Homeowner suffers potentially deadly electric shock from faulty light in 'botched' new bathroom
A homeowner suffered a potentially deadly 230-volt electric shock from a faulty light switch installed in his new Wickes bathroom.
Ian Young, 52, said he suffered a "hellish" nine weeks after receiving a heart-pounding electric shock at his home in Sittingbourne, Kent.
The light switch fault meant surface screws registered a high electrical current, giving him a jolt.
Young said a second electrician who came to fix the problems flagged multiple potentially harmful issues.
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Young, who paid £8,297.35 on the most expensive bathroom quote he found, is upset with how retailer Wickes handled the incident.
He said: "The bathroom project installation was well below acceptable workmanship.
"They've not done what we asked – there are wonky tiles, things aren't level, and the electrics have been badly done."
Though he admitted some of the faults picked up by the second electrician were pre-existing, he said the Wickes electrician did not identify them before they began the job.
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Young added: "They've given us about a grand back, because we had to buy our own toilet system as they didn't have it in stock.
"I also had to buy tiles on top of the quote price, which were an extra £309. The emergency electrician said that he'd never seen anything like it.
"Wickes came back to me and said I should have paid more if I wanted the floor levelled, but that's one of the things they'd agreed to do. They did offer to change the door, only up to £100.
"There's been no recognition of the electric shock from Wickes. The shower has been unusable for seven weeks, luckily we have another one in the house."
Young claimed Wickes have told him he may have to wait until 2023 for someone to fix the job.
The company apologised and offered a full refund for the electrical work.
A spokesman for Wickes said: "We are extremely sorry to learn about Mr Young’s recent experience and have fully refunded all costs paid to the Wickes installer regarding the electrical work.
"We arranged for our regional installation manager to visit Mr Young’s property to fully review the installation and discuss further concerns.
"Following this visit, we will work with Mr Young to ensure that any issues are rectified as soon as possible and to discuss compensation for the damage that has been caused."
