When hiring anyone, always do your research and make sure you know the red flags to look out for to avoid hiring a cowboy tradesperson. This needs to be the case even more when it comes to trades like electricians and plumbers. You cannot gamble this in any way, shape or form. You need to be sure who you are hiring and how they will be able to work for you. An electrician will be doing very advanced work after all.
Be suspicious of cheap quotes
Watch out for the builders or electricians who give you an extremely cheap quote or estimate, or who insists very much that he would start the job right away. No matter how urgent the job may be, first you need to make sure the builder is trustworthy, he gives you a proper quote, and is even willing to estimate the job in writing.
Say no to money up front
It is very suspicious when a builder or electrician asks for money. This is very much the case whether the whole amount or a small advance – up front. They may say they need the money to buy the materials, etc but if they are a reliable builder, they should have enough funds to cover the initial costs. Also, make sure they do things exactly as they quote you. If you need a VAT receipt, they should be able to give it to you.
Remember – you can look a company up online to see what their reputation is really like
You can search for their name or company name online, or in websites like NICEIC, ESC, Electrical Safety Register, RatedPeople, MyBuilder, etc. The best way is to ask for a recommendation from your friends, family, your architect, co-workers, etc. These are people who already have had some electrical job done and are pleased with the electrician.
No reviews
If the person you’re looking to hire/have already hired has very few reviews or none at all, it’s a red flag. Reviews are a great way of sharing experiences to help others make more informed choices about a business, company, etc. Generally, a professional tradesperson will encourage past customers to leave a review – knowing it’s good for business.
No advertised qualifications
This will ultimately depend on the person’s trade, but many require formal qualifications and identification cards. For example, all gas engineers by law have to be on the gas safe register to undertake gas work. So, when hiring a gas engineer, request to see their ID card. Ensure the picture matches the person in front of you. Check their gas safe number on the Gas Safe Register and that they’re qualified to perform the task at hand. The same too can be said for an electrician as they too will have trade associations that they are bound to be a part of. The NICEIC and Part P are just a couple of these. There are others too that one should be aware of and look out for too.
Key tip – get the scope of works written and put in writing
Everyone who knows you knows you’re a man of your word, but signing a written agreement can go a long way to gaining the confidence of new customers. Look, nobody’s saying you need to hire a solicitor and draw up some huge, complex document. Simply outlining what you’re going to do, when you’re going to do it by, and how much you’re going to charge can prove hugely effective. It’s not as if you’d back out of doing the work anyway, but by agreeing to it in writing, you give your customers a binding document that is likely to inspire much more trust than a handshake with a tradesman they’ve only recently met.
Overall – what you need to take into consideration
Good Electricians have generally joined one trade association or another. But no way does this mean that if they are not members they are a bad electrician. Ask them which trade they specialise in and who they use for the other trades. Be wary of the guy who says he does everything. He probably does but it is not possible to do everything really well. You need to make sure you assess every aspect of the scope of project works you want doing. You need to also consider the workload also for the tradesman you end up going with too.
