Cowboys

Electrical Safety 5-Year Checks.

I wrote a while back about an electrical engineers company in Cardiff (UK) that did not notice that there was a problem with my kitchen hot zone in my property when they came to do an electrical inspection approximately a year ago and as a consequence caused a domino effect, whereby my cooker which was delivered on December 17th, 2020 to be precise was not fitted until the 11th January 2021, because it was difficult to get anyone out to resolve the problem and then fit it.

I was then subjected to having take-outs at a cost of £50 per day for two meals per two people over 25 days period a total of £1,250. My Christmas was ruined.

Moving forward to today I get a message from my landlord’s assistant who says the same company that came to do the electrical inspection a year ago is coming tomorrow to do an annual check.

I responded and said unless it is mandatory I would prefer no visitors, to which she replied it was and it has to be done by law.

Obviously, I never take things at face value and I decided to do some research this is what I found the screenshot follows after the PDF:

landlords-guide-england-and-wales-june-2020-5-YEAR-TEST-1

Now considering the UK has a “stay at home ruling” you would think minimizing contact with other people would be of the highest priority but somehow people are being so blasé about the Pandemic that it is starting to make my blood boil.

Secondly, the Landlords Assistant whom I assume should have done some training with ‘Rent Smart Wales’ would know that the electrical tests are every five years not annually. It is the Gas Safety Checks that have to be checked annually.

However, I am going to have some fun tomorrow when the Electrical Engineers arrive and will ask them to comment on the following questions:

  1. Why they are doing Electrical Inspections on an annual basis when it says every five years? (already had this answered, they are apparently doing fire alarm inspections instead).
  2. Why did they fail to notice a problem with the kitchen hot zone a year ago?
  3. Why they failed to move the socket from the hot zone on the 17th of December and only covered it with a plastic covering? ( According to the electrician today that was ok. No this is not fine as the plastic could melt from the heat).
  4. Why they fitted a light on the same circuit as the banister light which when one light blows the electricity trip? (He said that yes when the light goes it will trip the electrics but if the bulb goes on the light which is positioned in a dangerous place I still have to change it as it will continue tripping otherwise. So that was a waste of time installing the second light).
  5. Why they changed the bathroom light which was already bathroom safe for another one, just to make extra money? (I never got around to answering this question).
  6. Why they fitted an extra three smoke alarms on top of the one I already had, considering my flat has one floor and I should have one alarm on each floor? (he said by law I had to have one in the living room, on the landing, in the kitchen (heat detector), and at the entrance to my flat, we were having a full-blown argument as he was persistent that I was wrong).
  7. Why they did not spot the washing machine was plugged into an extension lead, which was trailing on the ground, and not plugged into a wall socket which I did not have behind my machine? (if there was a leak and water went over my extension lead, well all I can say is, I would be toast)? (I mentioned about this and he the best thing would be for me to lodge a complaint with the company, once I get the information from the government I will be emailing these electricians and reporting them).
  8. Who will compensate me for all the money I wasted on take-outs?
  9. Where does it say I have to have annual fire alarm checks done? (I asked the electrician and he could not give me an answer I wanted the name of the website to fact check).

Considering this company is registered with the electrical safety register I would like to know who taught them about electrical safety inspections.

Furthermore, my daughter is classed as a vulnerable person according to the government, so why is it that people insist on visiting my property when I do not want them to? It’s all getting beyond a joke.

In the meantime, I highly recommend “First Phase Electrical – Electricians Wales”, if you have any electrical emergency work that needs doing. Give “Jeff Smith” a call or visit his website: www.electricianswales.co.uk

VISIT WALES NO 1 BEST REGULATED ELECTRICIANS!

UPDATE:

22/01/21

I stand corrected I am not having an electrical inspection done after I pointed out the 5-year rule to my landlord’s assistant, instead, I am having a fire alarm system checked but as always I leave no stone unturned and have found this PDF from the Governments website relating to Fire Alarm Inspections. There is no mention of how often fire alarms should be tested by a qualified electrician and besides it is not rocket science to test the alarm yourself which is recommended that everyone does anyway.

This is now an invasion of my privacy, against covid regulations, and a risk to my daughter’s health.

covid-19-coronavirus-and-the-enforcement-of-standards-in-rented-properties-in-wales-1

My grievance is not only the hot zone and money I wasted on take-outs, but the number of visits I have had to my accommodation outside of my immediate bubble to the total of 9 people relating to my landlord’s decision, within the last month. This is now wearing me down. Had they all come at the same time, I could have had a party.

  1. Two DHL Appliance Delivery Engineers.
  2. An Electrician capped the socket the same day as DHL Delivery.
  3. My Landlord the following day and his assistant x total 3 visits.
  4. The Gas engineer came and went without installing the cooker.
  5. The Two Gas Engineers that finally installed my cooker.
  6. An engineer today checked the fire alarms.

A total of nine people in the last month have entered my accommodation.

Update 18.33 pm 22/01/21

I had my visitor today person number 9 in the space of one month test the fire alarms and basically, this is all he did, he sprayed some smoke from a canister directly below the alarm, waited for the alarm to activate and disarmed it, wrote something down, and off he went.

I have since written to the government to confirm what legislation there is for checking fire alarms and how often.

From what I have read one has to check the alarm once a month.

If this is the case there is no way on this earth I am allowing any more visitors to my accommodation.

I pointed the hot zone out to him and he agreed the electrical engineers overlooked the hot zone but I could not blame the company but the engineers.

He continued to say that capping the wall socket was ok. Obviously another cowboy to the list of cowboys.

Here is my capped wall socket, which is now behind a splashback, which today’s electrician said was fine.