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Legal Advice concerning an Fitting anElectrical Portable Convector Heater

Legal Advice concerning an Fitting anElectrical Portable Convector Heater


  #1  
Old 01-07-20, 07:17 AM
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Legal Advice concerning an Fitting anElectrical Portable Convector Heater

I am in the process of selling my property and dealing with the numerous legal documentary requirements involved in this process.

This is the situation, the previous owner of the property had a Small Conservatory Built on to the back of the house for which he had obtained planning permission. He did not require Building Conformity Certification because the square metre area involved was below the level rtequired for Certification.

The previous Owner of the property decided that he would like to use the Conservatory during the winter months so he purchased a small portable convector heater fire and using the mains lead and plug provided on the convector heater he was able to physically plug the appliance into the 13 Amp Mains Socket and avail himself of the heat.

One of the questions raised by the Purchasers Legal Advisers was that as the Convector Heater was connected directly to the House Ring Main Supply this required Building Certification.
(i) I raised this on one one occasion directly with the Local Council and they informed me that this Building Certification was not required.. This information was convayed to the Purchasers Legal Advisers.
(ii) The Purchasers legal Advisers came back again and insisted on having this Certification. Another Phone Call to the Local Council Planning Department who again confirmed that this was not a Requirement. Again this information was onopassed.

In the Interim I visualised that this Heating in the Conservatory was going to cause an endless problem so I decided to remove the Portable Convection Heater from the Conservatory altogether. This necessitated me
walking to the 13 Amp Mains Socket removing the plug and lead from the socket and carrying the Portable Convector Heater inside to the Living Room..I subsequently advised the Purchasers Legal Advisers what action I had taken with respect to the Convector Heater.

This afternoon I received the following message from the Purchasers Solicitor
10. As your client has removed the heater from the conservatory please provide the certificate by the qualified electrician for these works.

Words fail me - I was not aware that evey time you unplugged an applianace from the 13 Amp Ring main that it was necessary to have a qualified electrician and a certificate to do this .

Would be interested to know what other Individuals response would be in the same situation?

Seems to me common sense has gone out of the window and too much time spent dottin I's and crossing T's

Apraos

 
  #2  
Old 01-07-20, 07:22 AM
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No legal expert but I would tell them that I would be glad to do anything they want but that I'm adding the cost of the electrician onto the asking price.
 
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Old 01-07-20, 08:09 AM
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They have a legal advisor who is showing off. Tell them to take a hike. It is what it is and that's that. If they want certification tell them it's up to them to pay for it and make all arrangements. It's a sellers market, you don't need to beg for buyers.

My son just told a potential buyer of his home to go away since they had a home inspector who found things that he thought needed repair. Nothing was against code nor represented any problem. My son was willing to take care of most of the "problems" (most cosmetic). But they wanted a professional to do it. Even though my son willing to give $2000 of the cost of the home they still wanted a professional. He told them to get lost.
 
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Old 01-07-20, 09:15 AM
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Sounds like the buyer is looking for a way out of the contract.
 
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Old 01-07-20, 09:26 AM
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None of this is required, the buyer is just making demands you can either agree to or not. Your call. Personally, I'm with Norm and would tell them to get lost. That said, I'm not the one trying to sell a house....
 
  #6  
Old 01-07-20, 09:27 AM
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A friend of mine retired a few yrs back and sold his house to move to fla. This first 'buyer' kept coming back with more items they wanted fixed or compensated for. He finally told them to go pound sand. The 2nd buyer had a few reasonable requests and closing followed shortly.
 
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Old 01-07-20, 09:31 AM
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Sounds like the OP is not from North America where the majority of the users are from.
 
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  #8  
Old 01-07-20, 10:06 AM
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I'll look at it from the flip side. I sold a house and the buyer wanted a crack in the basement "professionally evaluated". I found a reputable contractor who told me it was not structural and could be fixed with a tube of silicone caulk.

I knew that me buying a $5 tube of caulk wouldn't satisfy the buyer and lawyer, so I paid him $50 to caulk it himself. He laughed, but understood. I had an official quote and receipt from him, and it made everyone happy.

For me, it was worth "wasting a bit of money" to make the problem go away.
 
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Old 01-07-20, 11:20 AM
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The OP is from London, I believe.

It's helpful to give a location since laws vary by location.
This is a US based forum so not sure anyone can help you out with this since we don't have that law. Perhaps there's a European forum that could help you.
 
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  #10  
Old 01-08-20, 03:11 PM
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Legal Advice concerning an Fitting anElectrical Portable Convector Heater

Firstly, thank you all who have responded to my query with very valuable pointers.
I should have indicated that I was located in the UK but unfortunately omitted to mention that.

Well the upshot of this discussion between myself and the Purchasers Legal Adviser got me more and more irate and heated up so much so I sent another message to the Purchasers Legal Adviser saying "I cannot believe what I am reading ", can you please confirm that you really want me to get a certified electrician to issue a certificate to remove a plug and lead from a wall mounting socket.

I have to advise you that I am in two minds now whether to refer this whole saga to your Regulatory Body "The Law Society" and let them decide whether the legal requirements you have requested are justified or plain stupid and totally lack any common sense.

Within 10 Minutes of sending the e-mail message to the Purchasers Legal Advisor there was an acknowledgement and confirmation that contracts will be exchanged on the 21st Jan .

Sometime it pays to get somewhat het up especially when you come across crass stupidity.

Once again Thank you all those who contributed valuable suggestions.

Apraos
 
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  #11  
Old 01-08-20, 08:47 PM
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Glad to hear it's working out! Lawyers can be a challenge regardless the continent you're on!
 
  #12  
Old 01-09-20, 02:19 AM
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I've experienced where the seller's real estate agent would try sabotage the sale either because they thought they could get their client a better deal or because they wanted to show they were in charge. Ultimately the sale is between the seller and the buyer. The real estate agent and lawyers are just there to help facilitate the deal even though they might let that position go to their head.
 
 

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