I was contacted by phone and told that my fuse box was over 40 years old and
needed to be replaced. The company Electrical Safety Group gave the
impresion that they were linked to a energy supplier. They came to the house
and checked the wiring and left a a list of things to be done costing about
£800 on reading their inspection report they say (in small print) at the
bottom of the page that they are not part of any public energy supplier. I
am beginning to think that this is some sort of scam. What do the panel of
experts think? Someone in this newsgroup must know more than me
Thanks in advance
Robbie

Roberts wrote:

I was contacted by phone and told that my fuse box was over 40 years old and
needed to be replaced. The company Electrical Safety Group gave the
impresion that they were linked to a energy supplier. They came to the house
and checked the wiring and left a a list of things to be done costing about
£800 on reading their inspection report

Scammers.

No doubt their report highlights every possible item for bringing the
installation to current standards ... unless you want this doing (or are
having other electrical work done) there is no requirement to do this.

Andy Burns wrote:

No doubt their report highlights every possible item for bringing the
installation to current standards ...

Worth detailing here what work they've said is "necessary" for people to
comment on.

On 10/04/2011 04:32 AM, Roberts wrote:
I was contacted by phone and told that my fuse box was over 40 years old and
needed to be replaced. The company Electrical Safety Group gave the
impresion that they were linked to a energy supplier. They came to the house
and checked the wiring and left a a list of things to be done costing about
£800 on reading their inspection report they say (in small print) at the
bottom of the page that they are not part of any public energy supplier. I
am beginning to think that this is some sort of scam. What do the panel of
experts think? Someone in this newsgroup must know more than me
Thanks in advance
Robbie



Sounds like the meter reader's got themselves a side-line going,
providing this company with contacts. Unless you've noticed problems
yourself - which *should* of course be addressed - then put their report
in the bin.

Andy C

On Oct 4, 4:32*am, "Roberts" wrote:
I was contacted by phone and told that my fuse box was over 40 years old and
needed to be replaced. The company Electrical Safety Group gave the
impresion that they were linked to a energy supplier. They came to the house
and checked the wiring and left a a list of things to be done costing about
800 on reading their inspection report they say (in small print) at the
bottom of the page that they are not part of any public energy supplier. I
am beginning to think that this is some sort of scam. What do the panel of
experts think? Someone in this newsgroup must know more than me
Thanks in advance
Robbie

It's possible your forty year old "fuse box" ideally needs replacing
however as a minimum you need to get alternative prices from elsewhere
and another opinion.

No-one here can tell you without actually seeing your installation or
detailed description/photos, there are lots of factors.

Things have moved on, fuses are no longer used, minature circuit
breakers are used instead. Some people have the fuse box changed for a
box with these instead. They are a bit safer. £800 would be very
expensive just to do this.

If your box is made by Wylex, (most were back then) the fuses could be
removed and they make/made circuit breakers that just plugged in to
repace the fuse carrier, about five minutes work.

However don't get your knickers in a twist over the matter, have a
careful think.

Roberts wrote:

I was contacted by phone and told that my fuse box was over 40 years old
and needed to be replaced. The company Electrical Safety Group gave the
impresion that they were linked to a energy supplier. They came to the
house and checked the wiring and left a a list of things to be done
costing about �800 on reading their inspection report they say (in small
print) at the bottom of the page that they are not part of any public
energy supplier. I am beginning to think that this is some sort of scam.
What do the panel of experts think? Someone in this newsgroup must know
more than me Thanks in advance
Robbie

Scam.

Tell them to **** off or if you're up to it, get them back and waste their
time a bit. On no account given them sany money or sign anything.

--
Tim Watts

In article ,
"Roberts" writes:
I was contacted by phone and told that my fuse box was over 40 years old and
needed to be replaced. The company Electrical Safety Group gave the
impresion that they were linked to a energy supplier.

Many of the energy suppliers' contracting departments also do this.

They came to the house
and checked the wiring and left a a list of things to be done costing about
£800 on reading their inspection report they say (in small print) at the
bottom of the page that they are not part of any public energy supplier. I
am beginning to think that this is some sort of scam. What do the panel of
experts think? Someone in this newsgroup must know more than me

Like others asked, what did their report say?

An old wylex fuse box will often need replacing after about 40 years.
Some of the internal conductor connections can go high contact
resistance and start overheating, damaging surrounding insulation.
That's easy to check for by visual inspection.

