Pricing

Let me start by explaining what you are paying for and what you aren’t:

What is absolutely free:

• Quotations, and my time spent doing them! Realistically I am not going to get (or even be able to do) every job I quote for. However, I like to think that I can provide an honest quotation based on what I know. If you can find cheaper and available and just-as-good-if-not-better, then fine. That’s what quotes help you to do.
• My travel time to and from your home. It’s not your fault if I live a distance away from you, is it? Besides, I can claim company travel expenses against my tax.
• My advice. Take it or leave it, it is what it is. It is your home and your décor and you have to like living with it. I am but a brief visiting tradesperson. I can only do what is legal, however, as both my reputation and integrity rely on it. The same is true for all honest electricians.

What you are paying for:

• My time actually spent at your home, starting when I arrive and it finishes when everything is switched back on (or given back to you in a temporary working state, if working for more than 1 day), rounded up to the nearest half hour.
• Electrical components and consumables used to install or fix whatever is being done.
• Testing and checking the installation is safe. (This is the bit that is worth the money, as it is your family and friends that I am protecting. I also take on liability for my work too.).
• Expertise and knowledge. Just like your dentist, doctor, schoolteacher or solicitor, we all had to pass exams to get here, plus have some real life experience of dealing with problems. The more the experience, the faster the fix, so please don’t complain if I only take 40 minutes to do something but still charge you for an hour of my time.

How do I price my work?

Quoted work will involve me coming to your address, talking with you what you want, taking some notes and (with your permission) taking some non-traceable** photos of your electrical layout. I then give you a detailed quote, listing all materials I will use and a breakdown of labour time estimate. I charge £40/hour (in half hour increments or parts thereof). In simple terms, if I think a job will take 1.5 hours (say), I will charge you £60 for my labour. If the job then takes me 2.5 hours, there is no extra charge, that’s the deal.

Callout work involves me coming to trace and/or fix a fault. Key thing here is that I might be able to trace a fault, but not be able to fix it fully, if it is not purely electrical (e.g. a gas boiler module is tripping the mains, or your hot water tank is dripping on a socket). Either way, I charge £50 for a call out for the first hour (or part thereof). If I find the fault within the hour, I will tell you how much to fix it before I proceed. If I can’t find the fault, you have the option of letting me continue (for a further agreed limited period) or calling it a day. Either way I will let you know what I have found. Intermittent electrical faults are everyone’s bugbear, and the sheer number of electrical appliances people own these days makes that a wider problem. However, before we start all that, call me first and let’s see if I can help resolve things over the phone first. That way I don’t have to get out of my chair and you save money. A win-win!

Householder supplied electrical items

Please, please speak to a qualified electrician first before handing over your hard earned cash to any merchant of electrical gear, particularly sockets. Items that look cheap from Amazon, eBay or whoever are often either cheap copies of legitimate items or of dubious heritage (like fire-damaged stock, for example). If I supply you with electrical items, then I take responsibility for sourcing good quality and robust gear from reputable suppliers. If such components fail within 2 years after I fit them, I will replace them for free. Does your cheap deal look so good now? Also, with the best will in the world, you are not electrical experts, so do not know what components are acceptable or not in any given situation (e.g. the correct IP ratings for external sockets). That’s what you pay me for – expertise. I will of course happily fit your supplied electrical goods (say, the absolute bargain Tiffany lamp you bought from John Lewis’ or whatever) but that won’t come with my 2 year warranty. The choice is entirely yours.