An EICR arrives as several pages of schedules and a verdict, and most people read the verdict and put the rest in a drawer. The detail is where the money and the obligations actually live.
CAN Electrical Contractors Limited carries out EICRs across Bradford. This is how to read one properly, so the remedial conversation is about the report rather than about somebody's opinion of it.
What the codes mean
A C1 means danger is present and there is a risk of injury now. It should be made safe immediately, usually before the inspecting electrician leaves. A C2 means potentially dangerous: not an immediate risk, but a real one that requires remedial work. A C3 is improvement recommended, which is advisory and does not by itself make an installation unsatisfactory.
FI means further investigation is required, because something could not be determined during the inspection. It is not a fault finding in itself, it is an honest statement that a question remains open, and it needs resolving rather than filing.
- C1: danger present, make safe immediately.
- C2: potentially dangerous, remedial work required.
- C3: improvement recommended, advisory only.
- FI: further investigation required, question still open.
Satisfactory or unsatisfactory, and what drives it
An installation is recorded as unsatisfactory if any C1, C2 or FI is present. C3 items on their own do not make a report unsatisfactory, which matters because plenty of older installations collect several C3s and are perfectly serviceable.
That distinction is worth knowing before quotes are discussed. Work needed to clear C1 and C2 items is required to change the outcome; C3 work is a judgement about improvement, and it should be presented as a choice rather than folded in as though it were mandatory.
Getting remedial quotes that actually compare
Ask for quotes that reference the report's item numbers, so each price is attached to a specific observation. Without that, one quote covers the C2s, another quietly includes every C3, and the two look like different assessments of the same house when they are simply different scopes.
CAN Electrical Contractors Limited carries out repairs, fault finding and partial or full rewires, so remedial work identified in an inspection can be scoped against the report itself rather than described loosely. Where FI items exist, expect fault finding to be a named piece of work rather than an assumption.
- Quotes should cite the report's observation numbers.
- C2 remedials and C3 improvements priced separately.
- FI items scoped as fault finding, not guessed at.
What to keep and when the next one is due
Keep the report itself, the remedial invoices and any certificate issued for the work done, together. That set is what proves the installation was returned to a satisfactory condition, and it is what the next inspection starts from rather than beginning blind.
The report states the recommended date for the next inspection, and that interval varies with the type of property and how it is used. Rented property has its own requirements and a shorter practical rhythm, which is why landlord checks are treated as their own service rather than as an ordinary domestic EICR.
Related pages
Questions customers ask
What is the difference between a C2 and a C3?
A C2 is potentially dangerous and requires remedial work; a C3 is an advisory improvement recommendation. C3 items alone do not make a report unsatisfactory, so they should be quoted as a choice rather than as required work.
Why is my report unsatisfactory when nothing seems wrong?
Because any C1, C2 or FI makes it unsatisfactory. An FI in particular means something could not be determined on the day, so the question is open rather than answered, and it needs investigating to close out.
How do I compare remedial quotes fairly?
Insist that each quote references the observation numbers in the report. Otherwise one may cover only the required items and another may include every advisory recommendation, and the totals will never be comparable.
Read the codes, separate what is required from what is recommended, and make every remedial quote point at an observation number. Then the report is a plan rather than a worry.
CAN Electrical Contractors Limited carries out EICRs and the remedial work across Bradford. The contact page books one.