But that doesn't cost anything like £800, even if you replaced it
with the bee's knees all RCBOs protection.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

Tim Watts wrote:

Roberts wrote:

I was contacted by phone and told that my fuse box was over 40
years old and needed to be replaced. The company Electrical Safety
Group gave the impresion that they were linked to a energy
supplier. They came to the house and checked the wiring and left a
a list of things to be done costing about �800 on reading their
inspection report they say (in small print) at the bottom of the
page that they are not part of any public energy supplier. I am
beginning to think that this is some sort of scam. What do the
panel of experts think? Someone in this newsgroup must know more
than me Thanks in advance Robbie

Scam.

Tell them to **** off or if you're up to it, get them back and waste
their time a bit. On no account given them sany money or sign
anything.

.... and don't leave them alone in a room, or allow them to start any
work _whatsoever_ ..

--
Paul - xxx

There are lots of people doing this sort of thing. Home security is busy
doing it a lot, so I imagine there are other angles. I never allow anyone
access who calls cold by phone or at the door. I'm too much of a cynic but I
guess some might be OK, but it makes you think if these folk were good, how
come they need to use such dodgy practices to get work?

Brian

--
Brian Gaff -
Note:- In order to reduce spam, any email without 'Brian Gaff'
in the display name may be lost.
Blind user, so no pictures please!
"Roberts" wrote in message
...
I was contacted by phone and told that my fuse box was over 40 years old
and needed to be replaced. The company Electrical Safety Group gave the
impresion that they were linked to a energy supplier. They came to the
house and checked the wiring and left a a list of things to be done costing
about £800 on reading their inspection report they say (in small print) at
the bottom of the page that they are not part of any public energy
supplier. I am beginning to think that this is some sort of scam. What do
the panel of experts think? Someone in this newsgroup must know more than
me
Thanks in advance
Robbie

No its a load of tosh. The other folk who are constantly coming out of the
woodwork are aerial riggers usually about three months before the region
goes completely digital. Completely ignoring the fact that many of the
people they contact are elidgible to get it done by the government sceme
for forty quid, they charge over 200 for a botched up job with a cheap
aerial.
Brian

--
Brian Gaff -
Note:- In order to reduce spam, any email without 'Brian Gaff'
in the display name may be lost.
Blind user, so no pictures please!
"Andrew Gabriel" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"Roberts" writes:
I was contacted by phone and told that my fuse box was over 40 years old
and
needed to be replaced. The company Electrical Safety Group gave the
impresion that they were linked to a energy supplier.

Many of the energy suppliers' contracting departments also do this.

They came to the house
and checked the wiring and left a a list of things to be done costing
about
£800 on reading their inspection report they say (in small print) at the
bottom of the page that they are not part of any public energy supplier.
I
am beginning to think that this is some sort of scam. What do the panel
of
experts think? Someone in this newsgroup must know more than me

Like others asked, what did their report say?

An old wylex fuse box will often need replacing after about 40 years.
Some of the internal conductor connections can go high contact
resistance and start overheating, damaging surrounding insulation.
That's easy to check for by visual inspection.

But that doesn't cost anything like £800, even if you replaced it
with the bee's knees all RCBOs protection.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

"Roberts" wrote in message
...
I was contacted by phone and told that my fuse box was over 40 years old
and needed to be replaced. The company Electrical Safety Group gave the
impresion that they were linked to a energy supplier. They came to the
house and checked the wiring and left a a list of things to be done costing
about £800 on reading their inspection report they say (in small print) at
the bottom of the page that they are not part of any public energy
supplier. I am beginning to think that this is some sort of scam. What do
the panel of experts think? Someone in this newsgroup must know more than
me
Thanks in advance
Robbie
Many thanks for info. I also think that if given the job to do £800 will
only be the start - they will find a lot more wrong costing even more of my
pension which the present government is going to reduce.
If I was n't too old I would be rioting too!!!
Robbie.

Roberts wrote:
I was contacted by phone and told that my fuse box was over 40 years
old and needed to be replaced. The company Electrical Safety Group
gave the impresion that they were linked to a energy supplier. They
came to the house and checked the wiring and left a a list of things
to be done costing about £800 on reading their inspection report they
say (in small print) at the bottom of the page that they are not part
of any public energy supplier. I am beginning to think that this is
some sort of scam. What do the panel of experts think? Someone in
this newsgroup must know more than me Thanks in advance
Robbie

Everyone who rings up out of the blue and asks me for £800 always get paid,
it's only common courtesy.

