Walking away is a professional service, not a lost sale. When what you find, or what you are asked to do, cannot be verified as safe and code-conforming, the visit’s correct output is a documented refusal: what you found, why it stops the job, and the route that would make the job possible. A workaround transfers the risk onto your licence, in your handwriting.
Key Takeaways
- A refusal is a deliverable: condition, why it stops the job, what would change it, the route back — in writing.
- Settings solve capacity questions, never condition questions — damage, unverifiable protection.
- Record triggers as conditions identified, and offer the corrected job — never a workaround of the unsafe one.
- The refusal protects your licence, your insurance position and the customer, in that order and all at once.
The Conditions That Stop a Job
| Condition found | Why it stops the job | What you record | What you offer instead |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heat damage, scorching or a cracked enclosure on the existing unit or its wiring | Damage is a condition, not a setting; no current limit cures it | Dated photos and a plain-words description of what was found, where | Removal and replacement quoted as its own job, after assessment |
| A supply you cannot verify | No capacity evidence, undocumented alterations, a panel nobody can account for — the design would rest on a guess | What you asked to see, and what could not be shown | A licensed electrician’s assessment as the first, separate step |
| Protection that cannot be confirmed | The protective arrangement the installation depends on is absent or unverifiable on the day | The confirmation you sought, and who could provide it | The same job, rescheduled behind the missing confirmation |
| Asked to skip the permit or the inspection | The approval step belongs to the jurisdiction, not the quote; a customer cannot waive it for you | The request, in neutral words, and your answer | The same job, filed properly — see how the approvals sit in our permits and approvals guide |
| Asked to oversize the breaker beyond the sizing rule | Under the NEC, charging is a continuous load sized at 125% of the charger’s current: 40 A of charging on a 50 A breaker, not a 60 A one | The rating pair requested, against the rule | A charger whose set current fits, or a properly scoped supply upgrade |
| A customer-supplied unit with no verifiable listing | You would be attesting an installation around a product whose safety evidence does not exist | The model details, and the listing evidence you requested | A listed unit you supply — or the documents, if the customer’s seller can produce them |
Triggers are conditions identified, not faults to repair on the spot — several end with a licensed electrician’s assessment because remedial work is its own scoped job. And no offer in the right-hand column is a workaround: each is the corrected version of the job.
The Written Refusal
A refusal that exists only in a doorstep conversation protects nobody. The written version is short and specific: the date and site, the condition found in plain words a non-electrician can follow, the reason it stops the work, what would need to change, and the remedial route — a licensed electrician’s assessment or the authority’s confirmation. Keep your copy with the job file. Tone matters as much as content: a refusal that explains itself keeps the corrected job and the customer’s respect; one that lectures loses both. The same plain-language discipline runs through our portable charger safety guide.
What Walking Away Protects
Your licence and your insurance position rest on work you can attest. The next owner of the property inherits your installation, not your intentions. A documented refusal is also consumer protection: the customer hears the risk from a professional, in writing, before they find someone less careful. The baseline that keeps refusals rare is unglamorous — fit listed hardware whose documents you can verify, such as the EV-ACT5006T, which states ETL, FCC and CE on its page, or the EV-ACT3204E, which states CE — and decline to build on anything less. Installer supply questions go through contact us.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will refusing lose me the customer?
Sometimes the job; less often the customer. An explained, written refusal with a route back wins the corrected job and referrals. A quiet workaround wins neither and keeps the risk.
Can a lower current setting make a doubtful job acceptable?
A setting answers a capacity question. It does not answer a condition question: damage, an unverifiable supply and unconfirmed protection are all exactly as they were, one dial lower.
What if another installer will do it anyway?
That is their licence and their record. Yours is protected by the refusal you documented — also the document your insurer will ask for if that job ever goes wrong without you.
Related Reading
- Portable EV Charger Safety Guide 2026: NEC Rules, Extension Cords, and What to Avoid
- UL and ETL Listing for EV Chargers: How NRTL Certification Works
- How to Get an EV Charging Station License: Permits and Approvals
- EV Charger Certifications Explained: CE, UKCA, UL, ETL, CB and What Buyers Should Ask For
