Your Fuse Board Quote Has No Breakdown — Here’s Every Line Item You Should Be Seeing

You asked three electricians for a fuse board quote. Each one sent you a single number. No breakdown. No explanation of what is included. Just a figure — sometimes wildly different from the others — with a signature line at the bottom. If you have ever Googled “fuse board quote no breakdown what to ask electrician UK” at eleven o’clock at night feeling completely out of your depth, you are not alone. We see this situation constantly across London, and it is one of the most avoidable sources of stress in home electrical work. A lump-sum quote for a consumer unit upgrade is not just unhelpful — it is a warning sign. This article gives you the exact line items every legitimate quote should contain, what each one means in plain English, and the questions to ask before handing over a single pound.

Why lump-sum fuse board quotes are a red flag — and what they hide

A consumer unit replacement — still widely called a fuse board or fuse box change — is not a single-item job. It involves multiple distinct materials, several categories of labour, mandatory certification, and in most modern London properties, compliance steps that were not required even five years ago. When an electrician presents you with one flat number and nothing else, one of several things is likely happening.

The first possibility is that they are genuinely competent but poor at communicating — a benign explanation, though it still leaves you unable to compare quotes properly. The second, more troubling possibility is that the quote is deliberately vague so that items can be added later, once the job has started and you are committed. We have spoken with homeowners in Islington and Hackney who received a £550 opening quote, only to find the final invoice running past £950 once extras were tacked on for bonding cables, certification, and a surge protection device that was, in fact, legally required from the outset.

The third possibility — and the one that should concern you most — is that a lump-sum quote sometimes signals a cut-price job where the electrician intends to use a low-quality board, skip items like main bonding or proper circuit labelling, and issue a certificate that was never properly registered with a competent person scheme. None of that is visible in a round-number quote.

Electrical work on consumer units is notifiable work under Part P of the Building Regulations. That means it must be carried out by a registered electrician or notified to the local authority. An Electrical Installation Certificate must be issued. If your quote does not mention certification at all, that alone should stop the conversation. We regularly survey newly purchased properties in south and east London where previous consumer unit work was carried out without any paperwork — and the knock-on effect at the point of sale can be significant, because mortgage lenders and solicitors do ask.

The simple rule we follow at Fixiz is this: if you cannot read a quote and understand exactly what you are paying for, it is not a complete quote. It is a number with a gap in it, and that gap will almost always be filled at your expense.

The 10 line items every consumer unit quote should include — a homeowner’s checklist

Before you accept any quote for fuse board work, check it against this list. Each item should appear as its own line, with a description and a cost. If your quote is missing any of these — or if the electrician cannot explain them when you ask — treat that as important information about how the job will be managed.

1. Consumer unit enclosure — make, model, and number of ways. The physical box, specifying the manufacturer (Hager, British General, Wylex, MK) and how many circuit positions it contains.
2. RCBOs — quantity and rating. If the board is full-RCBO, the protective device for each circuit should be named with its amperage rating.
3. RCDs — quantity and type, if applicable. Dual-RCD or split-load boards should state how many RCDs are included and at what rating.
4. Surge protection device (SPD) — type and rating. Under BS 7671 18th Edition Amendment 2, SPDs are required for most new consumer unit installations. The quote should state Type 1, Type 2, or combined — and whether it is integrated or standalone.
5. Meter tails — size confirmed. Older London properties frequently have 16mm tails that need upgrading to 25mm. If replacement is needed, it should be a priced line item. If tails are adequate, the quote should confirm they were checked.
6. Main protective bonding — gas and water. The conductors connecting gas and water pipework to the main earth must be checked and replaced where necessary. This is a legal requirement — many low-price quotes quietly omit it.
7. Labour — hours or fixed price. A straightforward board change takes four to six hours. The quote should state what is covered and what would trigger an additional charge.
8. Circuit testing. Every circuit must be tested for insulation resistance, continuity, and earth fault loop impedance before the new board is energised. Testing must be a named line item.
9. Electrical Installation Certificate (EIC) and Part P registration. The certificate must be handed to you at the end of the job. Part P registration — NICEIC, NAPIT, ELECSA, or equivalent — should be confirmed upfront.
10. Making good and circuit labelling. All circuits should be clearly labelled. Any patching around the old board’s footprint should be stated as included or excluded.