On 04/10/2011 08:31, Brian Gaff wrote:
There are lots of people doing this sort of thing. Home security is busy
doing it a lot, so I imagine there are other angles. I never allow anyone
access who calls cold by phone or at the door. I'm too much of a cynic but I
guess some might be OK, but it makes you think if these folk were good, how
come they need to use such dodgy practices to get work?

Brian


+1

On Tue, 04 Oct 2011 07:43:15 +0100, Tim Watts wrote:
Tell them to **** off or if you're up to it, get them back and waste
their time a bit.

Invite them back and offer them a nice cup of 2x4" :-)

On Tue, 4 Oct 2011 04:32:54 +0100, "Roberts" wrote:

I was contacted by phone and told that my fuse box was over 40 years old and
needed to be replaced. The company Electrical Safety Group gave the
impresion that they were linked to a energy supplier.

Well - their bank balance is £367 so another £800 would be welcome...

http://companycheck.co.uk/company/03801775

On Mon, 03 Oct 2011 22:49:36 -0700, harry wrote:
Things have moved on, fuses are no longer used

I've got three fuseboxes in use here, plus a couple of big ol' knife
switches, plus a couple of breaker panels, plus some load control relay
boxes - the setup's all a little quirky.

I do rather miss UK electrics :-)

cheers

Jules

Jules Richardson wrote:
On Mon, 03 Oct 2011 22:49:36 -0700, harry wrote:
Things have moved on, fuses are no longer used

I've got three fuseboxes in use here, plus a couple of big ol' knife
switches, plus a couple of breaker panels, plus some load control relay
boxes - the setup's all a little quirky.

I do rather miss UK electrics :-)

Chuckle Sounds as if you might need an Igor to connect the lightning
conductor to the operating tabe.
--
Tciao for Now!

John.

On 04/10/2011 13:43, Geo wrote:
On Tue, 4 Oct 2011 04:32:54 +0100, wrote:

I was contacted by phone and told that my fuse box was over 40 years old and
needed to be replaced. The company Electrical Safety Group gave the
impresion that they were linked to a energy supplier.

Well - their bank balance is £367 so another £800 would be welcome...

http://companycheck.co.uk/company/03801775

Odd. Their website describes them as Electrical Safety Group plc but I
cannot find anything about them on the stock exchange site. Anyone know
what their ticker code is?

On Oct 4, 4:32*am, "Roberts" wrote:
I was contacted by phone and told that my fuse box was over 40 years old and
needed to be replaced. The company Electrical Safety Group gave the
impresion that they were linked to a energy supplier. They came to the house
and checked the wiring and left a a list of things to be done costing about
£800 on reading their inspection report they say (in small print) at the
bottom of the page that they are not part of any public energy supplier. I
am beginning to think that this is some sort of scam. What do the panel of
experts think? Someone in this newsgroup must know more than me
Thanks in advance
Robbie

There are two kinds of "fusebox": the _company_ fusebox between the
cables coming in from the street and the meter which you (should)
never touch, and the one between the meter and the house wiring,
normally referred to as a "consumer unit", where you replace fuses
yourself.

It's most unlikely that the electricity company would know anything
about the age of your CU. Maybe Electrical Safety Group have been
contracted to deal with replacements of company fuseboxes (wholly at
the company's expense) and are riding on this to do "free safety
checks" of customers' installations. Nothing inherently wrong with
this, but they should not be scaring people into unnecessary work. A
Watchdog investigation a while back found cowboy firms replacing
consumer units unnecessarily (even a brand new one that a former
cowboy had done them for the previous day). If ESG are in this
category, they should be reported to some or all of the power company,
Trading Standards (see your Council's website), and/or people like
Watchdog.

Latest cold-calling craze around here is "Have you had your government
grant for top-up loft insulation?" As it's not a 100% grant and you
can't DIY, I doubt if it's financially worthwhile.

