Bloody stupid light fittings

[tim....]

Just move into my recently built (rental) flat and what do I find but half of the lights aren't working.

On inspection, it's that stupid new fangled three point bayonet fittings.

Had a look for them:

Don't know what they're called (BC3 I discovered)

No-one sells them

And when you can find them they are stupidly expensive.

Not surprising the out-going tenant didn't buy new ones.

I shall be changing the lamp battens [1], but what did the previous guy do for light?

On one bulb he'd managed to friction fit a GU10 halogen bulb, yeah really safe!

tim

[1] I stupidly announced to the agent that I would likely do that. Now I won't be able to get away with leaving the change in situ expecting it to go unnoticed as if they know that I have played with the electrics they will want a sparks to check it, costing more than I have saved on bulbs - Oh s**te!

[Peter Scott]

Surely that's the responsibility of the landlord. Or does he/she have a scar and a pitbull? If there is no light you are within your rights to withhold rent.

[Scott M]

But unless the agent actually wrote something down it's the sort of passing comment that'll be forgotten. In X months time all they'll notice is whether or not the lights work. After all, I presume these BC3 fittings look like standard ones?

[Man at B&Q]

Just leave one BC3 and say you decided not to change anything. Or buy some plug in lamps.

MBQ

[ARWadsworth]

Table lamps? When my brother bought his last house the pervious owner had used the outside tap for year years as the cold tap in the kitchen did not work (it needed a new washer) and they used a table lamp via an extension lead in the downstairs toilet as the pull cord has snapped.

[Skipweasel]

The house two doors down from ours in Hounslow had no electricity upstairs, beyond what came up on an extension lead from the one socket downstairs. The old dear living there had the original electricity company "minimum install" of two lights and a socket. She'd been there

80 years and wasn't planning on moving. Her rent was only a few quid a week, and the landlord was quite happy to allow her to continue at that but was desperate to at least fit modern electrics and sanitation (no bathroom, just an outside loo) but she flatly refused. Still - she was a happy old soul, well looked after by neighbours. Popped her clogs one day and was found within the hour by a visitor.

[Andrew May]

I've often wondered whether I will become like that. Quite happy with a

50Mbit/s Internet connection and resisting all attempts to install even the by then old-fashioned Gigabit stuff.

Although at the moment I wish I knew what the level of technology was that I, in my dotage, will decide is to complicated for me to understand. And, no I do not count Facebook amongst that. I am sure that I could understand it - I just don't see the point.

[tim....]

It's their job to rectify the problem before I move in. It's my job to replace any stupidly expensive bulbs when they blow later.

As 6 times lamp battens plus six times 10p bulbs from Tesco is less than the cost of one new stupid bulb why would I take the risk?

tim

[tim....]

Just leave one BC3 and say you decided not to change anything. Or buy some plug in lamps.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

I have some.

I still prefer a super bright 100W bulb in the middle of the ceiling

tim

[tim....]

Good god.

Did it not occur to them to just tie a new bit on the end?

tim

[ARWadsworth]

It had snapped behind the cover. They had no DIY abilities and would not spend money on tradesmen. They bought the house new 17 years ago and when they sold it they had not altered or modified the house in any way.

I guess in this part of the country a plumber would charge £30 to swap a tap washer (or use a handyman). But several years (over 3 years according to the neighbours) with no running cold water in the kitchen is about as bad as you can get

[Huge]

I suspect we all will. My 93 y/o MIL certainly is.

[Peter Scott]

I take the general point. But if you are unable to buy the bulbs, as you say, then it becomes the landlord's problem.

[Huge]

I have. Indeed, I have (an entirely fictional) one. I just don't see the point. And even less so of Twitter. Especially since when I tried to set up an (entirely fictional) Twitter account, they suspended it within a few hours and won't reply to my enquiries as to why. Fuck 'em.

[tim....]

They are available if you look, just from a very limited number of retailers.

tim

[Tim Streater]

Not as such, but according to their Ts & Cs, although you keep copyright to anything you upload, you grant them a royalty-free and transferable licence to use what you upload (e.g. pictures) in any way they see fit.

So they can sell on anything you put there, as far as I could tell.

[Lobster]

I also refuse to get involved in Facebook; SWMBO has an account which she set up ages ago but (literally) never uses.

The other day she got an email from FB thanking her for crediting her account with £5 (not sure what you have to pay for with FB but anyway...). She logged in, and sure enough, her dormant account had £5 credited to it, from a credit card number (whose last 4 digits were displayed) that she don't recognise. No other activity anywhere on the account. WTF?!!

She contacted FB and said - more-or-less - WTF? to them and asked them to look into it - she got a stroppy response back saying 'due to fraudulent activity on your account we have suspended you'. !!??!!

So, f*ck FB too.

[The Medway Handyman]

[jgharston]

Tell the agent that the light fittings are contrary to BS7671 and you require them to be replaced with BC2 fittings, or you will do it yourself and just keep saying "BS7671!" until they give up.

JGH

[ARWadsworth]

Handy thing FB. My mates wife hit the roof when she found out that she was going to be a Grandmother on FB instead of by a visit from her son:-)