Bad experience with an electrician in D16

S

Sangster

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I'm not sure of the rules here but I had a disastrous experience with an electrician on Friday. Mod - can I name and shame him ?
 
Yes, of course you can. You can even draw up a placard and walk up and down outside his house pointing out that he is a cowboy.

But don't name him on Askaboutmoney.

Brendan
 
I used this electrician to move a timer switch that was sort of hanging from the bottom of the boiler to a more secure place on the wall. His advert said that he was fully qualified to work with boilers etc.

Anyway got him over on Thursday morning and he moved it but the timer function didn't work anymore so the heat had to be on constant when we needed it. We have 2 small kids so I set the heat to come on for a while during the night at this time of year. I had already paid him the €90 cash before I realised the timer wasn't working. I got him back on the Friday to fix the problem, he arranged to be here for 2 but didn't show until 5:30. He took apart the timer and claimed it was a fuse problem. But after fitting the new fuse the boiler stopped working altogether. After messing around with it for 20 mins he said to me that he wasn't qualified to be working on boilers and I would have to get someone from Bord Gais out to fix the problem. We had no heat until the bord gaid guy came out Saturday afternoon. I had to pick up a couple of heaters in homebase costing me almost a ton. The bord gais guy fixed the problem but he couldn't believe the standard of work from the other guy - the clown had the whole thing wired wrong.

Maybe it wasn't such a big deal but it was very frustrating on Friday night.
 
Did you get a receipt or was it a nixer?
What's about Small Claim Court to recover your cost?
 
ubiquitous said:
Imho, not worth going to small claims court to recover €90...
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Maybe worth it to teach the 'cowboy' a lesson though?

A bit of hassle preparing/being there etc but doesn't the small claims court only cost about €10 or something?
 
Ditto! Put it down to experience ........ not much else you can do. Presumably you know some of your neighbours who should be able to fill you in regarding reputable local tradesmen. The bush telegraph is very reliable.
 
Caveat said:
Maybe worth it to teach the 'cowboy' a lesson though?

A bit of hassle preparing/being there etc but doesn't the small claims court only cost about €10 or something?
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How will it teach them a lesson if they simply refuse to pay the sheriff's bailiffs when/if they arrive at his door. Its not worth their while enforcing collection of such a small sum.
 
I don't mean that you may necessarily recover your money, you might not, but surely this 'electrician' would prefer not to have bad publicity - which is what I was referring to.

If the experience was just as the OP outlined, I'd have absolutely no qualms in trying to make this guy's professional, and perhaps private life, difficult.

Are you saying that the SCC may simply refuse to take this on? If so, I doubt it, as I know of people 'winning' lesser amounts.
 
Caveat said:
I don't mean that you may necessarily recover your money, you might not, but surely this 'electrician' would prefer not to have bad publicity - which is what I was referring to.
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How much bad publicity does an adverse Small Claims Court judgement entail? Answer = zero. I took a case to the SCC some years ago. I won but never got a penny. When I eventually asked why, I was told that I was only the latest of many similar SCC complainants to end up in the same position after using the SCC against a particular trader. I never subsequently saw a word in the media about this trader's antics, apart from his ads...
Caveat said:
If the experience was just as the OP outlined, I'd have absolutely no qualms in trying to make this guy's professional, and perhaps private life, difficult.
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Do bear in mind that unless the op knows what they are doing, they could end up facing unanticipated legal consequences for doing so.

Caveat said:
Are you saying that the SCC may simply refuse to take this on? If so, I doubt it, as I know of people 'winning' lesser amounts.
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No - but their bailiffs many not bother collecting it unless the defendant co-operates fully.

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bacchus said:
I presumed that OP has also beeing charged by board gais, OP would not have to have bought electric heaters...
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How could the electrician be responsible for those costs? They're not his heaters.
 
Would it not be a good idea if all tradesmen had to show a card to prove they were qualified? Or not as the case may be. We have all used tilers, electricians etc but really have no idea if they are just handymen...but charging the same prices as qualified tradespeople.
 
recci make sure there lads are qualified,onlinetradesmen require a copy of a valid electrical certificate of qualification before accepting registration,get a sparks from these people in future,plus any probs you have you can air your grievance.
 
ubiquitous said:
Do bear in mind that unless the op knows what they are doing, they could end up facing unanticipated legal consequences for doing so.
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Just to clarify - I wasn't advocating a vendetta against the person in question!

My comment was only in relation to the outcome of the SCC and the resulting possible bad publicity for the individual.

But bearing in mind the comments and experience of Ubiquitous, this is maybe wishful thinking.
 
can i just say that my other half is an electrician in d14, insured & member of ecssa - he carries a photographic membership card. He does good workmanship, constantly recommended to peoples neighbours, colleagues etc. but always asks people can he use them as a reference for future work and people are more than glad to do so. He is more than happy to provide contacts for past work if people require it and would take no offence to a customer asking for a reference. Always worth making a quick call to one or two referees to check tradesmen/professionals.
 
Can I ask why did you not ask for a refund on his return as it was obviou he made a balls of it? And did you insist he pay the additional bill for the gas guy?
 
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