Electrician that's not an electrician

[ikarl]

Looking for some advice, but a bit unsure where this goes on PH but hopefully someone here will know the answer

A friend has recently told me (during conversation) about an acquaintance of ours that has been running his own business now for more than a year. I started off being quite impressed until he told me more...

This guy has set up his own business as an electrical contractor (he's the Director of the company) and has faked/forged his 'papers' to land some pretty decent contracts where I would expect a VERY good knowledge of the industry would be required. Now, I'm pretty sure this guy has, at most, done 2 years running cable for someone like Balfour Beatty but was never specifically trained to be an electrician.

Part of me thinks, he's not doing me any harm, leave him be... but the other part of me thinks that he should be reported before he does something wrong and potentially kills someone. Would hate to think something like this happens in the future and where I had the chance to do something about it, I did nothing.

So what would you do, what should I do, and if I do report it, who do I report it too?

Edited by ikarl on Thursday 21st February 15:17

[Cyberprog]

It depends upon what sort of work he's doing I guess. For commercial electrics, you just need to be a competent person, but for domestic electrics you have to be a member of a scheme for Part P, which won't let you join without proof of qualification.

[elanfan]

The fact that he has forged his papers in order to obtain work must be fraud in itself. Other issues would follow around the quality of the work, whether it could be relied upon to be safe and whether it would have to be checked afterwards by an approved company.

As far as I am aware the ECA (Electrical Contractors Asscociation) and the NICEIC (National Inspection Councilfor Electrical Installing Contractors)have effectively merged to create one national Inspection body.

Report him

[Paulm4]

Anonymous emails to the companies he's working for?
I've seen loads of dodgy electrical work done by people that are qualified but nothing compares to the work of diy people that don't have a clue!
Get him stopped, report to the police for fraud too.

[xstian]

Now i'm not condoning what this guy is doing, but maybe you should be sure of the facts. If you have to be so knowledgeable in this area of work he is going to drop him self in it sooner or later. Or maybe he has other contractors working for him who do know what they are doing. Maybe he is just boasting about the type of work he is doing, when in reality he is just cable running.

I guess what I'm saying is, what has it got to do with you?

[anonymous-user]

Yeh, what exactly has it got to do with you?

[elanfan]

Nothing - until his dodgy work kills your Mum!

[xstian]

ikarl said:

Now, I'm pretty sure this guy has, at most.....

This is the problem the OP doesn't know for sure. But he is thinking about contacting this guys employer and droping him in it. For all we know this guy is working quite with in his rights to be doing the work he is doing. It is up to the main contractor to vet the contractors they are employing. Not a couple busy bodies gossiping in the pub.

elanfan said:

Nothing - until his dodgy work kills your Mum!

How do I know you are qualified to do your job? Maybe I should contact your employer and express my doubt's. But then again, that isnt my job.

[Badvok]

bulldong said:

Yeh, what exactly has it got to do with you?

All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.

[elanfan]

Badvok said:

All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.

Absolutely! Could not have put it better.


Get him reported - if indeed he has the necessary experience or qualifications to do what he is doing then nobody gets hurt. If he hasn't....

[anonymous-user]

I'm sorry but the op doesn't have a clue about the situation. He is reciting something from a 3rd party and is talking about shopping someone for something which he has no idea about? Get real and keep your nose out op.

[Zad]

bulldong said:

I'm sorry but the op doesn't have a clue about the situation. He is reciting something from a 3rd party and is talking about shopping someone for something which he has no idea about? Get real and keep your nose out op.

If there's anything guaranteed to make someone determined to do something, it is being told to keep their nose out.

[Trev LTS]

My boss would not know a contactor or an MCCB if it dropped on their heads and had a big label on it. But that does not mean that they are not the ones in charge. At the end of the day they employ sparks to do the technical stuff and they pull in the £££ and keep us all in a job. You dont have to be qualified to have a firm, but it does help.

[hairyben]

ikarl said:

and if I do report it, who do I report it too?

And therein lies your problem; nobody really gives a fig, trade bodies, local councils/LABC etc care for little more than box ticking and how much they can raise in charges.

It'll take some nasty incidents, ie families being wiped out in house fires before any real attention is paid to just how much bad electrical installation work is being carried out in this country.

[ch427]

if hes doing big contracts then the work should be inspected and tested at different intervals