Chris

On Tue, 04 Oct 2011 07:51:56 -0700, chrisj.doran%proemail.co.uk wrote:

On Oct 4, 4:32Â*am, "Roberts" wrote:
I was contacted by phone and told that my fuse box was over 40 years
old and needed to be replaced. The company Electrical Safety Group gave
the impresion that they were linked to a energy supplier. They came to
the house and checked the wiring and left a a list of things to be done
costing about £800 on reading their inspection report they say (in
small print) at the bottom of the page that they are not part of any
public energy supplier. I am beginning to think that this is some sort
of scam. What do the panel of experts think? Someone in this newsgroup
must know more than me Thanks in advance
Robbie

There are two kinds of "fusebox": the _company_ fusebox between the
cables coming in from the street and the meter which you (should) never
touch, and the one between the meter and the house wiring, normally
referred to as a "consumer unit", where you replace fuses yourself.

It's most unlikely that the electricity company would know anything
about the age of your CU. Maybe Electrical Safety Group have been
contracted to deal with replacements of company fuseboxes (wholly at the
company's expense) and are riding on this to do "free safety checks" of
customers' installations. Nothing inherently wrong with this, but they
should not be scaring people into unnecessary work. A Watchdog
investigation a while back found cowboy firms replacing consumer units
unnecessarily (even a brand new one that a former cowboy had done them
for the previous day). If ESG are in this category, they should be
reported to some or all of the power company, Trading Standards (see
your Council's website), and/or people like Watchdog.

Latest cold-calling craze around here is "Have you had your government
grant for top-up loft insulation?" As it's not a 100% grant and you
can't DIY, I doubt if it's financially worthwhile.

Chris

Funny, had a guy last week knocking ... his little face fell, when I
detailed exactly what we had done, down to the draught excluder on the
bin store door.

We did very well out of that, actually. We had the loft completely
insulated, plus the loft hatch. Cavity wall insulation. And, because we
are a unique property, apparently, (3 bed bungalow with a ludicrously
large footprint) a team from Cardiff University paid us £150 to have some
24/7 wall sensors fitted (they were poles that went between floor and
ceiling with a probe that touched the wall) for a week before, and a week
after. The guy in charge of the study was a real geek ... it's rare to
meet someone that is *that* into their work. I got several brownie points
for my recollection of black box radiation ... and he did an external
survey, with an IR camera, which showed that we were very well insulated.

Phil L wrote:
Roberts wrote:
I was contacted by phone and told that my fuse box was over 40 years
old and needed to be replaced. The company Electrical Safety Group
gave the impresion that they were linked to a energy supplier. They
came to the house and checked the wiring and left a a list of things
to be done costing about £800 on reading their inspection report they
say (in small print) at the bottom of the page that they are not part
of any public energy supplier. I am beginning to think that this is
some sort of scam. What do the panel of experts think? Someone in
this newsgroup must know more than me Thanks in advance
Robbie

Everyone who rings up out of the blue and asks me for £800 always get
paid, it's only common courtesy.

You forgot to mention your number, Phil.



--
Register as an organ donor with the NHS online. It takes 1 minute and
saves you carrying an organ donor card with you.
http://www.uktransplant.org.uk/ukt/h...me_a_donor.jsp

"Jethro" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 04 Oct 2011 07:51:56 -0700, chrisj.doran%proemail.co.uk wrote:

On Oct 4, 4:32 am, "Roberts" wrote:
I was contacted by phone and told that my fuse box was over 40 years
old and needed to be replaced. The company Electrical Safety Group gave
the impresion that they were linked to a energy supplier. They came to
the house and checked the wiring and left a a list of things to be done
costing about £800 on reading their inspection report they say (in
small print) at the bottom of the page that they are not part of any
public energy supplier. I am beginning to think that this is some sort
of scam. What do the panel of experts think? Someone in this newsgroup
must know more than me Thanks in advance
Robbie

There are two kinds of "fusebox": the _company_ fusebox between the
cables coming in from the street and the meter which you (should) never
touch, and the one between the meter and the house wiring, normally
referred to as a "consumer unit", where you replace fuses yourself.

It's most unlikely that the electricity company would know anything
about the age of your CU. Maybe Electrical Safety Group have been
contracted to deal with replacements of company fuseboxes (wholly at the
company's expense) and are riding on this to do "free safety checks" of
customers' installations. Nothing inherently wrong with this, but they
should not be scaring people into unnecessary work. A Watchdog
investigation a while back found cowboy firms replacing consumer units
unnecessarily (even a brand new one that a former cowboy had done them
for the previous day). If ESG are in this category, they should be
reported to some or all of the power company, Trading Standards (see
your Council's website), and/or people like Watchdog.

Latest cold-calling craze around here is "Have you had your government
grant for top-up loft insulation?" As it's not a 100% grant and you
can't DIY, I doubt if it's financially worthwhile.

