Questions we actually get asked
Straight answers.
Getting hold of us
- Which number should I ring — 01732 423022 or 07931 113357?
- Either. 01732 423022 is the number attached to our Google listing, and 07931 113357 is Peter's mobile, which is the one our old website advertised. They both reach the same two people. If you've found us on Google and want to be certain you're in the right place, both numbers are on this site on purpose.
- Why does Google show you in Royal Tunbridge Wells when you're called Tonbridge Electrician?
- Fair question, and one we'd rather answer than dodge. The company is Fixed Electrical Services Ltd, registered at 7 Lambs Bank, Tonbridge TN9 2UZ — that's in the public record at Companies House. The Google Business Profile is titled 'Tonbridge Electrician' and its pin sits in Royal Tunbridge Wells. We cover both, and everything else on this site is the same firm.
- When are you available?
- Seven days a week. We're a family firm rather than a call centre, so you may occasionally get a call back rather than an instant answer — but it will be from Peter or Tracy, not from a booking service.
- Do you charge to come and quote?
- No. We're happy to provide a free quotation for even the smallest job. If the work can be priced from a description and a photo, we'll do that; if it needs looking at, we'll come and look.
The work itself
- Are you insured and registered?
- We're fully insured, and registered to undertake work on domestic electrical installations under the Competent Person Scheme. Peter describes himself as a fully qualified, JIB approved electrician, and we state NAPIT registration on our paperwork. We don't ask anyone to take a logo on a website as proof — ask and we'll send the current certification and insurance across before you book anything.
- Will my work be certified?
- Where the job calls for it, yes. Installation work is tested and certified, domestic installation work is notified under the Competent Person Scheme, and you get the paperwork. Keep it somewhere sensible — it's what a buyer's solicitor asks for later.
- Do you work for businesses as well as homes?
- Yes. We offer a service to domestic, commercial and industrial clients. That runs from a shop unit that needs its lighting and sockets sorting to industrial premises with heavier installations — scheduled around your trading hours where we can.
- How do I know whether my fuse board needs replacing?
- If it has rewireable fuses, a cast-iron or wooden back, or no RCD protection at all, it is almost certainly due. If it trips repeatedly, that's the installation telling you something rather than the board being fussy. Send us a photo of it — that's usually enough for us to tell you whether it's urgent, worth doing when you next have work done, or fine as it is.
- Can you run power to a garden room, shed or garage?
- Yes — armoured cable at the correct depth, a small consumer unit at the far end where the load justifies it, and RCD protection throughout. We'll check what the existing supply can take before quoting, because that's the part that decides whether it's a straightforward job or not.
Before we start
- Do I need to be in?
- For most jobs, yes, at least to let us in and to be told what's been found. For anything that needs the power off for a spell we'll tell you in advance how long, so you can plan around the freezer and the home-working.
- How much mess does a rewire make?
- More than anyone likes, and we won't pretend otherwise. Chases get cut, floorboards come up and there is dust. What we can promise is that chases are made good rather than left, boards go back down properly, and we tidy up at the end of each day instead of only at the end of the job.
- Can you work alongside my builder or kitchen fitter?
- Routinely. First fix before the plasterer, second fix once the units and surfaces are in, and a phone call to the other trades so nobody is waiting on anybody. It usually saves everyone a week.
Still not answered?
Ring either number and ask. If the answer is that you don't need an electrician, we'll tell you that too.