BG Outdoor Electrical Sockets - Quality?

Hi all

I'm looking at fitting an outdoor switched socket (or double) and wondered if the group have personal experience of the BG Electrical range. Having always fitted MK I have priced these up and apart from ridiculous price, they do not seem readily available - I would trade a double "low-grade" item for a single switched MK socket. Spending much time in the world of IT, I tend to avoid Internet shopping for security reasons - but this does leave me reliant on local stockists.

So back to the question - do any users have personal experience of longish-term use of BG kit (particularly these outdoor fittings)? These are being offered at much lower cost (about 1/3) than MK stuff by a local wholesaler.

Thanks

Phil

Reply to
TheScullster
Loading thread data ...

Why?

Plpenty of doctors smoke and drink heavily, despite knowing and understanding the risls.

MBQ

Reply to
Man at B&Q

I've not used the specific sockets but IMHO BG are towards the bottom of the spectrum of branded electrical fittings and priced accordingly. For something that may get knocked and be require to perform at low temperatures where cheaper plastics can get brittle, I would stick with a top of the range brand. If you deny yourself access to web shopping then you will tend to pay heavily. Pay attention to password selection and perhaps get a credit card solely for web use. (certainly have a backup card available just in case it gets withdrawn due to web fraud) The card companies bear the cost of web fraud not the card holder.

Bob

Reply to
Bob Minchin

"Man at B&Q" wrote

Why?

Plpenty of doctors smoke and drink heavily, despite knowing and understanding the risls.

MBQ

Despite never having made any web purchase with the card, I once had two train tickets booked on a current account via thetrainline.com. The bank refunded the loss. The recent issue with Sony leaking personal data is enough of a deterent to make me want to restrict card usage on these "secure" systems.

Phil

Reply to
TheScullster

Thanks Bob

Yes, there is an element of laziness here :( I have considered setting up an "internet only" account with limited funds, or, as you suggest, obtaining a credit card for this purpose.

Phil

Reply to
TheScullster

Urge your bank to give you short term credit limited debit cards then. I was amazed when a Swedish customer ordering 400 quids worth of stuff said 'this is a one time credit card , valid for three months for totals up to 400 pounds, or equivalent in Kroner'

Reply to
The Natural Philosopher

Talk to your bank.

Its about time they did something useful.

Reply to
The Natural Philosopher

Never tried them, sorry.

Can't say I am a fan of the MK ones that I have installed. They are not quite the same as the current range, but the mechanics of opening them seems similar. The case also tends to foul on the piranha nuts of you try to use them with the ones I have.

Personally I like the Aquatec ones. Very solid polycarbonate cases, easy to open - even when cold, and lots of wiring space.

Since its the same backend systems that will process your card details in many cases, you are probably no safer shopping in person. Especially as the card can potentially be out of your hands for a short period of time - usually plenty of time to skim it.

Reply to
John Rumm

Why?

Plpenty of doctors smoke and drink heavily, despite knowing and understanding the risls.

MBQ

I don't know about drinking, but in this country you'll be hard pressed to find a doctor that smokes now.

Elsewhere, and in previous times, the story was different.

formatting link

Reply to
Graham.

Many nurses smoke and drink heavily, though.

Reply to
Frank Erskine
1 - Use TLC Direct. 2 - Use EBAY, might really be "new-fitted-removed" but ok. 3 - Use PayPal, the seller never gets to see your card details.

PayPal has some downsides. Buyer protection is imperfect, they are not a bank so do not leave large amounts with them, they are USA + USA managers + India programmers however have proven reasonably reliable. PayPal has some upsides. The seller never gets to see your credit card details, you do not need to register (link) a bank account to it and I recommend you do not. You can delete a credit card as necessary, or keep a card separate for PayPal link purposes. You get an online receipt, I can bring up receipts going back to 2003 and I have 120,000 transactions. You can download PayPal history in comma-delimited format which Excel will import without any problem at all (as well as e-finance software).

If you are concerned about online credit card fraud, and you should be, a simple tip is to have a separate card which is exclusively for online purchases with a low credit card limit. MBNA for example will permit a credit card limit down to =A3100, a figure of =A3500 or =A3800 is probably more practical if you want to buy a washing machine online from JL. A credit card provides valuable protection and should not be overlooked - never ever use cheque. Do realise a debit card provides similar protection incidentally.

A credit card provides protection where a) any line item is over =A3100 (but NOT where you buy 100 items of =A31) and b) for the whole purchase where at least =A3100 is paid by card (ie, the value of a car where you pay =A3100 on C/C).

Credit card companies are used to fraud and handle it reasonably well. I have had 23 cases of credit card fraud running a web business (a lot of places including competitors have my card details). Each time the card company just re-imbursed without issue, it does however require a signed-for reply to them confirming the fraud and in any case for your own records so realise you need to queue at a post office for the important franked signed-for label & till receipt. Those frauds totalled over =A328,000 and would have been higher had the "floor limit" not been triggered in some instances (which also usually requires goods be sent to the card holders registered address only minimising unrecoverable losses).

The downside with credit card is many companies, such as Citicards, will not honour protection if they can find any loophole and that often includes foreign transactions. So beware ordering online from another country, you can very quickly go past their 90day / 180day limits if you have to send things back by surface mail and refunds get dragged out.

I shop almost entirely online, and actually prefer PayPal because it provides an online receipt - obviously I print off to PDF and have the C/C statement one also. It is very useful to be able to prove a) what you bought and b) what you sold online going back far beyond what the tax office requires (6yrs in theory, in practice there is no strict limit if there is sufficient fraud).

MK outdoor sockets are good, but shop around on price - B&Q do them, Screwfix do them. Ebay is good IF you can actually get new (ask for a photo of the screws, that usually gives the game away re "new" and "sat on a wall and they want the money back" :-) White can often be cheaper than grey as it looks ugly unless a noddy house (which itself looks ugly so the problem is less material :-)

Reply to
js.b1

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.