Chris

Funny, had a guy last week knocking ... his little face fell, when I
detailed exactly what we had done, down to the draught excluder on the
bin store door.

We did very well out of that, actually. We had the loft completely
insulated, plus the loft hatch. Cavity wall insulation. And, because we
are a unique property, apparently, (3 bed bungalow with a ludicrously
large footprint) a team from Cardiff University paid us £150 to have some
24/7 wall sensors fitted (they were poles that went between floor and
ceiling with a probe that touched the wall) for a week before, and a week
after. The guy in charge of the study was a real geek ... it's rare to
meet someone that is *that* into their work. I got several brownie points
for my recollection of black box radiation ... and he did an external
survey, with an IR camera, which showed that we were very well insulated
..
Hi Group
For those of you that have not become bored with this saga as far as I can
see there is only one fuse box (that I can see) but I note that is not
sealed & I can change the fuses myself. There is a much smaller sealed box
on the incoming mains side of the meter but as it is sealed I have no idea
what is in it. This whole thing begins to smell rather badly
Many thanks for this mine of information
Robbie

On 04/10/2011 19:33, Roberts wrote:
Hi Group
For those of you that have not become bored with this saga as far as I can
see there is only one fuse box (that I can see) but I note that is not
sealed& I can change the fuses myself. There is a much smaller sealed box
on the incoming mains side of the meter but as it is sealed I have no idea
what is in it. This whole thing begins to smell rather badly
Many thanks for this mine of information
Robbie

That little box is the electricity board's fuse, and is is sealed by them.

If it smells, worry.... oh. You mean the guys at the door. Yes, I can
believe they smell. Certainly this shouts ***SCAM*** at me, and I would
call trading standards and discuss it with them.

Andy

In message , Roberts
writes
I was contacted by phone and told that my fuse box was over 40 years old and
needed to be replaced. The company Electrical Safety Group gave the
impresion that they were linked to a energy supplier. They came to the house
and checked the wiring and left a a list of things to be done costing about
£800 on reading their inspection report they say (in small print) at the
bottom of the page that they are not part of any public energy supplier. I
am beginning to think that this is some sort of scam. What do the panel of
experts think? Someone in this newsgroup must know more than me
Thanks in advance
Robbie


Quite well known scam, often aimed at elderly people.

Your fuse box does not need to be replaced because of its age.
--
hugh

Andrew May wrote:
On 04/10/2011 13:43, Geo wrote:
On Tue, 4 Oct 2011 04:32:54 +0100, wrote:

I was contacted by phone and told that my fuse box was over 40
years old and needed to be replaced. The company Electrical Safety
Group gave the impresion that they were linked to a energy supplier.

Well - their bank balance is £367 so another £800 would be welcome...

http://companycheck.co.uk/company/03801775

Odd. Their website describes them as Electrical Safety Group plc but I
cannot find anything about them on the stock exchange site. Anyone
know what their ticker code is?

plc does not mean it's necessarily quoted.

--
Register as an organ donor with the NHS online. It takes 1 minute and
saves you carrying an organ donor card with you.
http://www.uktransplant.org.uk/ukt/h...me_a_donor.jsp

On 04/10/11 19:33, Roberts wrote:
wrote in message
...
On Tue, 04 Oct 2011 07:51:56 -0700, chrisj.doran%proemail.co.uk wrote:

On Oct 4, 4:32 am, wrote:
I was contacted by phone and told that my fuse box was over 40 years
old and needed to be replaced. The company Electrical Safety Group gave
the impresion that they were linked to a energy supplier. They came to
the house and checked the wiring and left a a list of things to be done
costing about £800 on reading their inspection report they say (in
small print) at the bottom of the page that they are not part of any
public energy supplier. I am beginning to think that this is some sort
of scam. What do the panel of experts think? Someone in this newsgroup
must know more than me Thanks in advance
Robbie

There are two kinds of "fusebox": the _company_ fusebox between the
cables coming in from the street and the meter which you (should) never
touch, and the one between the meter and the house wiring, normally
referred to as a "consumer unit", where you replace fuses yourself.

