Do I actually need a new consumer unit?
An old fuse board is not automatically dangerous. Here is when a consumer unit genuinely needs replacing — and when someone is selling you one you don't need.
The consumer unit — the fuse board — is the box everything runs from. When someone quotes you for a house full of work, this is often the headline item, and it is worth knowing when it is real.
Signs it genuinely needs doing
A board with rewireable fuses, or a single RCD covering the whole house, or one that is warm to the touch, is a fair candidate for replacement. So is a board with no RCD protection at all on circuits feeding sockets.
Modern boards give each circuit its own RCBO. A fault on one circuit trips only that circuit — the freezer stays on while you sort the shower. That is the upgrade you are actually buying, not a shinier box.
When you are being oversold
A board that works is not a fault. “Your fuse board is old” is not, on its own, a reason to change it. If every circuit tests fine and the protection is adequate, an old board can be perfectly safe. Ask what specific fault the replacement fixes.
If the honest answer is “nothing is wrong, it is just old”, you can wait. If the answer is “there is no RCD on your socket circuits”, that is worth doing, and we will show you the board to prove it.
Not sure where you stand?
Send a photo of your board and we will tell you honestly whether it needs anything.