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Electrician has refused to finish the work


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Hi all

 

My electrician has refused to come to finish the remainder of the 1st fix and then the rest of the second fix.  There has been a delay of around a year due to issues with getting other trades in.  He has said he can no longer come to do it, we had agreed everything via e-mail, he has had 75% of the agreed amount which has been documented. 

 

What would be my options in this situation?  I assume I can get someone else to finish this but they will factor in the time taken to trace everything that the other guy did, there is a lot of wiring so that could add on significant cost.

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If you are still at first fix, then I assume most of what has been installed is still visible, so there should not be an issue with another electrician taking over.

 

Have you paid 75% of the total?  If so you will be wanting a lot of that back.  What is his reason for not coming to complete the job?

 

I have had jobs delayed like this, to the point I had assumed by the time delay they had got someone else, but when eventually they were ready I completed the job as agreed.

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21 minutes ago, revelation said:

Hi all

 

My electrician has refused to come to finish the remainder of the 1st fix and then the rest of the second fix.  There has been a delay of around a year due to issues with getting other trades in.  He has said he can no longer come to do it, we had agreed everything via e-mail, he has had 75% of the agreed amount which has been documented. 

 

What would be my options in this situation?  I assume I can get someone else to finish this but they will factor in the time taken to trace everything that the other guy did, there is a lot of wiring so that could add on significant cost.

This is interesting as i am in the same boat. Mine has done my house, with a couple of snagging items that need attention and done first fix on our garage/annex and is now saying he is too busy. As a consequence of the way he has structure the payments i am not clear how much i have already paid for but clear on what the final bill should have been. IN fairness he has suggested his sidekick complete the work (which i would be happy about) but my fixed price contract is with him, so i am suggesting he sub contracts to his sidekick and i pay him, else i am on a hiding to nowhere methinks trying to get someone unfamiliar to pick it up. If i encounter issues i am considering trading standards as a last resort? anyone have any suggestions? strange times at the moment as they seem to be able to pick and chose work, reputation must be important for these folks though?

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I would normally expect to pay about half for first fix.

 

Get a couple of quotes for the remainder of the job and forward them to your person.  See if he would rather come and finish the work or have you appoint one of the others and pursue him for the money.  Bear in mind the original spark could justify some reasonable extra cost for the delays and materials  and labour increases.

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22 minutes ago, ProDave said:

If you are still at first fix, then I assume most of what has been installed is still visible, so there should not be an issue with another electrician taking over.

 

Have you paid 75% of the total?  If so you will be wanting a lot of that back.  What is his reason for not coming to complete the job?

 

I have had jobs delayed like this, to the point I had assumed by the time delay they had got someone else, but when eventually they were ready I completed the job as agreed.

 

Virtually all of our boarding up has been done so a lot of it is not visible.  

 

His reason for not completing is that a long time has gone by and that he is not doing' that type' of work any more. Not sure what he means by that.  If the delay was an issue he has not mentioned it earlier.  He has not answered call for 6 months.  Insisting I only text message him, and he wouldn't reply to half of them.  It is only earlier this week when I sent a long message telling him how disappointed I have been in his communication and can he come and get things finished that he has said he wont be coming back.  

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9 minutes ago, kaye said:

This is interesting as i am in the same boat. Mine has done my house, with a couple of snagging items that need attention and done first fix on our garage/annex and is now saying he is too busy. As a consequence of the way he has structure the payments i am not clear how much i have already paid for but clear on what the final bill should have been. IN fairness he has suggested his sidekick complete the work (which i would be happy about) but my fixed price contract is with him, so i am suggesting he sub contracts to his sidekick and i pay him, else i am on a hiding to nowhere methinks trying to get someone unfamiliar to pick it up. If i encounter issues i am considering trading standards as a last resort? anyone have any suggestions? strange times at the moment as they seem to be able to pick and chose work, reputation must be important for these folks though?

 

I am no where near that stage unfortunately, I would rather sort this out amicably.  He has said that if I take this down a legal route he will refuse to help out at all (meaning where some of the wiring is for lights etc).  

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18 minutes ago, Mr Punter said:

I would normally expect to pay about half for first fix.

 

Get a couple of quotes for the remainder of the job and forward them to your person.  See if he would rather come and finish the work or have you appoint one of the others and pursue him for the money.  Bear in mind the original spark could justify some reasonable extra cost for the delays and materials  and labour increases.

 

We had an agreed fixed price for labour, I was provided all the materials (wires, clips, socket boxes etc).  He hasn't mentioned the need to pay anything in regards to extra labour.  I am assuming it is due to the fact that he has other work which is paying more taking advance of the increase ins demand.

 

Regards

 

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1 hour ago, TonyT said:

Watch out the issue will be who is going to certify he installation.

 

This was my thought also - and any issues with the job that appear subsequently! These people just cant ship out halfway through a job without any implications for them can they? Trading standards must be a last resort but i am pretty sure its a breach of contract if its a fixed price agreement while they are still trading. 

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3 hours ago, revelation said:

His reason for not completing is that a long time has gone by and that he is not doing' that type' of work any more. Not sure what he means by that.  If the delay was an issue he has not mentioned it earlier

Assuming you are England or Wales, I would guess he means he is no longer a member of a competent persons scheme so can't sign it off under part P?

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Just an idea: perhaps find a new electrician, explain the situation, and then ask your previous electrician if he would be willing to do a one-off handover, either by phone or in person, with the new electrician.

 

Although I am not in a similar situation, I plan to use a local electrician who I have found to be reasonable in his approach and I imagine would creatively help me solve a problem like yours. They are possible to find. Personally I'd go for a middle-sized firm of electricians, not a sole operator, and speak directly to the boss.

 

(Unusually, I chose my electrician from his YouTube channel! A first for me.)

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 07/11/2021 at 22:10, ProDave said:

Assuming you are England or Wales, I would guess he means he is no longer a member of a competent persons scheme so can't sign it off under part P?

 

He is, still fully certified and his details are on their website.   We are in England.

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face to face, pop round his house and come to an agreement, if the 75% you have paid is legit then happy days if its not then you want some back. 

 

Much better to do face to face as he will know your serious, dont be confrontational. 

 

Last resort small claims court, dead easy to do.

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