Electrical Testing Company, Intersafe, reveal some companies in the electrical testing market are quoting a low rate for fixed wire testing, then encouraging engineers to find faults on a job in order to make money through remedial work.
‘Have you found any faults on that Fixed Testing job?’ The words uttered by an electrical testing company boss to his engineer, the response ‘No I haven’t.’ The boss: ‘Well you have to find something as we need to make money on that job.’
Electrical Testing Company, Intersafe, reveal some companies in the electrical testing market are quoting a low rate for fixed wire testing, then encouraging engineers to find faults on a job in order to make money through remedial work.
Remedial work involves rectifying any faults or defects on your electrical installation as a result of your Electrical Installation Condition Report. C1 (“Danger Present”) and C2 (“Potentially Dangerous”) faults must be rectified in order to achieve compliance.
You may have been approached by an organisation that has offered to carry out fixed installation testing at your premises at an extremely competitive rate. This of course is an attractive proposition in order to save money and deliver on your budget. However be cautious, is the company charging less up front only to then bolt on additional costs for remedial work? Therefore ultimately finding that you are paying over the odds in the long run.
Another element to look out for when getting quotes for your Fixed Wire Testing is companies that claim to test 100% of your installation but in fact only test 10%. Intersafe Director, Adrian Pendle, warned: “For buyers with good electrical training these “10%” specifications are not easy to spot and for buyers with little practical knowledge it is nearly impossible. For example, a specification from one of the biggest electrical testing firms that we read recently indicated 100% testing would be carried out but on further reading it was clear the specification was for 100% testing on only 10% of the installation. It is very misleading.”
It is of course understandable that half price quotes are tempting but the fact they are only doing about 10% of the work of a genuine 100% Inspection and Testing Service is unacceptable and dangerous. In the 90% of the installation that is untested there could be a major fault. This could put staff, visitors and customer’s lives and your premises at risk through electrocution or an electrical fire.
For more information on Fixed Wire Testing and to ask any questions, don’t hesitate to call Intersafe on 02380 610101.
