The consumer unit is still what most people refer to as the 'fuse box' The prices shown here are to put in a new consumer unit (including test unless stated) of different configurations and include all the paperwork required, materials and of course labour charges. The cost of installing consumer units has risen dramatically in recent years due to increased safety legislation. Read more from this helpful article at http://www.whatprice.co.uk/prices/electrician/consumer-unit-install.html#ixzz6ocClfRoI

The cost of having your house rewired by a professional electrician depends can vary considerably depending on how many fittings you require, the layout and size of the house and ease of access (particularly if rewiring). Nonetheless, it is of course possible to give some idea of the range of prices you can expect to pay for wiring, perhaps more so than for smaller electrical jobs which depend more on the specific location. The cost in terms of fittings can be broken down into different sections some of which will only apply if you have a new house and others only if you are having the wiring replaced. Read more via this helpful article from http://www.whatprice.co.uk/electrician/wiring.html#ixzz6ocCPFKMd

Always use an electrician that advertises their membership to a credible governing body. An example of this is the NICEIC - records and work are checked independently once a year to ensure that the quality standards are met and that the work complies with the latest 18th Edition building regulations and codes of safety. Never be shy about asking to take the numbers of 3 customers they have recently completed projects for. This will give you peace of mind and help flush out the cowboys. Ask your electrician to provide copies of their qualifications. At the very least you would expect to see that they are a qualified domestic installer with competent person status and has current Part P registration.

Most electrical jobs are charged by the hour. Make sure the electrician has clear, easy and safe access to all the rooms, fuse boards, lights etc that may need repairing. For example,  make sure the electrician does not have to clear out the space under the stairs to access the fuse board. This will radically reduce the time spent at your premises. Firstly, make sure you get more than quote. Make sure the quote is very detailed. Make sure every hour costed is allocated to a particular aspect of the job. Make sure materials are charged at a reasonable rate. The devil is often in the detail.  Secondly, try and think the job through from an electrician's point of view. Things that really add to the labour costs on a job are generally unexpected delays caused by obstacles that cannot be seen with a standard visual inspection. Dangerous or brittle old wiring lurking under the floor boards, steel girders blocking a wiring path calling for a massive divert of the cable, damp plaster that simply falls off the wall when chasing is undertaken etc. An experienced electrician should always have a contingency built into his/her costs for this eventuality. Make sure you discuss it with them, you don't want any nasty surprises half way through the job.

This is an age old debate from both the electrician's and the customer’s point of view.  From an electrician's perspective it is always better to try and get a daily or hourly rate. We often hear of experienced tradesman losing a fortune because off issues beyond their control i.e. they had quoted a fixed price for the work and then hit huge delays. Examples could be that the plumber doing the boiler was running behind schedule, the wooden joists in the ceiling were rotten and needed to be replaced or that the job moved three steps back because the existing wiring was so dangerous it had to be updated before work could be completed safely. From a customer’s perspective a fixed price for a job offers a certain peace of mind because they know that no matter what happens they will not have to pay more. Having said that fixed pricing can sometimes lead to bad practice. If an unscrupulous tradesman hits a number of delays on a job but still needs to finish it on time they will start to take shortcuts to get the job finished. Make sure you have appointed fully credible tradesman. We very often we get called in to sort out bad quality work carried out by people on a fixed rate.  The reality is that an experienced customer and electrician will have thought things through as far as possible before the quote stage. If an experienced electrician gives a fixed price for a job he or she will generally have built a contingency for delays into the costs. It's like an insurance fund, sometimes you win on it if there are no delays, sometimes you lose on it because of huge delays. Generally an electrician on a big job will have fully investigated in the ceiling, under the floor boards and behind the walls to find any hidden obstacles prior to giving you a quote.  With this on mind, don't always go for the cheapest price. Going cheap often costs more! Electricity is very dangerous in the wrong hands. Look for references, check qualifications, make sure they are members of a credible body.  Take each job on its own merit. Be detailed and precise in terms of exactly what you want. Always get things in writing. Try not to add extra items in while the job is under way without having discussed the cost and time delay implications first. Communicate your concerns, worries, thoughts and fears over budget. Good trades people will listen and come up with a solution that both parties are happy with.