It's most unlikely that the electricity company would know anything
about the age of your CU. Maybe Electrical Safety Group have been
contracted to deal with replacements of company fuseboxes (wholly at the
company's expense) and are riding on this to do "free safety checks" of
customers' installations. Nothing inherently wrong with this, but they
should not be scaring people into unnecessary work. A Watchdog
investigation a while back found cowboy firms replacing consumer units
unnecessarily (even a brand new one that a former cowboy had done them
for the previous day). If ESG are in this category, they should be
reported to some or all of the power company, Trading Standards (see
your Council's website), and/or people like Watchdog.

Latest cold-calling craze around here is "Have you had your government
grant for top-up loft insulation?" As it's not a 100% grant and you
can't DIY, I doubt if it's financially worthwhile.

Chris

Funny, had a guy last week knocking ... his little face fell, when I
detailed exactly what we had done, down to the draught excluder on the
bin store door.

We did very well out of that, actually. We had the loft completely
insulated, plus the loft hatch. Cavity wall insulation. And, because we
are a unique property, apparently, (3 bed bungalow with a ludicrously
large footprint) a team from Cardiff University paid us £150 to have some
24/7 wall sensors fitted (they were poles that went between floor and
ceiling with a probe that touched the wall) for a week before, and a week
after. The guy in charge of the study was a real geek ... it's rare to
meet someone that is *that* into their work. I got several brownie points
for my recollection of black box radiation ... and he did an external
survey, with an IR camera, which showed that we were very well insulated
.
Hi Group
For those of you that have not become bored with this saga as far as I can
see there is only one fuse box (that I can see) but I note that is not
sealed& I can change the fuses myself. There is a much smaller sealed box
on the incoming mains side of the meter but as it is sealed I have no idea
what is in it. This whole thing begins to smell rather badly
Many thanks for this mine of information
Robbie


You have no RCD?
they detect leaks to earth, which your fusebox wont notice.


I think you should consider adding an RCD box,
between the company fuse and your fusebox.
Maybe this one in a box:
http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products...100slash2.html


If any of your wiring is rubber (like mine is) you should replace it!
I think the grey PVC wire lasts forever.

If you have a modern consumer unit fitted the regulations may say
that your earth wires arent fat enough
so everything would have to be rewired (and redecorated)

but im not an expert.

[geroge]

In message , GB
writes
Andrew May wrote:
On 04/10/2011 13:43, Geo wrote:
On Tue, 4 Oct 2011 04:32:54 +0100, wrote:

I was contacted by phone and told that my fuse box was over 40
years old and needed to be replaced. The company Electrical Safety
Group gave the impresion that they were linked to a energy supplier.

Well - their bank balance is £367 so another £800 would be welcome...

http://companycheck.co.uk/company/03801775

Odd. Their website describes them as Electrical Safety Group plc but I
cannot find anything about them on the stock exchange site. Anyone
know what their ticker code is?

plc does not mean it's necessarily quoted.

They are listed at Companies house.
All filing up to date.
Been around since 199 under two different names, The Energy Savings
Group plc and Telecommunication Options plc. Erg office in Norwich.
More info can be purchased from companies house if you so desire.
--
hugh

harry wrote:
On Oct 4, 4:32 am, "Roberts" wrote:
I was contacted by phone and told that my fuse box was over 40 years
old and needed to be replaced. The company Electrical Safety Group
gave the impresion that they were linked to a energy supplier. They
came to the house and checked the wiring and left a a list of things
to be done costing about 800 on reading their inspection report they
say (in small print) at the bottom of the page that they are not
part of any public energy supplier. I am beginning to think that
this is some sort of scam. What do the panel of experts think?
Someone in this newsgroup must know more than me
Thanks in advance
Robbie

It's possible your forty year old "fuse box" ideally needs replacing
however as a minimum you need to get alternative prices from elsewhere
and another opinion.

No-one here can tell you without actually seeing your installation or
detailed description/photos, there are lots of factors.

Things have moved on, fuses are no longer used, minature circuit
breakers are used instead. Some people have the fuse box changed for a
box with these instead. They are a bit safer. £800 would be very
expensive just to do this.

If your box is made by Wylex, (most were back then) the fuses could be
removed and they make/made circuit breakers that just plugged in to
repace the fuse carrier, about five minutes work.


How much safer are MCBs than fuses?

