Wondering how to spot a great electrician near you – without getting charged over the odds for a job? We can help.
Finding a local electrician is not as easy as searching through Google. For a start, many local tradespeople work freelance and never bothered to put together their own website. Some operate only through social media or review sites. Finding an electrician might mean having to ask for recommendations from friends and family, which is no good if you need someone fast or someone for your business.
While we don’t all have an electrician on standby, we should all know how to select a local leccy without getting taken advantage of. Here are some wholesome tips for ensuring your next choice in electrician doesn’t leave you shocked.
How to Find Local Electricians?
You can find local electricians through any means. We detailed some of our favourites below. They should help you find someone dependable near you, today.
Search Yell
Yell is a great resource for local trades. Businesses that don’t make it as far as their own website can at least make it on Yell. You can put in an extended description of yourself, add in your reviews, your opening hours, your address and more. From a trader’s point of view, it’s a great tool for connecting you to clients. From a customer’s point of view, you can find out all you need to know about a business at a glance. Check out the Amped Electrical Yell Profile in Swanage for a good example of a full entry.
Word of Mouth
The next tip we love to give is that you do ask around. As we mentioned above, this isn’t fast enough if you are in mid-emergency, but it does help if you have time to plan in advance. If you are about to start a big renovation project, for example, asking friends and family before you begin gives you enough time to find a trusted local sparky before the project is truly underway.
This is such a reliable model because your friends and family won’t lie to you about service. If they think it’s bad, or know of local electricians you should avoid, they won’t lie to you.
Think Insurance and Certification
One foundational way to spot a bad electrician is to ask them if they have insurance or certifications. All practising electricians in the UK need authentic certification from the governing body to operate. IF they don’t have this, they are in danger of being a cowboy. Electricians in Britain usually carry certificates from the NICEIC. The certificates cover different things, but at the lowest level you want a MEIWC (a Minor Electrical Installation Works Certificate) or a EIC (an Electrical Installation Certificate). If your potential new electrician doesn’t have these, don’t hire them.
Conducting Background Checks
Don’t forget that we can ask for references from anyone we hire to work in our businesses or homes. Check those references and ensure your potential new electrician is as good as they say they are. Don’t carry on until you have it that second opinion.
