Am I Being Ripped Off?

Hi all,

I was after a quick bit of advice as I've recently had a lot of work done (partitioning a big room in to bedrooms/bathroom) and I've been really pleased with all the work and pricing except for that of the electrician - my step dad was an electrician so I've seen a lot of work and happy doing a lot of wiring myself but I don't go near fuseboards. We asked the electrican to do a few jobs (adding a few sockets to an existing ring, installing an extractor fan, moving a storage heater 3ft, fitting some lights and switches) but the initial bill he came back with was for £3,000+. I queried this and asked for a breakdown and it all seems reasonable except for a line 'bringing the fuseboard up to date with latest regs' which is £2,000. This fuseboard was only fitted a couple of years ago. When I mentioned that we'd specifically decided NOT to replace the fusebox he said that he *had* to update it to keep everything legal and legit - is this true? No new trips needed to be added to the fuseboard as we only added a couple of lights and sockets to the existing wiring.

Just to be clear, all other contractors have been paid - I'm not trying to rip anyone off but considering how few hours we're spent onsite the bill seems way over the odds to me.

Thanks in advance for any help

Mr Fett

 

Hi - thanks for the response - much appreciated!

Yep I'll get the details of all the work done/prices and post a photo of the fuseboard!

Thanks

Bob

 

Hi Pete,

Not sure why my seeking advice in more than one place would imply to you I think some group are "all crooks" (not sure who you are referring to when you say "we", forum members, contractors, etc).

Not knowing whether I would get a response at all, I posted my question on two different forums.

Apologies if this has somehow offended you.

 

Hi all,

Ok I have the updated invoice with me and the full break down is like this - I have put £??? where the 'invoice' doesn't specify a cost for that item (its more like a letter than an invoice):

£??? - Moving lights and switches, sockets as per building works**
£??? - Changing Extract Fan and Duct**
£??? - Updating Fuseboard as per 17.th edition of regulations
£60 - Wiring Garage Sockets + Addtitional Socket**
£??? - All Earthing Requirements
£30 - Kitchen Dishwasher Socket (Spur)
£90 - Wiring and Timer for Bathroom Heater

£2486.00 + VAT

A picture of the fuseboard (its definitely the original housing - I can't tell if the trips have been changed or not but it certainly doesn't look any different and I know we weren't short of spaces as we didn't add anything (in fact the shower is unused) both closed and open:





The items I've marked with a ** are basically adding four sockets (supplied by us) to an existing ring in studwork, fitting two two-gang light fittings/switches in three rooms (wiring to fuseboard already in place, half of the fittings supplied by us), fitting lights in the bathroom and switch (all supplied by us and line to fuseboard already in place) and fitting the extractor fan in the bathroom (fan supplied by us, ducting and outlet already in place).

 

Hi all,

Just an update - I spoke to the contractor this weekend. While I'm not completely happy with the way he went about things, he did confirm that additional work was done that wasn't listed on the invoice (and showed me) as well as providing a discount off the total so for the sake of keeping the peace, we're going to settle the bill.

Thanks for everyone's help and advice, we would have just paid it and no questioned it at all without the help here!