UK electricians claim that fixing dangerous botched DIY jobs accounts for a quarter of business

gazza — Sun, 19 May 2013 23:00:00 +0000

gazza Mon, 20/05/2013

Business is booming for UK tradesmen due to Britain’s do-it-yourself attitude, according to a new survey. Commissioned by leading business insurance broker, Swinton Commercial, the snap-shot study, which took a sample of 100 tradesmen and women from across the UK, found that over 60% of UK electricians reported that callouts to repair failed DIY attempts accounted for up to 25% of their workload, while 27% said they could account for as much as 45% of callouts.
The study showed that over 70% of those surveyed felt that most amateur DIY attempts resulted from people believing it would be cheaper to do jobs themselves rather than hiring a professional, thinking skilled electrician jobs were easy (54.5%), or because they worried they would get ripped - off by rogue-traders (27.3%).
A huge 37.5% of electricians said they were regularly called out to fix DIY mishaps at businesses, while 81% said that over ambitious DIY-ers were guilty of putting themselves and others at serious risk.
100% of UK electricians said they thought it was a growing trend.
82% believe that have-a-go DIY-ers put themselves and others at serious risk
100% said it was a growing trend
Homeowners should think twice before attempting home repairs, as this could impact upon their insurance policy, warns Swinton Commercial.
Botched jobs reported by electricians, included:
Bathroom sockets and switches fitted at ground level.
Lighting wiring joints which were sellotaped together. No connectors, no earth connections, sockets wired in reverse, neutrals connected to earth terminals causing a gas fitter to receive a shock.
Electricity wiring in a house, where each wire was separately channelled into the wall instead of together.
Central heating boiler installation using two separate two core cables with the blue in the second cable used as the earth connection, instead of using three core cables.
Bare electrical wires in a bathroom socket.
Commenting on the survey findings, Alastair Denness, National Business Development Manager at Swinton Commercial, said: “The results of the study are troubling showing that UK electricians are seeing a growing trend in people undertaking technically demanding and potentially dangerous DIY jobs in order to cut costs.
“Although these jobs might be good news for UK electricians, businesses need to be aware that cutting costs by attempting to do the job of a professional is a false economy, often costing a lot more than it would to pay a professional to do the job in the first place.
“Business owners also need to remember that failed DIY attempts can put you and employees at serious risk, and result in insurance claims when disaster strikes, leading to increased business insurance premiums. We therefore advise supporting your local tradesmen to provide a professional service which could save you and your business a lot more money in the long run.”

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Electricians Survey, DIY Electrical