14 December 2018

Horse coach manufacturer fined for unlicensed electrical work

A manufacturer of horse coaches has been prosecuted for undertaking electrical work that he was not licenced to carry out, with the help of his cousin.

Andrew Wright, Director and joint Shareholder of Classic Horse Coaches Limited, has been prosecuted in the Dannevirke District Court for undertaking prescribed electrical work.

Mr Wright was fined $7,200 plus costs for carrying out electrical work that he is not licensed by the Electrical Workers Registration Board (the Board) to undertake. Mr Wright’s company Classic Horse Coaches Limited was prosecuted in 2014 for a similar offence. The company is based in Dannevirke and manufactures horse coaches.

“Mr Wright’s continual disregard for the rules shows the lack of concern for the safety of those purchasing vehicles from his business,” says Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment Investigations Team Leader, Simon Thomas.

The charges stem from December 2015 when the complainant purchased a horse truck from Classic Horse Coaches Limited. Before being handed over to the complainant, the horse truck needed electrical work done to it. The work was carried out under Classic Horse Coaches Limited by Andrew Wright’s cousin from Australia who does not hold an electrical worker licence in New Zealand.

After the complainant picked up the truck a number of problems began to appear. This included improper wiring on the 240 vault (240V) system without having a power socket. The power inverter also failed, there was damage to the 240V cable and the 12V pump for the hydraulic ramp was connected to large truck batteries, causing the pump’s electrics to burn out.

When the complainant asked for an electrical certificate of compliance for the work, Mr Wright initially provided the complainant with the wrong certificate.

Following this, in July 2016 Mr Wright then visited the complainant at his home, where he installed a new inverter on the truck after the previous one had failed. He was not licensed to carry out this work.

“Mr Wright took a dangerous shortcut by having himself and a family member undertake electrical work which they are not licensed to carry out,” says Mr Thomas.

“It is incredibly lucky that none of the issues caused by the faulty electrical work resulted in fire or serious harm to people or animals.”

The role of the Board is to help keep consumers safe and ensure that high quality electrical work is being carried out across New Zealand.

“Licensed electrical workers are professionals who have the skills and expertise to do the job safely and correctly. Where prescribed electrical work isn’t being carried out by a licensed electrical worker, our team will investigate, ensuring the safety of New Zealanders,” says Mr Thomas.

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