Asked by Theo on 09-06-2023 12:58:44
Question posted in the General Law category relating to Gauteng

Re: Not getting relevant paperwork needed by my insurance company from an electician that did an istallation.

Good day. I have an inverter and battery that was supplied and fitted by an electrician(self employed). So far I do not have a problem with the equipment or the work that was done. The problem I do have is that the electrician was supposed to provide me with an invoice, Certificate of Compliance, and the warrantees for the equipment. These documents/paperwork is needed by the insurance company. The electrician also owes me an electrical plug. He was supposed to deliver the documents and plug the day after completing the job. He has been paid in FULL via bank transfers. I phoned him after he did not show up and once again he promised to deliver the above documents and plug but again did not show up. He has ignored numerous phone calls and messages. Not being able to get hold of him also means that there is NO after-sales service incase anything does go wrong. I would like to know what my options are(maybe a lawyer's letter?) and also what the costs would be. I managed to find his home address. Thank you, Theo

Further information relating to Question:

Apparently I am not the only person that has the exact same problem with this individual

Posted by Att. Patrick on 09-06-2023 15:29:02

Hi there Theo and thank you for your question,

I am a practicing attorney based in South Africa and I will assist you with your question. Please feel free to ask as many follow up questions in order to clarify your question. If you have a new question, you must please open a new thread.

Please keep in mind that our discussions is for general information purposes only. Our engagement on this website does not create an attorney-client relationship. 

If you do not have an electrical COC from this electrician, I am wondering whether he is registered or able to even give you a COC. If you need one for insurance purposes, my advice is that you approach another electrician to come to your house to give you a COC, not specifically for your inverter, but for the entire electrical installation. Then at least you can get your insurance covered. 

If there is a cost to this new COC, you would have a claim against the current electrician for repayment of the cost, because (if I understand you correctly) it was part of the deal that he gives you a COC. i.e. you've already paid him for a COC, so you are entitled to one from him.  If he doesn't comply with the deal, then you must get a third party to do it, then recover these costs from the electrician. 

In order to recover the costs from him, my advice is to sue him in the local small claims court. The small claims court is a lawyer-free court which has very relaxed rules where you can run your own case before a commissioner and get a judgement against the electrician. The sheriff of the court can go attach the electrician's assets, so that you can get paid. 

If you want to send a lawyer's letter to the electrician before you go the small claims court route, you can definitely do that, and it might have the desired effect. Given that you've found his home address, you can get the letter and/or the small claims court summons delivered to his home. That should get his attention! 

Thank you for your advice, I am going to follow it. Do you do will writing as well?

Posted by Att. Patrick on 13-06-2023 12:19:11

Hi again Theo, 

I do not actually write Wills myself, however I can refer you to an attorney who would be able to assist. I will ask the customer support team to reach out to you via email. 

Thanks again for your reply. Regarding my original issue relating to the electrician. What would the cost be to write a letter that basically that tells him of my intention to have another electrician issue the COC and to claim all cost back in the smalls claim court. I will have this letter delivered via some sort of registered means. (i.e. signature needed.) Regards, Theo

Posted by Att. Patrick on 13-06-2023 12:32:23

What would the cost be to write a letter that basically that tells him of my intention to have another electrician issue the COC and to claim all cost back in the smalls claim court.  -> We can't represent you directly. We can only provide legal advice via this platform. 

I don't see any reason why you can't send that letter yourself to the electrician. If you email it, and also send it via registered post, that will be good enough. If you really wanted to make sure that he receives it, you could ask the sheriff of the court to hand deliver it. It might cost you R150 / R200 ... but then you would certainly get the electrician scared! 

Thank you again for the advice, appreciated.