Frequently Asked Questions

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We have offices in the following locations:

Uxbridge (UB8 3SG)

Aylesbury (HP22 4DQ) - Head office

Banbury (OX17 2RT)

I cover the surrounding areas of each office, up to a radius of 30 miles.

I am happy to quote for work outside of these areas, although a mileage charge may be applied.

Payment can be made by cash, cheque, card payment (including Amex), PayPal payment or bank transfer. Card payments & PayPal payments can be made in person via our mobile card terminal.

Unless agreed otherwise in advance, work will need to be paid for in full once complete. This will usually be directly to me prior to leaving, although if this isn't suitable for any reason, then an invoice shall be sent within 24 hours. 

In some cases, it may be necessary to pay a deposit (if I have to order non-returnable items or book other contractors for example). On larger jobs, payment may be required at set stages of the installation. The payment terms will be made clear on your quotation in any case.

No, I do not. Payment is due on satisfactory completion of the agreed work.

Cash payments are handled in the same way as any other payment method and you will receive a legitimate VAT receipt in all cases. 

There is no charge for any site visit required to prepare a quotation for proposed work and there is no obligation to accept that quote. 

All other site visits shall be chargeable in line with my current price list, available on this website. 

This depends on whether work is scheduled or non-scheduled. 

Scheduled work is anything booked in advance - usually planned works/alterations, inspection & testing tasks and non-urgent remedial works. Scheduled work does not incur a call-out charge and is quoted for based on the applicable hourly rate plus the expected cost of any materials. 

Non-scheduled work is any work that requires a rapid (<48 hour), urgent (<24 hour) or emergency (<2 hour) response - typically where the customer has had a fault occur and is left without full power and/or a dangerous installation. Non-scheduled work incurs a call-out charge which includes the first hour of labour.

Labour is always charged per 30 minute block or part thereof, with a minimum charge of 1 hour (unless a call-out fee has been charged).  Material costs are always excluded. 

Yes - by 20%.

This covers the administrative costs involved in purchasing and storing these items. The good news is that my trade discounts often mean that the price you pay isn't any higher than if you walked into your local DIY store, and I always shop around for the best deals!

I am always happy for customers to source their own materials, provided that they are fit for purpose and conform to the relevant standards, where applicable. 

There are two answers to this question:

1) If the fault is not visible to me by the time I arrive on site, and that fault cannot be recreated whilst I am there, then all inspection & testing work remains chargeable as per my price list. Frustrating though this is, I cannot be left out of pocket for something out of my control. 

2) If the fault is visible to me whilst I am on site and I am unable to find the cause, there will be no charge. Please note that this guarantee applies specifically to diagnosing the fault and any remedial action shall be quoted for separately. 

Urgent calls are those where the customer's installation is obviously malfunctioning, but there is no immediate threat to safety. This could be a circuit or group of circuits that have tripped and will not reset for example. 

Emergency calls are anything where there is an unsafe situation that cannot be made safe without a site visit. This could be overheating, evidence of recent smoke or fire damage, exposed live parts following damage or total loss of power affecting vulnerable residents.

NOTE: In an emergency involving electricity dial 105 for your local network operator's emergency line. If you see smoke or flames, isolate the supply if it is safe to do so and dial 999 - ask for the fire brigade.  Do not use water based fire extinguishers on live electrical equipment. 

No - this is not permitted.

The most I could offer would be an electrical installation condition report (EICR) which would detail any applicable remedial work - this would be quoted for separately. 

Not at present, although this is something that I am working towards adding to my portfolio. 

Not at present - although I am working towards it.

You may have been informed that you should only use electricians that are registered with a competent person scheme such as NICEIC or NAPIT - and I agree! The problem is, I cannot register with either of them until I have been trading for 2 years.

There is no legal requirement for me to be registered and the major benefit only comes when undertaking 'notifiable' work (details below). Rest assured that my quality of work will be at the same standard, if not higher, than any organisation that is registered - and that is a promise!

'Notifiable' just means that your local building control department must be informed of the work to be carried out. In electrical terms, the following work is likely to be notifiable if it is to be completed in a residential property:

• The installation of a new circuit
• The replacement of a consumer unit
• Any addition or alteration to existing circuits in a location containing a bath or shower, swimming pool or sauna heater.

As I am not (at present) registered with a competent person scheme (see above), building control will need to be notified directly prior to any of the above work commencing (except in an emergency). Each council area set their own schedule of prices for this notification process, but expect it to add anything up to £350 (inc VAT) to the cost which is paid directly to the council. Please note that this is not optional and I will not undertake work if the process is not correctly followed. More information here:

https://www.planningportal.co.uk/permission/common-projects/electrics/building-regulations-general-information 

I hold full public liability and professional indemnity insurance for the services that I offer. 

Certificates that I am responsible for completing shall be sent within 7 days of completion of the relevant work. Certificates are provided electronically in PDF format by email unless you request one to be printed and posted. There may be a charge to replace lost paper certificates.

Building control certificates for notifiable work should be completed within 30 days of them receiving my completed paperwork, although I have no control over these.