Is my crisis an emergency?

Electrical emergencies in your home need to be dealt with urgently because what can start off as a wire failing to trip (due to a faulty circuit breaker) can soon turn into a fire that you might not be aware of while it is still manageable and only become aware of once the fire is out of control. If you hear a humming or buzzing sound coming from the electrical breaker box, you need to urgently contact an electrician because it is the start of your system about to fail as is noticing a black burn mark or smelling a burnt smell around a plug outlet from your electrics being overloaded. An obvious electrical emergency is if your home is the only home plunged into darkness while the rest of the street still has lighting, and your utility supplier has no known issues, you would need to call on a qualified electrician to discover the cause of your power outage.

Tips on how not to be taken advantage of in my time of panic

Before you begin your search for the right electrician for you, to minimise any damage to your home in the time it will take for the electrician to be with you, cut off the main power supply to your house by switching down the main switch on your circuit breaker. If you know which plug outlet is causing the overload, pull the plug out of the wall socket and do not attempt to put it back in. If there is a small fire, immediately cut off the mains power to disconnect the electricity and never put water on an electrical fire to extinguish it as water is a natural conductor of electricity and you can get electrocuted, rather smother a small fire with some baking soda if you have it nearby. Call the emergency fire department to take advice in case there is a chance of the fire spreading quickly.

No matter how desperate you are in your time of crisis needing an emergency electrician, do not be tempted to shortcut and settle for a non-qualified electrician. Dealing with home electrics is a skilled job were bad faulty workmanship and wiring will endanger your life. Make sure the electrician has an industry recognised qualification, such as a Level 3 NVQ diploma. Choose an electrician associated with National Inspection Council for Electrical Installation Contracting (NICEIC), as they will be assessed to the highest standards which will provide safety for you having them work in your home.

Once you are in contact with the electrician, ask them to explain what they will check and repair. Let them know what access to the wiring is like and if you have any house plans of the electrics from when you bought your home on hand. Explain in detail any smells or noises, letting the electrician know if you are able to pin-point the location of the smells and noises. Get confirmation that when the electrician arrives, whether they can carry out the repair or not, they will ensure that your property is made safe. If there is to be repair or installation work, insist on being left with an electrical installation certificate stating that your work meets the British Standard for electrical safety, BS7671.

Agree on a call out fee, before the electrician comes out so that there is no ‘beard scratching’ awkward moment on what to charge based on how panicked you seem. If the electrician is due out of hours (which always seems to be when emergency situations happen!) understand that there will often be a mark-up on the call-out fee. Ask the electrician if they have common spare parts (e.g isolation switches, cable connectors, plug socket face plates…) kept in their van to eliminate the need of needing to pay another call-out fee to come back and replace the problematic parts. Do not get spoken into paying any money upfront before the electrician arrives, you should only be presented with an invoice at the end of the initial call-out. Before the electrician arrives best to find out their preferred payment method because if it is after hours you might not have any cash in the house and it might not be convenient to leave the electrical fault to go and draw out cash so it is better to then have the conversation about other payment options.

While on the phone with the electrician, if speaking to them on their mobile try get a landline number as well as a physical address for their office so if there are any issues on-going you will be able to contact the tradesperson rather than them disappear and leave your electrical issue still damaged.

Finding a tradesperson to get me out of my jam

In your time of predicament, it can be difficult while panicked to quickly decide where to start calling to find a qualified electrician without paying an arm and a leg for the emergency service. HaMuch.com helps you find affordable and qualified electricians, putting you in touch with them instantly to arrange a suitable time to get to your home and help you with your emergency.

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