Test Equipment Anonymous

Had a phone call from a number that I didn't recognise so I let it go through to answerphone expecting it to another nuisance call to be added to my blocked list of numbers, but it wasn't. It was the company who were supposed to be repairing my PV array, a company who are sodding useless, the problem started 7th July last year with the RCD constantly tripping within 30 seconds of resetting it. Since the date of reporting last July, they have been out to look at the problem 4 times, last time was in Nov. We have had zero benefit from the panels since July 7th as they have been switched OFF.

They are now allegedly coming on July 4th to replace the invertor and a few other bits to get it working again, I feel that maybe I should run a book on whether they turn up and if they turn up with the parts, so far each time they come, they claim that they have no record of previous visits and have no idea as to what is wrong and then they leave again without curing the fault

Specmaster wrote: ↑Wed Jun 21, 2023 9:35 pm They are now allegedly coming on July 4th to replace the invertor and a few other bits to get it working again, I feel that maybe I should run a book on whether they turn up and if they turn up with the parts, so far each time they come, they claim that they have no record of previous visits and have no idea as to what is wrong and then they leave again without curing the fault

Take photos of them and their car, preferably with the camera imprinting the date/time visibly on the photo.

Get a piece of paper from them.

Ask for the company office address, so you can send them the formal legal documents.

Specmaster wrote: ↑Wed Jun 21, 2023 9:35 pm Had a phone call from a number that I didn't recognise so I let it go through to answerphone expecting it to another nuisance call to be added to my blocked list of numbers, but it wasn't. It was the company who were supposed to be repairing my PV array, a company who are sodding useless, the problem started 7th July last year with the RCD constantly tripping within 30 seconds of resetting it. Since the date of reporting last July, they have been out to look at the problem 4 times, last time was in Nov. We have had zero benefit from the panels since July 7th as they have been switched OFF.

They are now allegedly coming on July 4th to replace the invertor and a few other bits to get it working again, I feel that maybe I should run a book on whether they turn up and if they turn up with the parts, so far each time they come, they claim that they have no record of previous visits and have no idea as to what is wrong and then they leave again without curing the fault

This seems to be standard business procedure these days.

After some bad noise problems on our landline, Telstra determined that our feed in cable from the roadside cable pit needed replacement.

The Tech thought that the conduit was probably damaged, so he couldn't just pull a new one through, but would organise a contract crew to do the job.
We had to be away when the crew was supposed to arrive so on our return, were surprised that there was no sign of digging.
I surmised that they had just pulled a cable through, anyway & as both the POTS & ADSL were noise free, called it good.

In retrospect, it appears that nobody had attended, & we had an intermittent, which just happened to fix itself temporarily.

Over the next seven years, every 3 to 6 months, the phone noise would go high, & the ADSL would crash.
We had been advised by several operators at our ISD call centre that the procedure for anything less than a total loss of ADS signals was very time consuming, so we would get faster results by reporting a phone fault, & our experience bore that out.

Thus, it became the norm to tolerate ADSL faults along with increasing phone noise until it was really obtrusive on the latter, when Telstra would react quite quickly.

On talking to the Techs who came out over the years, it became obvious that they had no idea of the history of the fault, & would fart around for ages on "red herrings", eventually getting back to the feed in cable, where they would redo the "pit" end, then when that didn't work mess around with the connections at the house end, sometimes "fixing" it to the point where there was still a quite low (just audible) noise level, but never quite eliminating it.

In early 2020, we received a letter from NBN, advising that the fibre rollout had reached our street, & we could connect to FTTC.
As that would mean goodbye to Telstra, but would still use the feed in cable, we decided to try to get Telstra to fix it "once & for all".

A Tech came out, who seemed to be a bit more technically aware than the previous ones, & I told him a bit of the history of the problem.
He checked out the cable, & pulled new one through, which, on test, was noise free!
Any one of the previous cohort could have done the same thing---hell I could have done it myself, but I wasn't allowed to, by regulations.

Sad but it's true, nobody wants to lift a finger more than they have to these days. I think it is all down to the bonus culture that has arisen from the timed jobs implementation, more jobs done in a certain
time and you are seen to be efficient and therefore cost effective, never mind that the customer still has the same problem they had before. We need to stop the rot of these bonus schemes and get back to proper pay structures and good old customer service.

I suspect you'll fix the title line of this thread much sooner...

mnem
Don't read this.

Yup, quite correct, thats fixed that then haha. Maybe they have just woken up to the fact that while its not been working, they have not had any income from any used power that I don't manage to use, whatever the reason, it smacks of incompetence at every level.

Ok, the engineer came took one look at the consumer unit, saw that the power was still connected and said that he was not working on a live circuit and promptly left. He said that he expected the wiring would have been disconnected prior to his visit as he needed to tidy up the mains supply to their switchgear, WTF, did he expect us to go without any power all this time.?

