Email from customer
- Thread starter andy@advancelectric.com
- Start date
- Location
- Tennessee NEC:2017
- Occupation
- Semi-Retired Electrician
See an attorney
Ask attorney about the following:
Call insurance company
See if the added circuit was permitted
Call, or see, the customer
Ask customer why they didn't call you for the added circuit & for sure ask why they didn't call you for the repair.
Ask attorney about the following:
Call insurance company
See if the added circuit was permitted
Call, or see, the customer
Ask customer why they didn't call you for the added circuit & for sure ask why they didn't call you for the repair.
zbang
Senior Member
- Location
- Roughly 5346 miles from Earls Court
(I am not a lawyer...)
Was that piece of plastic there and held in by tape when you installed it? (What does a new panel look like in that area?)
"By law" you only need to do what's in the contract or is "normal and customary" in your area. The fact that someone else was in the panel, arguably should have noticed a problem before it happened, wasn't working to normal safe practices (a live bus), and you weren't given an opportunity to either inspect the supposed problem nor mitigate it, all suggests* that you can tell the client to politely pound sand.
*absent a warranty or other agreement
The client may have a claim against Eaton for a manufacturing defect in the panel, it looks like they have a 10-year warranty but I doubt that covers installation of a new one.
Was that piece of plastic there and held in by tape when you installed it? (What does a new panel look like in that area?)
"By law" you only need to do what's in the contract or is "normal and customary" in your area. The fact that someone else was in the panel, arguably should have noticed a problem before it happened, wasn't working to normal safe practices (a live bus), and you weren't given an opportunity to either inspect the supposed problem nor mitigate it, all suggests* that you can tell the client to politely pound sand.
*absent a warranty or other agreement
The client may have a claim against Eaton for a manufacturing defect in the panel, it looks like they have a 10-year warranty but I doubt that covers installation of a new one.
- Occupation
- Electrician
jaggedben
Senior Member
- Location
- Northern California
- Occupation
- Solar and Energy Storage Installer
For the amount they are asking I might just pay it before making an insurance claim, without admitting fault. But that's up to you.
You are not obligated by any law relating to the CSLB to pay this if you haven't received some kind of complaint or report from the CSLB. But such a complaint and report could be coming if the client got the CSLB involved. You'd probably be best off there if you just paid. Otherwise the CSLB can accuse you of departing from trade standards or not fulfilling a warranty. I unfortunately speak from knowledge of such a situation.
I agree with the advice to talk to an attorney.
Do the pictures indicate manufacturer mistake, something left out of this panelboard assembly? I can't really tell. The duct tape is really weird, hope you have evidence that your guys didn't do that.
Perhaps best course is to seek restitution from Eaton.
You are not obligated by any law relating to the CSLB to pay this if you haven't received some kind of complaint or report from the CSLB. But such a complaint and report could be coming if the client got the CSLB involved. You'd probably be best off there if you just paid. Otherwise the CSLB can accuse you of departing from trade standards or not fulfilling a warranty. I unfortunately speak from knowledge of such a situation.
I agree with the advice to talk to an attorney.
Do the pictures indicate manufacturer mistake, something left out of this panelboard assembly? I can't really tell. The duct tape is really weird, hope you have evidence that your guys didn't do that.
Perhaps best course is to seek restitution from Eaton.
AC\DC
Senior Member
- Location
- Florence,Oregon,Lane
- Occupation
- EC
Yes, just pay - attorney’s gonna be a lot more.
Or tell the customer to suck it and see if they sue you the most they gonna sue you for is the damage
Attorneys are just gonna bend you over that’s all they do
Or tell the customer to suck it and see if they sue you the most they gonna sue you for is the damage
Attorneys are just gonna bend you over that’s all they do
TwistLock
Senior Member
- Location
- California
- Occupation
- Electrician
No way I would pay. Sets a bad precedent for any future litigation from them or others. The whole thing revolves around causation. That panel functioned for nearly a year, passed inspection and only failed when a different electrician was working on it energized. (The duct tape strikes me that he was up to something squirley and trying to protect that edge for conductivity). All this introduces reasonable doubt (about causation), which is fatal to a claim like this.
Especially when you were not notified nor given a chance to inspect or repair. The panel being replaced immediately, any destruction of evidence, makes it impossible to prove whether this was an original installation issue ‘or’ a manufacturing defect. Again, from a liability standpoint, that's a very weak claim against you.
And paying to make it go away when no fault has been established yet seems at the very least premature. I definitely would involve the manufacturer as others have said here. Seeing hundreds of these photos weekly they most likely will have insight beyond yours. And as far as I'm concerned that email is evidence against the last electrician.
*edit: - besides they're just fishing, otherwise you would've gotten a letter from their attorney.
Especially when you were not notified nor given a chance to inspect or repair. The panel being replaced immediately, any destruction of evidence, makes it impossible to prove whether this was an original installation issue ‘or’ a manufacturing defect. Again, from a liability standpoint, that's a very weak claim against you.
And paying to make it go away when no fault has been established yet seems at the very least premature. I definitely would involve the manufacturer as others have said here. Seeing hundreds of these photos weekly they most likely will have insight beyond yours. And as far as I'm concerned that email is evidence against the last electrician.
*edit: - besides they're just fishing, otherwise you would've gotten a letter from their attorney.
- Occupation
- Licensed Electrician
I wouldn't pay a dime or even say sorry for your trouble. This is on Paul. I'm not giving any legal advice, but I wouldn't call a lawyer unless I heard from the complainer's lawyer first.
Here is my cent and a half advice.
Why pay, if it wasn't your fault?
Probably not required, but they should have called you first at the first sign of trouble, unless you completed the panel upgrade and finished on an unpleasant terms. When I do an engine overhaul and hear a funny noise, I take it back to the original mechanic that worked on it, not to Paul.
Don't pay tem yet and don't take ANY blame for it. Leave the insurance and the attorney out for now. Contact the panel manufacturer first. It may be a faulty panel.
Get the damaged panel from the customer, not the pictures.
Why pay, if it wasn't your fault?
Probably not required, but they should have called you first at the first sign of trouble, unless you completed the panel upgrade and finished on an unpleasant terms. When I do an engine overhaul and hear a funny noise, I take it back to the original mechanic that worked on it, not to Paul.
Don't pay tem yet and don't take ANY blame for it. Leave the insurance and the attorney out for now. Contact the panel manufacturer first. It may be a faulty panel.
Get the damaged panel from the customer, not the pictures.
Where are the details on the invoice ? Anybody can make up an invoice in less than minute and thirty three seconds.
Have you had the chance to speak with Paul, to see if he is legit?
You need to do the investigative work so it doesn't fall on you.
Don't worry about CSLB, they won't ding your license without any investigation.