That is the full checklist — ten line items. If your current quote covers all ten, you have a document you can actually work with. If it covers three or four, you have a starting point for a conversation, not an acceptance.

What each line item means in plain English — so you can compare quotes properly

Electrical quotes often use technical language that makes it difficult to ask intelligent follow-up questions. We hear this constantly from homeowners in areas like Wandsworth and Lewisham. Here is a plain-English breakdown of the items most commonly misunderstood or quietly omitted.

The consumer unit enclosure

This is the physical box that replaces your old fuse board. Consumer units must have a non-combustible enclosure — a legal requirement introduced after fires involving older plastic boards. Make and model matter: a board from Hager, MK, or British General Fortress carries a meaningful warranty and tighter manufacturing tolerances than generic equivalents. When a quote says “consumer unit to current standards” without naming a manufacturer, ask which brand and model will be fitted.

RCBOs versus RCDs

An RCBO protects a single circuit against both overcurrent and earth faults. If a fault develops on your kitchen ring main, only that circuit goes off — your boiler, fridge, and lights stay on. An RCD protects a group of circuits, so a fault on any one cuts power to all of them. For most London homes in 2026, a full-RCBO board is the sensible choice — and the cost difference over a dual-RCD board is now modest.

Surge protection device

An SPD protects your installation against voltage spikes caused by lightning or switching events on the grid. Under BS 7671 18th Edition Amendment 2, surge protection is required for most new domestic consumer unit installations. A Type 2 SPD is standard for most residential properties. If your quote does not mention an SPD, ask whether one is included and why — in most cases, omitting it is non-compliant, not a saving.

Meter tails and main bonding

Meter tails are the cables between your electricity meter and your consumer unit. Older London properties often have 16mm² tails that need upgrading to 25mm² — this should be a priced line item if replacement is needed, or confirmed as adequate if not. Main protective bonding — the green-and-yellow cables connecting gas and water pipework to the main earth — is safety-critical and must appear in any complete quote.

Circuit testing and the EIC

Every circuit must be tested for insulation resistance, continuity, and earth fault loop impedance before the new board is energised — this confirms your existing wiring is safe to connect to new equipment. The EIC is the statutory document proving the work was completed to BS 7671. It should be in your hands on the day the job is finished, not weeks later. For registered contractors, it also constitutes self-certification under Part P.

Questions to ask your electrician before you accept the quote

Once you have the quote in front of you, the following questions will tell you quickly how confident the electrician is — and how honest they are being. We have found, working across west and north London, that the quality of these answers is often a better predictor of job quality than the price itself.

Which make and model of consumer unit will you be fitting, and why?

A confident, competent electrician will answer this immediately and explain their preference. Reputable brands include Hager, British General Fortress, MK Sentry, Wylex, and Contactum. If the answer is vague — “a good one” or “whatever I have on the van” — that tells you something important about how the job will be managed.

Is the SPD included, and if not, why not?

Under current wiring regulations, an SPD is required for most new domestic consumer unit installations. If the quote does not include one, the electrician should be able to articulate a specific reason based on a documented risk assessment. “It is optional” without further explanation is not a satisfactory answer.

Will you test all existing circuits before energising the new board?

The answer should be yes, unambiguously. Full testing before energisation is standard practice and is required for the EIC to be completed accurately. If the electrician implies testing is only done if problems emerge, that is a concern.

Are you registered with a competent person scheme, and will the EIC be issued on the day?