The Housing Association have now demanded that they either get it fixed within 28 days or come and remove the panels etc and make good the roof tiles again at their cost. That they think will make them get it fixed as it is the lesser expense.

Question is, why doesn't the engineer disconnect the supply himself and reconnect it after he finished, surely he is an electrician, if not, why is he being employed to fix solar systems? The installers did it all themselves.

Make sure it is not only the roof tiles, but the roof felting (or whatever they choose to call it), battens etc.

Take many photos of what it the roof interior looks like now, showing all the areas that might be fouled up during removal. Continuity of felting, lack of water staining, that kind of thing. Have the time/date timestamps by the camera on the image, as well as in the metadata.

Make sure the housing association and the contractors know the evidence is there.

Sage advice that. There is so much they could fuck up, especially if the folk they send out are on a "get it out ASAP/ACAP" mission. You might be best served to get the housing association out there to do a pre-work inspection anyways, no matter what work they do/don't do.

mnem
fukkin' punters.

PPS: fuk't-up title line has returned. DAFUQQ?!?

Chance of me managing to get myself up a ladder and though the small loft hatch are pretty slim, I'm not stable enough on my feet for that these days. I put a wi fi camera up there when they installed them and since then the camera has stopped working. I've asked my sons to go up and retrieve it so I can test it out on the bench, I've got more chance of winning the lottery then of getting the camera down.

Specmaster wrote: ↑Wed Jul 12, 2023 8:42 pm Chance of me managing to get myself up a ladder and though the small loft hatch are pretty slim, I'm not stable enough on my feet for that these days. I put a wi fi camera up there when they installed them and since then the camera has stopped working. I've asked my sons to go up and retrieve it so I can test it out on the bench, I've got more chance of winning the lottery then of getting the camera down.

If children fit up chimneys, I'm sure they'll fit through the hatch and roof trusses.

Oh, there'll fit perfectly, its getting them to do it that is the problem, they hate heights and as the hatch is on the landing, right next to the stairs, make a single wrong move and its goodnight, straight from the loft to front door mat in double quick time . Thats why they are reluctant.

AVGresponding wrote: ↑Thu Jul 13, 2023 9:32 am Put a trampoline by the front door and tell them it's an adventure weekend

Damn; beat me to it

mnem
https://www.schlockmercenary.com/2008-12-11

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Ok, it looks like we might entering phase 5 of this saga. Today I received email from the HA and the owners of the PV system. The owners are saying the their repair agents will not work on live supplies and are requesting a visit from the DNO (Distribution Network Operator) to disconnect the incoming supply and then their repairer can do the repairs. The HA are asking me to make that arrangement and cordinate it all FFS

I have now replied and said that I don't recall the DNO having to visit when the installers connected the PV system onto the incoming supply. I suggested that as far as I'm aware it is normal practise for contractors etc, to break the DNO's seal, pull the fuse to isolate while they do what ever is required to disconnect the PV from the supply, and put the fuse back to restore power. Then when they are ready to reconnect to the incoming supply again, they pull the fuse, make the connection and replace fuse. When that is done and everything is working, they then notify the DNO of what they did and the DNO then will apply a new seal.

Have I got that right? I just know that it would be a nightmare trying to coordinate both engineers to visit the same time.

And people wonder why I’d rather buy the tools and fix things myself whenever possible…

What a crazy saga - I hope you eventually get a competent service tech, but based on past experience it seems like you’re more likely to be struck by lightning and win the lottery the same day. That sounds like weapons-grade stupidity.

-Pat

Cubdriver wrote: ↑Wed Jul 26, 2023 10:15 am And people wonder why I’d rather buy the tools and fix things myself whenever possible…

What a crazy saga - I hope you eventually get a competent service tech, but based on past experience it seems like you’re more likely to be struck by lightning and win the lottery the same day. That sounds like weapons-grade stupidity.

-Pat

I wouldn't mind so much, but next month it enters the 13th month since the system stopped working This is what happens when companies insist on employing the cheapest staff they can lay their hands on and then compound that even further by employing managment with zero knowledge of the job that their teams are doing.

Specmaster wrote: ↑Wed Jul 26, 2023 9:49 am Ok, it looks like we might entering phase 5 of this saga. Today I received email from the HA and the owners of the PV system. The owners are saying the their repair agents will not work on live supplies and are requesting a visit from the DNO (Distribution Network Operator) to disconnect the incoming supply and then their repairer can do the repairs. The HA are asking me to make that arrangement and cordinate it all FFS

I have now replied and said that I don't recall the DNO having to visit when the installers connected the PV system onto the incoming supply. I suggested that as far as I'm aware it is normal practise for contractors etc, to break the DNO's seal, pull the fuse to isolate while they do what ever is required to disconnect the PV from the supply, and put the fuse back to restore power. Then when they are ready to reconnect to the incoming supply again, they pull the fuse, make the connection and replace fuse. When that is done and everything is working, they then notify the DNO of what they did and the DNO then will apply a new seal.

