Any electricians around? Uneasy about EICR.

[MeowCatPleaseMeowBack]

I've had a few problems with my electrics and three different people (two electricians plus the engineer installing broadband) said there were issues. I decided to commission an EICR to see exactly what the problems are and if I need a rewire or other works.

I got four quotes, all very similar. I picked one and the electrician came today. He spent less than 15 minutes in the property before saying everything was fine.

I understood an EICR inspection should take at least a few hours. Was I wrong? It's a two-bed house.

Can an electrician actually tell if I need a rewire or not based on such a short inspection? The electrics are not new and the house is 100 years old.

If this wasn't a proper inspection, do I have any comeback? I asked for an EICR and neither me or the company specified what that would involve. I haven't paid but assume I will be invoiced today.

Wires don't really degrade (unless there is lots of damp or nibbly rodents) and all they can check is whether the connections at the ends of the wires all work ok and whether the fuse board is up to current standards.
What was it that the previous guys spotted that was worrying? Those old style bakelite light switches? Broken switch or socket plates?

This seems odd. My house was built in the 90s and my fuse box needed work to bring it up to current safety regs so if yours is 100 years old I'd expect there to be many issues. Our EICR report had a few C1s and C2s on it and we had to pay nearly 1k to fix them. The guy also went round the house and checked a few things (not sure what as my husband was there). What does the report say? Were you given one or was this just verbal feedback?

An EICR usually costs around £250, how much did you pay?

Di they give you a report in writing? As OnMNwaytoomuch says, they should have.