Who Can Issue "electrical Installation Condition Report"

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doubletiger

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Hi,

I need someone to do a "Electrical Installation Condition Report" on a flat, for letting.  There is a guy said he is Benchmark approved electrician, can do this EICR test. Does he qualify to do such test?

Does any electrician belong to any electrical originations (such as NICEIC,  ELECSA ,or NAPIT) qualify for EICR test and can issue such report?

Thank you

 
who are Benchmark? Any 'competent' electrician can do this work, but I would advise selecting someone from a recognised registration body. I would also recommend trying to find someone with some on-line reviews, but not with the likes of Check a Trade.... and ideally check they have Professional Indemnity Insurance.

 
AFAIA any one can issue an EICR, as Andy says, they don't need to be registered with a scheme,,,, however the level of understanding of the regulations (past and present) needs to be higher than many installers have so if I were you I'd use someone who comes recommended by someone who you trust

Also... the cheapest person isn't usually the best choice and in all honesty it should cost you ITRO £150 for a flat (dependant on your location)

 
Hi,

I need someone to do a "Electrical Installation Condition Report" on a flat, for letting.  There is a guy said he is Benchmark approved electrician, can do this EICR test. Does he qualify to do such test?

Does any electrician belong to any electrical originations (such as NICEIC,  ELECSA ,or NAPIT) qualify for EICR test and can issue such report?

Thank you
There is absolutely no written requirement for any qualifications or scheme membership for anyone to provide an EICR - the person doing the report needs to be competent!

Best you find a local sparky through recommendation.

 
AFAIA any one can issue an EICR, as Andy says, they don't need to be registered with a scheme,,,, however the level of understanding of the regulations (past and present) needs to be higher than many installers have so if I were you I'd use someone who comes recommended by someone who you trust

Also... the cheapest person isn't usually the best choice and in all honesty it should cost you ITRO £150 for a flat (dependant on your location)
I second this from Noz,  I was asked by a large estate agents to quote for inspecting electrics on their vacant properties  .  I submitted a quote based on  1/2 day ,plus collect & return keys,  write up report.    Cannot remember what it was, in the £120 region, but they didn't accept it as they had one of our asian friends doing them for £11  each . 

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Hi,

I need someone to do a "Electrical Installation Condition Report" on a flat, for letting.  There is a guy said he is Benchmark approved electrician, can do this EICR test. Does he qualify to do such test?

Does any electrician belong to any electrical originations (such as NICEIC,  ELECSA ,or NAPIT) qualify for EICR test and can issue such report?

Thank you
Welcome to the forum, you need to be aware that an Electrical Installation Condition Report is as per its title. One persons interpretation of the condition of an electrical installation in relation to any immediate or potential dangers and the applicable wiring regulations relevant to that type of installation. There is also an agreed level of inspection and testing between the person doing the inspection and the person ordering the work. The person issuing the report will also state the next recommended inspection date based on their findings. So two companies could quote a price for a periodic inspection of a property but the level of inspection and testing may not be the same and the duration before the next inspection due may not be the same. So you need to ensure you are specifying for the same work when comparing quotes from different electricians. Some insurance companies may stipulate they prefer EICR's done by members of one or more particular trade bodies, so you may also need to check with your insurance company as well.

Doc H.

 
I'd strongly advise to ask how much actual practical experience your electrician has, someone with perhaps only 5years may not have a good enough understanding if the regulations in force when the installation took place,

This is very important,  the date of installation is very relevant to the results compared with today's regulations 

 
An eicr is only as good as the person who does it, if that person has limited knowledge then you'll have a limited eicr, so a person with greater knowledge will give a greater eicr but with that comes a greater cost, simple logic ?

 
Thank you every one for replys and suggestions!

Binky, you said "but not with the likes of Check a Trade", as a consumer, I always use check a trade site to find traders, Why you do not recommend use this site?

thank you
 

 
'check a trade' do not post anything negative about the tradesmen on the site, so a company could have 50 good reviews and 50 awful ones, but only the good ones will be displayed. The site exists to extract money from tradesmen not for the benefit of the consumer. Now I'm sure there are plenty of decent trades people on there, but it isn't as guranteed as it looks. Plus I don't think they qualify the feedback, ie the reviews could well be written by the company concerned/ friends/family. If you want properly checked referrals on line you need to go to 'Which? Trusted Trader' or if you have one in the area 'Buy With Confidence' scheme run by trading standards. Apart from checking the businesses listed are fully qualified, they post the bad and good reviews, and qualify all reviews before posting them.

 
Must admit I contracted to a guy to do some electrics for him who's work was poor, he asked me to fill in a check a trade form to say I had used him and the work was excellent and he was tidy, this was to boost his rating on the website.

 
Top tip - when asking potential spark for prices, you need to know how many circuits in the fuseboard and the size of house or flat. Get a price and ask them how long they will be onsite for?

Then compare what they say - my absolute minimum for an EICR IS £150 - which reflects about 4 hours on site and then 90 mins at home to do the report and invoicing.

Just saying

 
This is one area of electrics that I hate. Large companies have been formed to do such testing and are, in my opinion no more than highwaymen.

Testing any existing installation is much harder than doing the generic testing. Testing uses all the training and experience of the electrician, recording test results is easy, the test instruments we use are pretty simple these days. Its the interpretation of the results that matter and in part the only way this shows up is with experience of other installations.

As others have commented, websites that promote traders have flaws, there are no checks to actually find out if the people who promote that trader is independent.

Within hours of joining such a site I would ask all friends and family to give myself a glowing review, they would, and I would be deceiving the general public.

As you may be now aware I am not on any check website, nor a safe trader, I am however very busy and in large demand due to my knowledge and experience.

 
Canoeboy said:
Thats not even a drive by ! That doesn't cover the cost of the printing and paper FFS !!!
look em up on Facebook and see if there are any pictures of them at home and look for wiring/accessories? :lol:

Google maps is easier ;)

on a slight tangent NIC will sell you EICR pads but not with their logo on you need to be AC for that!

 
Canoeboy said:
Thats not even a drive by ! That doesn't cover the cost of the printing and paper FFS !!!
£11 doesn't even cover getting the keys and taking threm back!

Madness.

Could you get a copy of a report, it may make interesting reading!

 
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