Problems with Electrical system in house we bought

exiled_red

We have just bought a house (in Scotland), which was a estate sale, missives we concluded a week or two ago and we completed and picked up the keys on Monday.

When reading the meters we noticed that the under the meter was a tag from Scottish Gas saying:
You are warned that this electrical installation has been deemed 'At Risk' We strongly recommend that you do not use the appliance until the fault(s) have been repaired

There is also a sign on the main switch which says 'warning asbestos'

Before viewing the house we saw the home report which said that the electrical system was rated as a category 2 (Repairs or replacement requiring future attention, but estimate are still advised) The notes said "The electrical system is on mixed lines and as such we recommend that it be checked and upgraded as necessary by an NICEIC registered Electrical Contractor." So we looked at the electrical distribution board and circuit breaker etc and none of these notes were there at the time. The seller also said that they weren't aware of the the presence of asbestos.

The situation in the home report and the situation when we moved in seem inconsistent to me, I suspect that they have had inspections done after the home report (and after we viewed it), if this was the case and something like this is discovered do they have an obligation to tell us prior to completion?

Owain_Moneysaver

exiled_red wrote: »

When reading the meters we noticed that the under the meter was a tag from Scottish Gas saying:
You are warned that this [electrical] installation has been deemed 'At Risk' We strongly recommend that you do not use the appliance until the fault(s) have been repaired

There is also a sign on the main switch which says 'warning asbestos'

The first warning label sounds more like one used for gas appliances. There's no such thing as 'At Risk' for electrical installations.

By main switch you probably mean service cutout fuse. Older ones did contain asbestos. Nothing to worry about as you won't be opening it anyway.

Put up a photo of the service fuse, meter and consumer unit / fuseboards and people can suggest what you need to do with regard to the installation.

ProDave

Did you have an EICR done before buying it? If not then you accepted the risk of not knowing the state of the electrics.

Some older fuse boards (and it must be old) have asbestos pads behind the fuse wire.,

G_M

exiled_red wrote: »

Before viewing the house we saw the home report which said that the electrical system was rated as a category 2 (Repairs or replacement requiring future attention,
so you new there were problems
but estimate are still advised) The notes said "The electrical system is on mixed lines and as such we recommend that it be checked and upgraded as necessary by an NICEIC registered Electrical Contractor."
and you chose to ignore this advice?
So we looked at the electrical distribution board and circuit breaker etc and none of these notes were there at the time. The seller also said that they weren't aware of the the presence of asbestos.
Well I expect they did not know.

The situation in the home report and the situation when we moved in seem inconsistent to me, I suspect that they have had inspections done after the home report (and after we viewed it), if this was the case and something like this is discovered do they have an obligation to tell us prior to completion?

You chose not to have electrical inspections done.

davidmcn

exiled_red wrote: »

if this was the case and something like this is discovered do they have an obligation to tell us prior to completion?

No.

Is everything actually working? I guess so as you haven't mentioned, but if not then you might be able to make a claim under the missives. Though in an executry they'll often qualify the usual warranties.

baldelectrician

You have 5 working days under usual Scottish house law to make a claim at the previous owners expense.


Where are you?


You need a compotent electrical contractor to check the house out as soon as tomorrow.


It may be nothing or it may be major.


Scottish gas are known to put stickers form any little thing as well as major things.


pm me if you need more advice.

exiled_red

Yes we knew that there were problems, given the age of the house and the mismatch of fittings and shortage of outlets etc we figured that we would probably want to get the house rewired and we were prepared for that, so we chose not save a few hundred quid and not get the survey done.

But the home report and questionnaire indicated that the current setup would be fine at least in the short term, and that had we not decided to re-wire things would be fine at least in the short term. Also the presence of asbestos likely makes the rewiring process more expensive. My understanding is that upon exchange the property is supposed to be in a state as was described and not having this information disclosed to us makes me feel as though we have been misled. While I don't know whether the state of the system has changed from when it was evaluated for the home report or not, but earlier in the process it had been deemed safe and has since been deemed at risk does this not change things? I have read a number of threads on here about boilers having to be fixed/replaced prior to completion because they stopped working or were unsafe, and I was wondering if this is a similar situation?

exiled_red

baldelectrician wrote: »

You have 5 working days under usual Scottish house law to make a claim at the previous owners expense.


Where are you?


You need a compotent electrical contractor to check the house out as soon as tomorrow.


It may be nothing or it may be major.


Scottish gas are known to put stickers form any little thing as well as major things.


pm me if you need more advice.

We are in Edinburgh, I have spoken to my solicitor who has registered this as an issue with the seller, I assume that I only have to do this within 5 working days rather than actually make the claim for the costs is this correct? I have contacted Scottish Gas to find out what the problem(s) are as they saw when they evaluated it, but they need to get back to me.

davidmcn

exiled_red wrote: »

While I don't know whether the state of the system has changed from when it was evaluated for the home report or not, but earlier in the process it had been deemed safe and has since been deemed at risk does this not change things?

I don't think anyone really deemed it safe other than you. I doubt anything has actually changed other than the addition of some stickers.

What defect(s) have your solicitor actually notified? If the standard missives apply then it's only things which aren't in working condition - it's irrelevant if they don't meet current regulations, have asbestos, or are about to fall apart.

robinwales

I take it you have been in the house since Monday? If it were me I would get a very qualified electrician in ASAP to do a safety survey. Also someone to check the asbestos. But the electrics sound more important.

exiled_red

davidmcn wrote: »

I don't think anyone really deemed it safe other than you. I doubt anything has actually changed other than the addition of some stickers.

What defect(s) have your solicitor actually notified? If the standard missives apply then it's only things which aren't in working condition - it's irrelevant if they don't meet current regulations, have asbestos, or are about to fall apart.

OK perhaps deemed safe was not the case. but it, has now been deemed at risk or faulty. The label indicates a fault, not that it doesn't meet current regulations. Standard terms in the missives indicate that the seller is responsible for appliances being in working order. If something has been deemed faulty is it in working order?

The asbestos is a separate issue. Assuming that they were unaware of it at the time of the report and were made aware of it later should they pass that information on?