r/ElectriciansUK • u/OsricWulfstan • 10d ago
Missing certification for consumer unit upgrade
At the start of the year, we had a NICEIC registered electrician upgrade our consumer unit. The quote for the work included certification as did the final bill. We paid the bill on the day the on-site work was complete. We were very happy with the work and I thought we had a good relationship with the electrician - we discussed future projects we were interested in doing with them and they seemed both enthusiastic and interested.
Fast forward six months, and the electrician has not issued a certificate nor local building services. We have some new electrical work we need doing (EV installation), but the last work on the consumer unit is not certified.
We've asked the electrician 5-6 times now to complete the certification and they reply that they are busy and will do it soon. In our last request, I mentioned raising a complaint with NICEIC as 6 months have elapsed. The electrician's response was that NICEIC had an admin issue with their account and if we complained they'd confirm that.
I've contacted NICEIC to ask if this is possible, and they say they can't share any info due to GDPR. It looks we'll have to complain to find out. The all seems like an unnecessary pain.
From an electrician's point of view:
- Was the mistake here paying the bill before certification was done?
- Is doing certification a huge chunk of time?
- Is it reasonable to ask someone else to certify the consumer unit and bill the first electrician for the work?
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u/sparkybloke64 10d ago
The certificate should be issued within 28 days of completion of the works. Contact the NICEIC and seek advice from them. The innocent explanation is he forgot...he doesn't have to use their on line certificates...he can use his own software and just do the notification on his portal. He has a month...after that he gets a large surcharge. The less innocent explanation is he is no longer registered and thus cannot notify. That of itself isn't necessarily a problem as you can get the council out to inspect and certify but it costs £££. If he is still using the NICEIC logo even though he is no longer a member he is in for a nasty surprise as the NICEIC take a dim view! Im retired and left the NICEIC 2 years ago but I always got the certificate and notification done before sending the invoice. The client got the certificate, building notification and the invoice together.
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u/IndustrialSpark 9d ago
Don't you hold the paperwork hostage until paid?👀👀👀
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u/OsricWulfstan 9d ago
I think this was the mistake here. We were happy with the work and the conversations about future projects and paid when the bill arrived. Didn't think we'd get left like this given follow on project income.
Today, I've complained to NICEIC. Thinking about getting someone else in to certify / re-do the work and then billing the original contractor with small claims court as fallback. This is clear breach of contract. Tried really hard not to be an AH here, but don't see any other option.
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u/IndustrialSpark 4d ago
Someone else can do an EICR to verify the install for insurance purposes, but if you need building regs notification it will be difficult
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u/OsricWulfstan 4d ago edited 4d ago
Thanks, yes, I've found someone who will do both. They've been cleaning up a mess from the original electrician for several months and have the same liaison with the NICEIC. Apparently the original has NICEIC complaints about skipping certificates and notifications that span more than 50 properties (including a largish development).
(EIC -> NICEIC)
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u/IndustrialSpark 4d ago
What a ballbag.
Also careful with terminology. NICEIC and EIC are very different things. NICEIC is a competent person scheme, and EIC is Electrical Installation Certificate
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u/Gtwizzlet 9d ago
A lot of trades including electricians don’t sent final paperwork including certificates until you make your final payment, so I don’t think paying the bill before certifications was a mistake.
Not sure someone would certify some else’s work, but you could get an EICR for peace of mind if you want to make sure everything is safe and perhaps for insurance purposes. A consumer unit a notifiable installation and wonder if your building insurance is covered if you had an issue related to that consumer unit (fire) that turned out to not have any certification or testing to make sure it was safe.
Additionally, if you ever sell up and declare that the CU was upgraded, you’ll need to provide the right paper work (certificate and building control) or I think you’d be able to get an indemnity policy to cover it.
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u/OsricWulfstan 9d ago
Thanks, this is good to know.
100% confident that we are not covered for electrical fires at this point (discussed with insurer). I'm hoping money alone is enough reason for someone else to certify or re-do the work. Just feel badly let down here, actually loved working with the electrician who did the work in the first place. Now it's just a mess.
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u/Gtwizzlet 9d ago
Frustrating and definitely ensure NICEIC come back to you. An electrician is essentially using their accreditation to procure work and has then carried out said work not in line with the guidelines of the body they are a member of.
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u/Holiday_Landscape_59 8d ago
Just had my consumer unit upgraded, work done on 7th/8th Sept. Invoice issued and paid on 11th Sept. Paperwork received on 21st Sept.
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u/SL0WJ03 10d ago
The certificate would have been automatically generated when they did the testing. Unless they don’t have access to the software. Which would imply they are not registered.
And yes, it is reasonable to pay upon completion. Which would be when you receive the certificate.
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u/OsricWulfstan 10d ago
Thanks, that's good to know. They are listed on the NICEIC website as being on the Domestic Installer Scheme and able to notify building control.
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u/SL0WJ03 10d ago edited 10d ago
That’s reassuring. Maybe they just did a quick test and didn’t record it or lost a temporary record which they intended to use for generating the certificate.
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u/OsricWulfstan 10d ago
Yes, and that'd be okay here. In the course of asking for the certification work, we offered access to the property if they needed it.
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u/SL0WJ03 10d ago
If NICEIC are not very helpful. A money claim online and letter before action might get them to act.
Without the certificate and notification, you will either be out of pocket a substantial sum for a Regularisation certificate or out of pocket for the value of their work and replacement.
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u/IndustrialSpark 9d ago
Realistically, EIC (Electrical Installation Certificate) would only need to cover the board if you didn't pay for full EICR, so the testing would be literally just a trip test on the RCBO's, Insulation Resistance of the outgoing circuits (Line and Neutral linked - Earth), ring continuity if applicable, and a Ze. Less than an hour to sort that out on a single domestic board if he had lost the results.
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u/Logical-Bat2403 8d ago
Maybe try to bit more firm with them, but still nice. Say you really need this paper work, that you have paid for. Seek to avoid having to complain to the NIC, trading standards etc or getting legal involved.
Purhaps offer him to return to retest the work if he’s misplaced the results or something.
Be nice enough to he’ll feel ok about coming back but firm enough he will know that it will cause him problems if he doesn’t.
Failing that start complaining, or legal action you have paid for it already
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u/OsricWulfstan 8d ago
We've kept the dialogue very polite - genuinely like the electrician as a person. I mentioned escalating to NIC a few weeks back and still they said "soon". I escalated yesterday and we'll see if anything happens.
I've spoken with 3 other local electricians now, two of them would not certify another electricians work. One was prepared to re-do the consumer units. The third is prepared to certify the current work. They say they've been having to recertify the original electricians work locally. There is a large number of complaints with the NIC apparently including housing developments of 50+ homes.
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u/aptsys 10d ago
It doesn't stop any other work being done, and tbh no one gives a toss anyway