How much does PAT testing cost?

To cost a PAT testing job we take into account the following factors:

• The location of the job from our base, or the job that we would be doing before or after it including distance and travel time
• The environment where the job will take place (e.g. clean, warm office or muddy, wet and windy building site)
• The type of appliances to test (e.g. computers in an office, tools on a site, 400v adaptors in a factory)
• The number of appliances to test (e.g. 100 items in an office takes a lot less time than 100 items in a factory)
• The amount of repairs expected (based on our experiences)
• How many people we’d need on the job / how much time it will take to complete
• The number of reports / amount of admin time that would be required to produce the reports.

Not all appliances require a test, but all require an inspection. For the sake of argument we call either a ‘test’. An appliance is usually made up of 1, 2 or 3 parts, and each part, providing it is not battery operated will require some form of Testing. Each part is recorded and labelled, and you pay for that – this is because you (or society) has elected to pay for PAT testing on a per item basis. We actually prefer to quote based on time or the job completion, and that actually usually works out cheaper for you with less surprises. But back to the price per item…

To quote we need to know how many items need testing, you can do this, or you can ask us to visit to do it for you.

Let’s assume you work in an office, have a look around and count the number of desks:

• Does each desk have a computer or laptop? Don’t need to know which one, just whether it does. That is 2 items
• Does each desk have one monitor screen or two? That is 2 or 4 items
• Does each desk have its own socket or extension lead? If it is the latter that’s another item.

Then there are the extras like printers, heaters, fans, lamps, chargers, etc. Not forgetting the kitchen equipment, meeting rooms etc.

We don’t need to know exact numbers, just a rough estimate. As a guide we say, count the desks and multiply by 6 if you mainly have one screen, or 8 if mainly two. This will give an approximate number of items for the office; but expect to have more added on to the final invoice as the total tests will likely be higher.

Here’s an example: an office has 20 desks, each with 2 monitors. Each desk has an extension lead. There is also 2 printers, a photo copier, a few fans, and heaters, everyone has a plug in phone charger, each desk also has a double socket mounted on it. Then there is a small kitchen and a meeting room with a TV. That’s approximately 200 items to test. That’s almost a days’ work.

The following is more information which you are probably not interested in, but we need to include. 

If you contact 10 different PAT testing companies you will probably get 10 different answers. PAT testing Prices will range from 50p to £2.00 on average, so you need to consider what you’re going to get for your money.

Some people are too quick to pre-judge and will say the cheaper company is going to rip you off, whilst the more expensive will do a better job but we don’t always find this to be true.

Yes, the cheaper PAT Testing companies do have a reputation for corner cutting but it’s actually not usually the company that is making the mistakes, but the person carrying out the tests. This is no excuse, but it is because the engineer is being paid a much lower amount, around 25p an item, so has to get as many appliances as possible recorded in as short a time as possible to make his money. This leads to him skipping failures, not doing repairs, and duplicating (or making up) the results.

It is essential that equipment is tested properly – rushing PAT testers have been found to:

• Make up the results
• Not check fuses
• Overlook dangerous faults on visual inspections so they don’t need to do repairs
• Issue labels for equipment not tested
• Use the wrong or no equipment to test the appliance

But how do you know that we are going to do the job you need us to do?

• Because we have over 100 5-Star reviews on Google from satisfied customers
• Because we have over 100 5-Star reviews on Free Index from satisfied customers
• Because our engineers are paid a good salary, not piece time rates, and encouraged to take the time to do a proper job, carry out all repairs and to build rapport with their clients.

It is your responsibility to ensure that your electrical equipment is safe; by contracting PAT testing to us you are passing on some of that responsibility, and whilst legally we can’t be held responsible we couldn’t sleep at night if we had knowingly misled you.

If electrical shock or injury occurs as a result of faulty equipment, businesses can get sued or prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) so it is important to select a PAT testing company such as ourselves, who has a reputation to uphold, who cares about you and your staff and gives you peace of mind that the job will be done well, every time, no matter what you pay.

When you are considering what is an acceptable PAT testing cost to pay consider the engineer, the company, and the earnings.

An experienced, competent PAT tester can properly test on average 30 items in an hour. With breaks that’s around 200 items a day. Any more than that and we’re really pushing our luck. Of course, in some scenarios such as an office, it is possible to do more, and in others less but 200 items in a day is a good average. So we price based on that earning. The company has to make some money and the engineer is well paid. So is £200.00 an acceptable price to pay? Only you can answer that.

Try also to remember that when we’re getting paid per item we’re only getting paid when we’re testing; we often have to walk around your building looking for appliances, we often have to wait for someone to vacate their work area of shut down a computer before we can resume our work, etc.

If we charged 50p per item, would we only earn £100.00 in the day for the company? Those companies pay their engineers about 20p an item. So that engineer is going to be happy with £40.00 for the day? No chance. So he does lot a more; he’ll aim for about 500 items a day, which is probably what he is being targeted for. That’s around 75 items an hour – that’s impossible.

We also pay our engineers travel time, and fuel expenses as they use their own vehicles.

Whatever we charge you you don’t need to worry about any of that, and you benefit from us not charging you for repairs, or to replace plugs and fuses.

So, we charge a fair price, competitive and good value for money which gives you peace of mind that the job is being done correctly.

PAT testing should never be just about the price. PAT testing plays a key role in health and safety; electrical safety in workplaces and protecting others from dangerous equipment should be at the forefront of any business owner or managers mind – it certainly is ours.

Some electrical appliances are not plugged in, but hard wired. Those need testing too, however, not necessarily by a PAT tester – the appliances that were originally made with a plug on, like a tea urn, or an electric radiator will need testing by us; we do an earth continuity check inline with the PAT, and recommend a full fixed test inline with the EICR, usually every 5 years.

Other electrical appliances such as showers should be checked by your electrician when he/she does the fixed wiring inspection (EICR).

The PAT testing cost for these appliances is dependent on the full job; if it’s just these appliances to be tested the prices below apply, but if they are to be tested alongside other equipment you’ll be given a price including them (unless you don’t tell us about them).

• 110v adaptors up to 32amps – inline with quoted price
• 230v adaptors up to 32amps – inline with quoted price
• 110v or 230v 32amps – £1.25 each
• 415v adaptors up to 32amps – £1.75 each

Please note – we do not test fixed industrial equipment

Microwave ovens are PAT tested like all other appliances, but they may require additional checks including:

• The door lock works
• The door seal is in good condition
• There are no excessive emissions leaking

This is not something we do automatically, only on request, so if you don’t request it you won’t pay for it.

In commercial environments where the oven is used to cook food to be sold, the oven also need checking for power and temperature rise to make sure it is functioning correctly. This PAT testing cost is £7.50 per oven, but is only done on advanced request.

With rental property a landlord has to PAT test the electrical appliances they provide to make sure they’re safe for the tenant to use. A landlord should know which appliances they provide, but in most cases it’s just the usual stationery kitchen equipment like fridges, washing machines and cookers.

For more information and to see the PAT testing cost for a rental property check out our Landlords PAT testing page.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

Thank you so much Richard! Richard arranged and kindly did PAT Testing for all the equipment in my clinic, he attended perfectly on time, made sure it’s arranged around the time I can be free. He even had spare parts and just changed them for me straightaway. He is very genuine, professional and kind. Great value in compare with other companies and very trustworthy. I’ve already asked him to book me in for my next tests and I definitely recommend him.