Inspection For Report On Circuit Mix-Up For Court Action

[flatowner]

[SIZE=13pt]Hi, [/SIZE]

[SIZE=13pt]My flat neighbour has done work that has mixed up his electrical circuits with mine.  The result is that my meter supplied his electricity circuits. This has cost me several hundred pounds of units and could have created a unsafe situation.  [/SIZE]

[SIZE=13pt]I need a specialist electrician that can inspect and then prepare report on the electrical circuits[/SIZE][SIZE=13pt] so I can take legal action[/SIZE][SIZE=13pt]. Are there such specialists? Can anyone recommend a suitable professional?[/SIZE]

[SIZE=13pt]Thanks in advance for any help.  [/SIZE]

 

[ProDave]

Any competent electrician should be able to do this.

BUT he will need access to the other flat.

There must be some common point, e.g shared loft space with no wall between them, for him to have tapped into your circuits.

 

[Blue Duck]

I assumed the tails got mixed up?

Bit difficult to tap in to someone else's circuits without them noticing?

Some more information to describe the situation would help!

 

[SPECIAL LOCATION]

As ProD said.....

any competent electrician would be able to test the safety and arrangements of all the circuits supplied from one fuse board / consumer unit...

BUT.....

It will be harder to prove how long something has be incorrectly connected...

e.g.

just because a circuit is crossed now is not evidence that it was crossed six months ago...

and a high electricity is not proof in itself either. 

How long have you lived there..

How long has this been going on...

When was the installation last inspected...

Guidance suggests that inspections should be carried out once every 10 years or change of occupancy...

These (faults) should have been noticed at the last inspection.

Is it a rented flat or are you the owner..?

Is the other flat rented or owned..?

How well do you get on with your neighbor ?

 

[flatowner]

It needs to be someone able to prepare a report that a solicitor can put in an evidence bundle for a private criminal prosecution and be perpared if need be to stand up in court and face cross examination by a barrester.

The meters of the two flats are next to each other and the electrics have got mixed up in the joist space between my ceiling and his above floor--its a Victorian house. It happened when he put two flats together into one. My neighbour is a solicitor and denies anything is amiss.

 

[Blue Duck]

Do you know what circuits got mixed up?

Is your fusebox in a common area next to his or in your flat?

Like spec loc says; Its going to be very hard to prove!

 

[Sharpend]

As the others have said, at best all you are going to get an electrician to say is yes I can confirm that the cables had become crossed. How I don't know, how long for I can't say. Seems pretty pointless. However if they are his flats and he's had them converted then he as the landlord would have a responsibility to provide a safe installation. Clearly safe isolation can not be undertaken so may have an argument from an electricians point of view? But in regards of your bill, very difficult to prove how long the flats had been like this unless new?

 

[SPECIAL LOCATION]

It needs to be someone able to prepare a report that a solicitor can put in an evidence bundle for a private criminal prosecution and be prepared if need be to stand up in court and face cross examination by a barrester.

The meters of the two flats are next to each other and the electrics have got mixed up in the joist space between my ceiling and his above floor--its a Victorian house. It happened when he put two flats together into one. My neighbour is a solicitor and denies anything is amiss.

Anyone can write a report on what the installation is like today...

BUT..

that will not carry much weight as to how long anything has been in that state...

(they could have been swapped yesterday!)

As it is an old property do you have copies of previous electrical paperwork that may prove how it used to be -vs- how it is now...?

e.g.

Installation certificates / Minor works certificates for previous alterations / additions that have been done.

Inspection reports for previous routine inspection and testing..

How long have you lived there..

do you have historic electricity bills that have suddenly gone higher coinciding with when the swap occurred?

You have not said if you rent or own your flat.. 

DID YOU HAVE IT TESTED INSPECTED AND TESTED WHEN YOU MOVED IN???? 

 

[flatowner]

The fuseboxes are within inches of each other. All the cables go up into the joist space above. I haved in my flat since 1980. There are two external meter readings while I was not in it. When the two flats of his were made one dwelling, Building Control should have made an inspection of the electrical works--but I know nothing about that. It is one line of investigation.

