its sold as seen (caveat emptor etc) so your only course of action is to suck it up and get it fixed.

phill99

The surveyor won't comment on the electrics - he isn't qualified to do so.

There are no laws topping a homeowner working on the electrics of his own home.

So what is the basis of your complaint?

As has been suggested: caveat emptor.

C_Mababejive

Its your house and you need to pay to fix it. Chasing someone on this one has no legs and would be a waste of time ,money and energy.

vaio

as others have said, when you buy a house it's generally caveat emptor

and the same applies to the opinion of your current electrician, I'd be inclined to get another opinion/quote if the remedial costs are anything other than insignificant

Hackman_2

phill99 wrote: »

The surveyor won't comment on the electrics - he isn't qualified to do so.

There are no laws topping a homeowner working on the electrics of his own home.

So what is the basis of your complaint?

As has been suggested: caveat emptor.

There were no laws.

AJS33

Dear All

i have got it sorted, thank you...... and i have sucked it up and paid for it.

However my beef was that there are far too many dodgy trades people who are doing work on people's house and who are not qualified to do it, generally i am fed up with shoddy workmanship and was just asking for opinion/options/suggestions of anything we could do to make these people accountable.

Hackman_2

AJS33 wrote: »

Dear All

i have got it sorted, thank you...... and i have sucked it up and paid for it.

However my beef was that there are far too many dodgy trades people who are doing work on people's house and who are not qualified to do it, generally i am fed up with shoddy workmanship and was just asking for opinion/options/suggestions of anything we could do to make these people accountable.

As already said, you don't know it was a dodgy trader.

phill99

Hackman wrote: »

There were no laws.

So give me one case of a homeowner being prosecuted for working in his own electrics in his own home.

auroan

phill99 wrote: »

So give me one case of a homeowner being prosecuted for working in his own electrics in his own home.

7 February 2006
For immediate release

Successful prosecution by Bath & North East Somerset Council’s Building Control section
http://community.screwfix.com/message/261995

"An electrical safety law, Part P of the Building Regulations, was
introduced by the Government on 1st January 2005 with the aim of further enhancing the protection of homeowners and reducing the risk of electric shock when using electricity.

The law, which applies to England and Wales aims to improve electrical safety in the home and prevent the number of accidents, which are caused by faulty electrical work."

http://www.niceic.com/Uploads/File1247.pdf

"What will happen if you don’t follow the regulations?

You will have no certificate to prove that the work has been carried out by a registered electrician, or that the work performed has been passed as safe by your local building control.

It may be problematic when it comes to selling your home if you cannot produce
evidence that electrical work has been carried out in accordance with the
Building Regulations.

It is a criminal offence to carry out work that does not comply with building regulations, with a maximum fine of £5,000. Your local building control may insist that you re-do the electrical work."