Registration with NICEIC, NAPIT, ELECSA, or equivalent means the electrician can self-certify under Part P and issue the certificate directly. Delays in certification — months or even years — are not uncommon with non-registered contractors, and they create real problems when you come to sell or remortgage.

What happens if you find additional work during the job?

The answer should be: stop, show you what was found, provide a price, and not proceed until you agree. Any contractor who treats scope creep as an automatic right to charge more without prior agreement is not a contractor you want in your property.

How Fixiz quotes fuse board work — fully itemised, nothing hidden

When we survey a property for a consumer unit upgrade — whether it is a Victorian terrace in Streatham, a mansion-block flat in Battersea, or a 1970s semi in Enfield — we produce a written quote that itemises every element of the work before we ask you to make any decision. The consumer unit enclosure is listed by make and model, the number of RCBOs is stated with individual ratings, the SPD specification is named, the meter tails are assessed and either confirmed as adequate or quoted for replacement, and bonding is assessed and costed if it needs attention.

Labour is quoted as a fixed price for the scope described — not an open-ended day rate. Circuit testing is included as standard, because it is a fundamental part of the job, not an optional extra. The EIC is issued on the day of completion. We are registered with a competent person scheme, and all work is self-certified under Part P.

If we open up the board and find something that changes the scope — old aluminium wiring, a disconnected earth, meter tails in worse condition than expected — we stop, photograph it, and call you before proceeding. You decide what happens next. You never receive an invoice for work you did not explicitly agree to.

We label every circuit clearly on completion, tidy up around the board, and leave you with a copy of the certificate and a plain-English summary of what was done and why. On jobs in older housing in areas like Haringey — where a property’s electrical history can be genuinely complicated — that summary is something homeowners return to at sale, when adding a circuit, or when they simply want to understand what they own. We do not offer the cheapest quotes in London — but we offer quotes that tell you exactly what you are paying for, and jobs that match those quotes precisely.

Frequently asked questions

Why do electricians give lump-sum quotes instead of breaking them down?

Some electricians simply quote the way they always have — a total based on experience. Others protect their materials margin. And some are hiding items that should be included but are not priced in, meaning either the job is done without them or they appear on the invoice later. A contractor who refuses a breakdown is telling you something important about how they operate.

Is a surge protection device really required, or is it added to inflate the quote?

An SPD is required for most new domestic consumer unit installations under BS 7671 18th Edition Amendment 2 — a regulatory requirement, not an upsell. Exceptions require a formal risk assessment for the specific property and supply configuration. If an electrician says an SPD is optional without explaining why, ask them to show you the regulation.

What is the difference between an EIC and a Part P certificate?

An EIC records the characteristics of the installation and the results of all tests. Part P is the section of Building Regulations governing electrical work in dwellings. For registered contractors — NICEIC, NAPIT, ELECSA, or equivalent — the EIC serves as self-certification under Part P, so no separate local authority notification is needed. You should receive both before the electrician leaves.

How much should I expect to pay for a fully itemised consumer unit upgrade in London?

For a typical three-bedroom London property — ten to twelve circuits, full-RCBO board, SPD, main bonding confirmed, circuit testing, and an EIC on the day — a realistic price range in 2026 is approximately £600 to £900 including VAT. Larger properties or jobs needing tails upgrades will sit higher. Quotes well below £550 for a full-RCBO board with SPD are difficult to reconcile with quality materials, proper testing, and registered certification.

My quote mentions a “high integrity consumer unit” — what does that mean?

A high-integrity consumer unit allows the main switch to be isolated independently of the RCDs or RCBOs — useful in rental properties and complex installations. Crucially, “high integrity” describes the enclosure design, not the level of circuit protection. It should always appear alongside a clear description of the protection configuration: how many RCDs or RCBOs, at what rating, and how the circuits are divided.

Ready to move from confusion to construction? Get in touch with Fixiz today for a no-pressure chat about your project and the fastest route to full compliance.