Electrician refusing to certify wiring (done by him!)

M

Molly Bloom

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I hope someone might have some advice -

In Spring 2009 a build project on my house (small extension, which involved completely re-wiring the existing house also) was completed. Towards the end of the project, my builder (main contractor) went into liquidation, owing money to various tradesmen.

Ever since then, the electrician, who was a sub-contractor of the builder, has refused to provide me with certification for the re-wiring, on the basis that he is owed money by the builder.

I was diligent in paying every stage drawdown payment to the builder upon productin on his invoices, so I'm satisfied I've honoured my obligations and am how being caught in a dispute between builder and electrician.

The electrician is not a member of RECI (I've just checked), so I don't have that avenue for making a complaint against him to try and push things along - and really, all I want is to get the electrical work certified in case I sell the house.

Any advice from AAM members?
 
I'm not sure you have much recourse here as your contract would have been with the builder. You could offer him a few quid as a gesture of good will, if he's any way reasonable he should realise his current predicament is not of your making.
 
There are electricians who are prepared to inspect and certify installations that they did not carry out. Obviously it involves some expertise and work, and they will expect to be paid.
 
Installing Contractor Not Available To Certify A New Installation
RECI Rule 14 states that the registered contractor may not certify new installations not constructed by him/her without specific authority by RECI. However, sometimes the contractor who installed the electrical installation in a building is not available to certify the installation or the consumer may be unable to obtain a completion certificate. In such cases the consumer then cannot obtain electricity supply to the new installation.
In these circumstances if the consumer wishes to appoint an alternative electrical contractor to test and certify the installation, RECI may authorise the alternative contractor to do so. The consumer should complete a RECI F002 form and submit to RECI. This form is available online at the bottom of this page. On receipt of this form, the installing contractor is written to advising him of the situation and asking him to respond. If the installing contractor will not issue the completion certificate then RECI, having considered all the circumstances and made whatever investigations it deems appropriate, may authorise an alternative contractor to test and certify the installation. The installation should also be inspected by RECI and if the inspector is satisfied that the installation complies with the Wiring Rules then the contractor, if he is registered, can issue a completion certificate or alternatively if it is a non registered contractor the inspector will provide a certificate for the contractor to complete and sign.
In some cases the installing registered contractor will issue the completion certificate to his customer, the building contractor. However, sometimes the building contractor withholds the completion certificate in order to assist his commercial negotiations with the consumer. The agreement between the ESB and RECI with regard to completion certificates was put in place in the interests of safety and standards and it was not intended that the completion certificate should be used for commercial purposes. It is therefore RECI's policy in these cases to authorise an alternative electrical contractor to test and certify the installation. However in this case the installing registered contractor has not breached any RECI rule.
This form is to be completed in cases where the Installing Contractor is not available to certify a new installation constructed by him.​
 
Hi bertie1,

Thanks for your suggestions - the electrician isn't a RECI member, but it turns out he is a member of the ECSSA (an organisation I hadn't heard of).

I phoned them yesterday after your posting, and they're sending me out a complaint form to fill in. I'm still not clear they have a 'regulatory' role and can compel the electrician to provide the certification, but we'll see.

The alternative may yet have to be that I pay another electrician to come in and do the certification - not something I want to contemplate yet.

Thanks, Molly Bloom
 
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