Electrician charged for a job not ordered

[fargo99]

Hi everyone.

I have posted a job on mybuilder.com and asked to remove an old alarm system and some remaining electrical bits from an old boiler installation at our house. A company got in touch and we have exchanged a couple of text messages with whom we assume to be the owner. He said that he can "pop down and see what work you need doing" and then we agreed on date and time. Today, we had two people that came in to see around the house, they said that they were sent by the owner. We have assumed they came in for the quote, and they have checked our fuses, sockets, the things needs doing etc. My husband actually asked them what were they doing and they just said they were checking circuits etc. However at the end of their visit they have mentioned that the report will be unsatisfactory, this is when the alarm bell went off in my head. Not once have the EICR (electrical installation condition report) been mentioned before, all was agreed was to have a look at what needs doing. We assumed that the people who came in today were checking the electrics and were supposed to provide us with a quote. This evening, the owner got back in touch (via text message) again and said: "Please find bank details attached for payment for EICR £140 + vat." then he quoted the jobs we actually asked about and ended the text message with "Please let me know when the payment is sent...". Note, he did not actually provided any bank details to us, nor did he provide us with an actual EICR certificate.

Can you please let me know if we are obliged to pay for this, it is not something that was ordered by us, nor was it communicated to us at all at any time in any of the previous conversations (all via text messages).

Kind regards,
F.

[Pezza54]

When you posted your job on mybuilder did you just ask for a quotation for electrical work and provide brief details of the work required?
If the company owner did not say or write in a text that the company charges for quotations or has to prepare an EICR before carrying out electrical work at a property then you are not legally bound to pay for it.
He has not provided you with the EICR probably because he thinks there is a good chance you will dispute payment for it.
You should reply that you are not paying for the EICR as you were not made aware that an EICR was necessary and that you would be charged for it.
If he waives the charge for the EICR he might build in the £140 into the quotation, so it is best to obtain another electrician's quotation.
Ask neighbours if they can recommend a reliable electrician and make sure the electrician is qualified, provides a free quotation and an invoice/certificate on completion.