Have I got that right? I just know that it would be a nightmare trying to coordinate both engineers to visit the same time.

I can confirm that's been SOP all the time that I've had anything to do with electrical contracting.

What seems to be current practice from the DNOs when they fit a new supply or have reason to modify an existing supply is to fit a sealed switched isolator or switch fuse downstream of the company fuses. Which makes a lot of sense and allows the supply to be fully isolated without any involvement from the DNO.

Even if what they are asking you to do is now SOP for the DNOs, it's a bit rhum to expect a householder to coordinate it with the DNO. The average householder will have no clue what they are asking for, no idea how to contact the DNO and probably don't even understand who/what a DNO is. I'd expect the contractor, as the supposéd domain experts, to do all the coordination necessary. I hope your HA keep their EICRs up to date and/or the contractor is going to generate an new one as DNOs often demand seeing a current EICR before reconnecting the supply - that could leave you in the shit without power for days if you don't have the EICR paperwork to hand when the DNO come to reconnect.

Specmaster wrote: ↑Wed Jul 26, 2023 11:18 am

Cubdriver wrote: ↑Wed Jul 26, 2023 10:15 am And people wonder why I’d rather buy the tools and fix things myself whenever possible…

What a crazy saga - I hope you eventually get a competent service tech, but based on past experience it seems like you’re more likely to be struck by lightning and win the lottery the same day. That sounds like weapons-grade stupidity.

-Pat

I wouldn't mind so much, but next month it enters the 13th month since the system stopped working This is what happens when companies insist on employing the cheapest staff they can lay their hands on and then compound that even further by employing managment with zero knowledge of the job that their teams are doing.

Sounds like where I work!

bd139 wrote: ↑Wed Jul 26, 2023 12:28 pm

Specmaster wrote: ↑Wed Jul 26, 2023 11:18 am

Cubdriver wrote: ↑Wed Jul 26, 2023 10:15 am And people wonder why I’d rather buy the tools and fix things myself whenever possible…

What a crazy saga - I hope you eventually get a competent service tech, but based on past experience it seems like you’re more likely to be struck by lightning and win the lottery the same day. That sounds like weapons-grade stupidity.

-Pat

I wouldn't mind so much, but next month it enters the 13th month since the system stopped working This is what happens when companies insist on employing the cheapest staff they can lay their hands on and then compound that even further by employing managment with zero knowledge of the job that their teams are doing.

Sounds like where I work!

Thats is what was happening at my old place of work and as I was the only techinicaly qualified person, I was also commanding the best pay so I then became target number 1 of the new management who were hell bent on reducing costs in order to make them look good. As I was already passed retirement age, and after a string of concentrated efforts to get me out, I decided I'd had enough and told em to shove it.

Loverly circle-jerk.

Under no circumstances should you allow yourself to be sucked into ANY of the administration of this. YOU ARE THE CUSTOMER. They have repeatedly failed to provide the service for which they have been contracted. Your next step should be to look for a solicitor.

Seriously.

And don't forget to document the time you've spent making appointments and phone business and waiting for these people who keep blowing you off, including all the time you had to be there while they did jack-shit.

Legally, every minute of your time they've wasted over the last 13 months should be recoverable. Bill the mutherfuckers.

mnem
"Sit on it and twirl, ya wankstains."

Ok, update time, at long last I think we may actually get the PV array and inverter fixed. After the solar company coming out a few months ago to replace the inverter and rewire and tidy up the original installation, and then refusing to carry out the work as there was no way that could isolate the system from the incoming supply and they flatly refused to withdraw the main incoming fuse.

After much toing and froing with the electricity supplier, the network operator, the solar panel maintenance contractor, the original installers and housing association, the original installer has agreed to pay for an isolator to be fitted between the meter and the consumer unit so the solar company can switch the supply off.

The isolator was fitted today, now all I have to do is see how long it takes the solar company to get their butts in gear and carry out the required work, any bets on what their excuse might be this time, so that they can kick the can further down the road?

Yeah, I don't for sure, but I'm guessing that as the agreement was that any power generated that we weren't using, they would sell that back to the grid, but we were using so much power during the day that there possibly was nothing left to sell back so they weren't making any money so decided not to fix the system when it failed?

I know that the HA told them if they did not fix it that the HA was no longer prepared to have their panels fixed to the roof and said, if they did not fix the fault, they had to physically remove everything and make good the repairs to the roof tiles and the decoration. So maybe it was cheaper to fix the problem then to remove the system?