If you’re considering having electrical work carried out in your home or business premises, it’s important to choose a qualified electrician. Electricity is dangerous and when installations or repairs are carried out by someone who doesn’t have the relevant skills or qualifications, it can prove to be very dangerous indeed.
Electricians who carry out installation work in England and Wales must adhere to current Building Regulations and in Scotland this is known as the Building Standards system. At present there is no legal equivalent in Northern Ireland.
Thanks to the internet, checking whether an electrician is legitimate is easier than ever before. The best place to start checking if an individual is qualified is to find out whether they are a member of a Government approved schemes. Here at Dalec, for example, we’re listed on the Registered Competent Person Electrical website and have ECA Certification on the ELECSA website which means that we have been approved by the Government to carry out electrical work on your home in compliance with Part P of the Building Regulations scheme.
Checking that an electrical contractor is just one step you can take but if you are worried about someone’s qualifications, don’t be embarrassed about asking to see their qualifications. If you are working with someone who seems reluctant to do this, this should be seen as a warning sign.
Last and by no means least, get a few quotes before choosing a contractor. At this point it’s worth remembering that cheap doesn’t mean quality and if it seems too good to be true then it probably is.
