Probably one of the most infuriating things being a professional contractor with 35 plus years experience is those phone calls stating “ I had a friend look at it, he tried removing and cleaning (insert a multitude of things here) but it’s still not working.
We all have them in our lives those so called “know it alls and Mr Fix it”.
There’s a saying that has been floating around for a number of years now it’s “Stay in your lane”.
As a professional we Stay in our lane, no we won’t change a switch or plug or do any other electrical work beyond the scope of our trade regardless of our personal abilities.
For good reasons too, work done by a non licensed contractor could void your home insurance, cause legal issue for both homeowners and the person doing the work especially if there is loss of life. Minor but often over looked you could also void warranties when unauthorized repairs or modifications have been made.
It’s not good enough even if the person holds a “personal licence” as an example a gas fitter G1, G2 etc, while permitted to work on gas appliance they can not work on an appliance without being register with Technical Safety and Standards Authority TSSA.
TSSA is the governing body for fuels amongst other things, much the same as the Electrical Safety Authority ESA governs electrical.
To be registered with TSSA you have to be a business of one form or another not a personal entity. You will need not only to prove competence (bar is to low my person opinion) but also that you carry the appropriate insurance to protect the consumer.
So the next time you’re thinking about calling on that friend or friend of the family give it some thought as you could be risking more than you were aware.
Stay safe!