I get calls every week from homeowners who are confused, frustrated, or out of pocket — because they got a cheap EICR from someone else and it turned into something they never expected. They came in looking for a £99 electrical safety certificate. They left with a quote for £1,200 of remedial works they weren’t sure they actually needed. That’s not right. And I think people deserve to understand exactly what’s going on.
What Is an EICR, Really?
An EICR — Electrical Installation Condition Report — is a formal inspection and test of a property’s fixed electrical installation. The key word is test. It’s not simply a visual walk-round. A thorough EICR on a typical three-bedroom house should take between two and four hours, and it involves testing every circuit individually using calibrated instruments.
The inspection looks at the consumer unit, wiring, sockets, switches, lighting, and all fixed electrical equipment throughout the property. Then comes the testing — and this is where the real work is done.
A thorough EICR involves:
- Visual inspection of all accessible wiring, accessories, the consumer unit, and distribution equipment
- Dead testing — the installation is isolated and insulation resistance is tested on every circuit to check for wiring deterioration
- Live testing — earth fault loop impedance, RCD operation times, and prospective fault current are all measured with the installation live
- Circuit-by-circuit verification — every ring final, radial, lighting circuit, and specialist circuit (cooker, shower, EV charger, etc.) gets individual attention
- Schedule of Test Results — a full written record of every reading taken, with actual figures for every circuit, not just a tick-box pass/fail sheet
That is the standard an EICR is supposed to meet. It is also why a properly done EICR cannot be completed in 30 minutes on a full house.
So What Is a Cheap EICR?
A £50–£75 EICR is almost always something very different from the above. In most cases, what you’re paying for is not a full inspection and test — it’s a heavily streamlined process designed to get the inspector in and out as quickly as possible.
In most cases, what you’re getting is: a visual inspection only, sometimes with minimal or no actual testing; a short visit — sometimes as little as 30–45 minutes for a full house; and automated or templated reports that look official but contain little actual data.
Here’s the business model: get in the door cheap, generate a report loaded with C2 and C3 observations, then sell the remedial works. The £75 EICR is a loss leader. The profit is in the £1,200 remedial works quote that follows it.
This isn’t universal — some electricians offer lower rates for smaller properties or repeat customers, and that’s completely legitimate. But if you’re seeing a flat rate of £75 or less for any house, regardless of size, it’s worth asking some questions before you book.
The Remedial Work Trap
To understand how this works, you need to understand how EICR observations are classified. The codes are:
- C1 — Danger present. Immediate action required. The installation poses a genuine immediate risk. This code is relatively rare in typical domestic properties.
- C2 — Potentially dangerous. Urgent remedial action required. This is the code that causes an EICR to be classified as “unsatisfactory” (a fail). It is much more commonly applied — and more commonly misapplied.
- C3 — Improvement recommended. This is not a failure. A C3 observation does not cause the EICR to fail. It is a suggestion, not a requirement.
- FI — Further Investigation required. Something that needs more investigation before a full assessment can be made.
A C2 classification means the EICR result is “unsatisfactory”. Here is what some electricians do with that: they list every older wiring practice, every absence of modern protection, and every deviation from current standards as a C2 observation — then present a remedial works quote that includes a brand new consumer unit at £800–£1,200, plus labour for various additional works.
The homeowner sees “unsatisfactory” on the report and a long list of C2 observations. Of course they’re worried. The quote looks alarming. Many people just agree to it.
Not everything on that remedial works list has to be done. There is an important distinction between what must be remedied for the installation to be genuinely safe and compliant — and what is old or outdated, but still safe and functioning. These are two very different things, and a good electrician should be explaining that distinction clearly.
What Must Be Done — and What Doesn’t
There is a real distinction between three categories of observation that a good EICR should be making clear to you:
- Genuine C1 or C2 observations — real risks: These represent actual safety hazards. Exposed live conductors, failed insulation, missing earth connections on circuits where they’re needed, or RCDs that don’t operate within safe times. These genuinely do need to be dealt with — promptly.
- Old but safe wiring: Many older properties have wiring that is not to current standards — rubber-sheathed cables, older socket types, circuits without RCD protection. These may technically generate a C2 observation because they deviate from BS 7671, but they are not automatically dangerous. Whether they need remedying depends on the actual condition of the wiring, the age, and the specific risks involved. It is not a one-size-fits-all answer.
- C3 recommendations: These are improvements — things worth doing if you’re refurbishing or have budget available, but not a reason to spend money if you don’t. They do not cause the EICR to fail. They should not appear on a “must do” list.
Take consumer units as a specific example. An older consumer unit with ceramic fuses and no RCDs is not to current standards — that’s true. Modern consumer units with RCBO protection offer significantly better protection. But an older consumer unit is not automatically dangerous. Whether replacement is the right recommendation depends on the condition of the installation as a whole, the age and type of the wiring it serves, and the specific risks present in that property.
A blanket policy of “failed EICR = new consumer unit” is not good electrical practice. It’s a sales formula.
When we present findings to a customer, we explain:
- What is genuinely unsafe and must be dealt with — and exactly why
- What is not to current standard but is still operating safely — and what the options are, including doing nothing
- What is a C3 recommendation — something worth doing, but absolutely not required
Our job is to help you understand your installation. Not to frighten you into spending money you don’t need to spend.
What a Good EICR Should Look Like
Whether you book with us or someone else, here is what a proper EICR report should contain. If yours doesn’t, you should be asking questions — or considering whether the inspection was actually thorough.
- A full Schedule of Test Results — actual instrument readings for every circuit, not blanks, dashes, or “N/A”
- Clear descriptions of any observations, with the specific location and nature of each defect or deviation
- Honest coding — C2 for things genuinely potentially dangerous, C3 for improvements (not failures), not C2 applied to everything as a catch-all
- An electrician who is willing and able to explain every finding in plain English before you agree to any works
- A NAPIT or NICEIC registered inspector who is accountable to a scheme operator and whose work can be independently verified
If your EICR report doesn’t have actual test readings, or you weren’t told what the observations mean and why they were coded the way they were, ask questions. You’re entitled to understand what you paid for — and to make an informed decision about any recommended works.
Five Questions to Ask Before Booking an EICR
Before you commit to any EICR, ask these five questions. Any competent, honest electrician should answer all of them confidently and without hesitation. If there’s reluctance, vagueness, or pushback, look elsewhere.
- How long will the inspection take? Under 90 minutes for a full house is a red flag. A proper EICR on a three-bedroom property takes 2–4 hours.
- Will you be carrying out dead and live testing on every circuit? This is the difference between a visual check and a real EICR. The answer should be yes.
- Are you NAPIT or NICEIC registered? Scheme registration means the electrician has been assessed against a professional standard and is subject to ongoing audit. It’s not just a logo.
- Will my report include a full Schedule of Test Results? Not a summary. Actual readings, circuit by circuit. If they’re vague on this, the testing may not be happening.
- If there are observations, will you explain each one before recommending any works? You should understand what you’re being asked to pay for and why, before you agree to anything.
Any competent, honest electrician will answer all of those confidently. If there’s hesitation, look elsewhere.
Get an honest EICR from Live Line Electrical
NAPIT registered. Full circuit testing on every circuit. Complete Schedule of Test Results. Plain-English explanation of every finding — including when you don’t need to spend anything further.