What happened is that after he put his two flats into one I was not living in my flat. I did not expect any electricity to be used. My meter and his meter are so high up, a step ladder is needed to read them. During his works, my ladder "disappeared" (he access to my flat during the Party Wall Award). It was only when I bought a step ladder and looked I saw that electricity had been used. I turned off my meter and the lights in his place went off and I heard a distress peeping from a fridge or freezer coming from his dwelling--he was away at the time. Bizarrely after this he had an electrician in that put MY circuits on to his meter--everything in my flat stayed alive in spite of my meter being off. After complaining that has been corrected. I what an expert who can look at what is going on.

 

[ProDave]

It's all very confusing.

So there were three flats. One is yours, the other two were owned by someone else.

The other 2 were owned by the same person and converted into one flat.  So can we assume in that process one of the electricity meters in the common cupboard was removed? and the TWO consumer units for the (now larger) flat connected to just one meter.

Or has it gone further than that, and the two separate consumer units were replaced by one for that now enlarged flat?

Either way it seems all the cables from the consumer units to the individual flats pass through a common inter floor void.  My reading of the description is you are going to need access to the other flat and floorboards up to see the wiring.

First thing to do is to turn and unplug  absolutely everything in your flat for a period, ideally a whole day. Read your meter at the start and end and see if it has incremented or not during the test.  If it has, then your suspicions are probably right.

You are going to need the cooperation of the other flat to sort it out though, and then proving it was deliberate rather than a genuine mistake is almost impossible.

 

[flatowner]

The two other flats had two separate meters. However, one flat was so radically changed that the location of its meter has disappeared. It seems all the wiring in that flat has been extended into the wiring of the other flat--its meter remains the same and is next to mine.

As for proof--a report might not show that. But it could be used by a solicitor to force my neighbour to provide details of the electrician he used. It is unlikily the electrician was told the full situation--a statement from that electrician could be used.

My lease I believe gives me the right to look at my electrical works.

But this all depends upon finding an expert. There must be specialist electricians that investigate after fires and other cases as to whether electricity might have been wrongly or dangerious installed. Finding --and even knowning where to find--such a specialist is my problem.

 

[Sharpend]

You are missing the point here my friend, any competent experienced electrician will be able to identify your circuits and any faults that exist whether in your flat or cross connected to your neighbours so specialist is not the issue here.

If you want my advice, having had several experiences with the Mafia known as solicitors, I'd pay for the wiring to be checked and sorted if need be, if the electrician identified a cross connection between flats then I'd approach the neighbour with the electricians report and see if you can't agree a reasonable settlement between you otherwise solicitors will milk you dry and probably prove nothing.

All the best.

 

[Andy™]

as above, any competent electrician can do what you want

 

[NozSpark]

as above, any competent electrician can do what you want

However,,, they'll need access to his property which will very likely be a sticking point...

Surely it's more in both of your interests to sort this out amicably instead of going to court?

 

[Murdoch]

So there are 3 flats and a question about the electrical meters, the fuseboard and ALL the circuits.

You need cooperation from the other 2 owners and a very patient sparky or 2.

question - you say you turned off your meter - surely you mean you turned off your fuseboard?

Who is the freeholder?

Is there a common supply for the communal area too?

This sounds like a fun job to sort out!

EDIT: If you post a few more times you could upload some photos!

 

[ProDave]

Get a lock off device for your CU and leave it locked off whenever you are not there. That will make them sort out any remaong issues if they have no power on some circuits.

Empty your fridge / freezer first.

 

[Andy™]

or... since you turn off yours and some power is still on, its now dangerous because you cant isolate it... wonder if DNO would do something, like isolate next door until its sorted?

 

[Murdoch]

Get a lock off device for your CU and leave it locked off whenever you are not there. That will make them sort out any remaong issues if they have no power on some circuits.

Empty your fridge / freezer first.

Not sure this is sensible. Diplomacy should be the first tactic - so find a local sparky through recommendation and go from there.......

 

[SLIPSHOD & SLAPDASH]

You mentioned earlier, since the re visit of the electrician you are now getting power not from your meter. Well thats a winner for you so leave it like that for a while to recoup your losses. Once they are 'repaid' tell the other flat owner you have his electric and i bet it will get sorted quickly. Where about in London are you ?

 

[Andy™]

didnt realise he was in london... he best ask the tumpton since they make the rules now, we are just uneducated peasants who cant do the job without them anymore