Sorry for the long post....

After a burst pipe (the condensate pipe from gas boiler froze during snow storms) in crawl space above my kitchen the landlord agreed to update the consumer unit in my property [the corrosive water had leaked over two plug sockets and nothing tripped off even though water was inside both].

The guy sent I suspected wasn't qualified [on a previous visit to check for safety he checked the plugs by poking around the sides - and making a hole in the plaster].

I asked if he was qualified before he started [on the previous visit to check damage from the leak he told me 'he shouldn't be doing this' but didn't expand when asked why] and he shrugged; as a tenant, I believed the Estate Agent would have checked and so let him continue.

He has changed the fuse box, cut the meter fuse seals, not replaced older wires, not fitted the cover properly, put the switches in the wrong order, left the wires completely messy inside the unit and also labelled it incorrectly

- plus, the oven now trips one of the RCD's when it's on for more than three minutes and a plug socket is no longer working

- although this may be due to the junction box he put in the crawl space replacing connection taped with electrical tape, leaving a live wire improperly crimped and not connected - he'd stuffed them into the wall cavity.

As he left I ask about the 'signing off' and was told

'I have nothing to worry about' several times, because I was worried!

I asked again about the certification and he said that wasn't anything to do with tenants.

He didn't say someone would be back to carry out any checks, or follow up, or even to sign off on the work.

I've complained to the Estate Agents and the following day a guy turned up as I'd had problems with the oven.

I asked for credentials, but he'd have to go and get them cos he hadn't bought them with him.

I allowed him to look at the issues, but no work would be carried out until I had seen proof of his ability to sign off on the work.

He's looked and spouted a lot of blurb obviously covering his firms ass.

He looked, said he saw no issues with the work carried out, said the fan was the reason the oven wasn't working properly

- it wasn't turned to oven, just grill - he didn't even blush.

He checked to see if the wire left out of the crimp was live - it was!

He left to consult his boss and turned up 2 hours later with his sons training certificate and a weird looking NICEIC card saying he just needed to connect the crimp and everything would be working for me, which I don't think is true, plus the ID looked pants to me and so I turned him away.

I then received an email from Estate Agent

- the house owner lives in China

- saying the contractors had told them i had not allowed them access and would they be allowed in with a rep from the Estate Agent's local branch.

I have replied saying they didn't satisfy me that they were qualified and that anybody coming should be able to sign off on the work done

- but hey presto, 24 hours later and I've heard nothing...

What can I do next to get my oven working and the electrics safe?

You can check online if they're registered

http://www.electricalcompetentperson.co.uk

I would give 7 days notice to estate agent and LL and then if no reply i would call a qualified electrician to put things right.

You can then deduct that from rent and if they wanna sue you, let them.

Of course report the estate agent to the ombudsman (if they're registered) and the council.

if they are members of the trade association ( there are 2 that cover letting agents as well as estate agents) then yu can make a compaint and I certainly would. Find a decent sparkie by looking online in one of the tradespeople ratings sites and ask them to make a quick assessment and dfo a bit of testing. Cost you about £35 for their time no doubt but you will be getting thsi back from the LA if there is anything wrong as well as being the grounds for your complaint. You will also need to have a word with the registration people as well if they are registered but still incompetent

He has changed the fuse box, cut the meter fuse seals,

 

What can I do next to get my oven working and the electrics safe?

If this "electrician" isn't qualified, he should not be changing the consumer unit. This is considered notifiable works and requires building control notification. Qualified electricians will be able to self certify and provide the relevant paperwork.

As for breaking the seals on the main fuse. A big NO NO. You need to contact your local electricity distribution company (see: http://www.energynetworks.org/info/faqs/who-is-my-network-operator.html for the correct number). Explain the situation to them, drop this "electrician" in the poo, and hopefully, the DNO will reseal the fuse at no cost to you.

The only person required to produce ID on demand before any rel work is a registered Gas Safe engineer.

Any work you allow is your decision but prob linked to other Legislation.

Breaking the seals of the main fuse is a big NO NO as these are there for a reason and cannot be removed/replaced without going via your local electricity distribution company / Electricity Provider.

As well as contacting your Local Electricity Distribution Company please make sure and let your own Electricity Provider (who you pay your electricity bills to) aware of this and that you have informed the Local Electricity Distribution Company for your area.

Please make sure and keep a good record of everything as you need to keep a good paper trail.

You can check online if they're registered

 

http://www.electricalcompetentperson.co.uk

 

I would give 7 days notice to estate agent and LL and then if no reply i would call a qualified electrician to put things right.

You can then deduct that from rent and if they wanna sue you, let them.

Of course report the estate agent to the ombudsman (if they're registered) and the council.

Thanks, I've sent notice, waiting again now. I have to exhaust the estate agents complaints process before the ombudsman, so holding off on that for now; I've complained to the council also.

The only person required to produce ID on demand before any rel work is a registered Gas Safe engineer.

Any work you allow is your decision but prob linked to other Legislation.

Any electrician doing Part P work has to be registered of a competent persons scheme - or so the council told me. @King12345 has kindly listed the website so you can check them.

Also, as a lone female tenant I don't think it's too much to ask that anyone presenting themselves at my door to rectify a previous numpties bodging be able to show some sort of proof of capability, after all, I'm not asking for inside leg measurements, just that thy can actually do the job.

Breaking the seals of the main fuse is a big NO NO as these are there for a reason and cannot be removed/replaced without going via your local electricity distribution company / Electricity Provider.

 

As well as contacting your Local Electricity Distribution Company please make sure and let your own Electricity Provider (who you pay your electricity bills to) aware of this and that you have informed the Local Electricity Distribution Company for your area.

 

Please make sure and keep a good record of everything as you need to keep a good paper trail.

The guy didn't even tell me any of that. I've been in touch with my energy provider, who passed me onto British Gas - they are more interested in me paying £43 to get them replaced than anything else, not are they in a rush to replace the seals.

My next step is to find out if he notified the council as you have to when doing this sort of repair.

Thanks for everyone's advice, it seems I am on track with everything

I've been in touch with my energy provider, who passed me onto British Gas - they are more interested in me paying £43 to get them replaced than anything else, not are they in a rush to replace the seals.

I think Western Power is your distribution company. Below is an extract of a recent chat session I've had:

Alex On the basis that the electrician shouldn't have pulled the main fuse as they are not qualified to do so, we would want to come out as a safety check and just make sure that there has been no inadvertent damage to the fuse unit. Could I take a name and contact number for you or if you prefer you can call our emergency number, 08006783105.

 

Mr.P: So no charge to put new seals on the fuse ?

 

Alex: If called out as a safety check we would reseal the main fuse, for safety, once we had checked. If there is any damage, there may be a cost but this would vary depending on what damage was done and what we would need to do to repair it.

I would recommend giving Alex a call, arrange a visit for a safety inspection, and as long as there is no damage, they should reseal for free. If you have contact details for the guilty electrician, I'm sure WPD would be interested in "having words"