--
Adam

On Oct 6, 1:11*am, "ARWadsworth"
wrote:
harry wrote:
On Oct 4, 4:32 am, "Roberts" wrote:
I was contacted by phone and told that my fuse box was over 40 years
old and needed to be replaced. The company Electrical Safety Group
gave the impresion that they were linked to a energy supplier. They
came to the house and checked the wiring and left a a list of things
to be done costing about 800 on reading their inspection report they
say (in small print) at the bottom of the page that they are not
part of any public energy supplier. I am beginning to think that
this is some sort of scam. What do the panel of experts think?
Someone in this newsgroup must know more than me
Thanks in advance
Robbie

It's possible your forty year old "fuse box" ideally needs replacing
however as a minimum you need to get alternative prices from elsewhere
and another opinion.

No-one here can tell you without actually seeing your installation or
detailed description/photos, there are lots of factors.

Things have moved on, fuses are no longer used, minature circuit
breakers are used instead. Some people have the fuse box changed for a
box with these instead. *They are a bit safer. £800 would be very
expensive just to do this.

If your box is made by Wylex, (most were back then) the fuses could be
removed and they make/made circuit breakers that just plugged in to
repace the fuse carrier, about five minutes work.

How much safer are MCBs than fuses?

--
Adam- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Basically they react a little faster but fulfill the same function.
Less pox to restore and in the form of cartridge fuses you don't have
to buy any.
I suppose as they have moving parts they must be less reliable than a
fuse.

More important is the earthleakage circuit breaker (RCCD) which is
much safer then fuses but only reacts to faults to earth.

You can now buy MCBOs that do both, (ie detect both overload and earth
leakage faults), very expensive though. Special larger consumer unit
needed as they are "taller".

In message , hugh
] writes
In message , GB
writes
Andrew May wrote:
On 04/10/2011 13:43, Geo wrote:
On Tue, 4 Oct 2011 04:32:54 +0100, wrote:

I was contacted by phone and told that my fuse box was over 40
years old and needed to be replaced. The company Electrical Safety
Group gave the impresion that they were linked to a energy supplier.

Well - their bank balance is £367 so another £800 would be welcome...

http://companycheck.co.uk/company/03801775

Odd. Their website describes them as Electrical Safety Group plc but I
cannot find anything about them on the stock exchange site. Anyone
know what their ticker code is?

plc does not mean it's necessarily quoted.

They are listed at Companies house.
All filing up to date.
Been around since 199 under two different names, The Energy Savings
Group plc and Telecommunication Options plc. Erg office in Norwich.
More info can be purchased from companies house if you so desire.
Oh and I forgot to add, Main Activity Electrical Wiring Installation
Says it all really.
--
hugh

harry wrote:
On Oct 6, 1:11 am, "ARWadsworth"
wrote:
harry wrote:
On Oct 4, 4:32 am, "Roberts" wrote:
I was contacted by phone and told that my fuse box was over 40
years old and needed to be replaced. The company Electrical Safety
Group gave the impresion that they were linked to a energy
supplier. They came to the house and checked the wiring and left a
a list of things to be done costing about 800 on reading their
inspection report they say (in small print) at the bottom of the
page that they are not part of any public energy supplier. I am
beginning to think that this is some sort of scam. What do the
panel of experts think? Someone in this newsgroup must know more
than me
Thanks in advance
Robbie

It's possible your forty year old "fuse box" ideally needs replacing
however as a minimum you need to get alternative prices from
elsewhere and another opinion.

No-one here can tell you without actually seeing your installation
or detailed description/photos, there are lots of factors.

Things have moved on, fuses are no longer used, minature circuit
breakers are used instead. Some people have the fuse box changed
for a box with these instead. They are a bit safer. £800 would be
very expensive just to do this.

If your box is made by Wylex, (most were back then) the fuses could
be removed and they make/made circuit breakers that just plugged in
to repace the fuse carrier, about five minutes work.

How much safer are MCBs than fuses?

--
Adam- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Basically they react a little faster but fulfill the same function.
Less pox to restore and in the form of cartridge fuses you don't have
to buy any.
I suppose as they have moving parts they must be less reliable than a
fuse.

More important is the earthleakage circuit breaker (RCCD) which is
much safer then fuses but only reacts to faults to earth.

Earth leakage circuit breakers (ELCB) are no longer used. They are different
to RCDs (and all the other names for RCD such as RCCB). However I would say
that RCDs are the real life savers when used on socket circuits.

You can now buy MCBOs that do both, (ie detect both overload and earth
leakage faults), very expensive though. Special larger consumer unit
needed as they are "taller".

I was aware of them:-)

They are called RCBO's.

--
Adam