Just a bit of a rant, my grandmother needs a new boiler and her neighbours have had theirs replaced by this guy. Anyway her neighbour said you need to pay him cash then he will give you a bit of a discount. Of course that means no receipt or come back when it blows up.
My alarm bells started ringing at this point, my farther then phoned him pretending to be an interested customer, he said he was gas safe registered and told his name. I have checked the register and there is no trace :(.
If he is not on the register by his name, I assume that means there is no doubt that he is not registered?
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I think you already know the answer to this one, Rats.
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rattle if he is not registered on the gas safe register give them a email, if not on then its against the law to fit gas applainces such as central heating unless properly qualified.
Has your grandmother tried warm front, if she is in reciept of any state benefits she can get a grant for £3500, and they are gas safe and also the work is warranted.
I wouldnt go for a cheap plumber, unless if you have heard of him doing other work in other peoples places by word of mouth.
you have not mentioned wat sort of boiler your grand mother got, is it a combi , or stand alone, if either she better off with a condensing model, the best ones in reliabilty are the bosh worcester models, or valiant ones.
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SFAIK a gas boiler now has to be condesning to be legal. I was discussing these matters the other day and a colleague reckons that Worcester Bosch are more Worcester than Bosch, if you get my drift! If your local library has Which magazine and back numbers, there has been a boiler test in the last 18 months
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>> ...... Worcester Bosch are more Worcester than Bosch, ..........
What does that mean?
Last edited by: L'escargot on Fri 24 Feb 12 at 13:51
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I was thinking that Bosch got a better reputation than Worcester or not?
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>>SFAIK a gas boiler now has to be condesning to be legal.
I thought you could have any type of boiler you liked, as long as it met certain criteria particularly efficiency. Condensing boilers being, mainly, the only ones that do so.
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Re-arrange to form a well-known phrase:
Pole barge not do touch a with
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I'm all for saving a bob or two, but I wouldn't muck about where gas is concerned.
There was a case in Iffy's *paper only last week, where a young lass died due to a boiler bodge up.
*Not that I read 'that paper' of course!
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The issue is it looks like we are interfering, if I am 1000% certain he isn't registered I would go round to my grandmas myself and beg her not to use them. She is entitled to warm front but being old she sort of wants it all done now :(
As I say my alarm bells started to ring as soon as I found out he was cash only.
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Does getting it thru Warmfront build in somesort of delay. I am not sure how it works but I think you get the work done and they pay some or all of it, up to a ceiling. Link here
www.energychoices.co.uk/boiler/maintenance/boiler-replacement-grants.html
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if I am 1000% certain he isn't registered I would go round to my grandmas myself and beg her not to use them.
Rats, come on! The fact that Grandma's told you any of this suggests she's looking for validation or advice. This isn't some lovable-rogue Eddie Grundy type who wants cash for digging her garden; he's someone who could kill her in three ways that I can think of, and who can't prove that he's qualified to do this work - or would even come back once he'd taken her money.
Elderly people often don't like saying no to someone they feel is trying to help them, or is 'only doing his best'. My mother's getting this way and needs the occasional gentle but firm reminder of the dangers and the questions she ought to ask. She paid hundreds to a halfwitted local tradesman she feels sorry for, while he fussed around and failed to fix a water leak from her boiler that turned out - once we got the experts in - to be a blocked drain in the condenser.
If you're in a position to save your grandmother from a much bigger mistake, it's your duty to do so.
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"...if I am 1000% certain he isn't registered..."
You said he's not on the register. Contact them to see if there's any kind of error.
But I think you know the answer.
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>>he said he was gas safe registered and told his name. I have checked the register and there is no trace :(.
Rattle
I've had problems finding people on the Gas Safe site myself. Have you tried both methods?
With the name search you will need to enter his details accurately or you will get nowhere, but you might find him on their location search if you have the time to plough through a few pages.
Failing that, ask him for his Gas Safe number, as you can check him out using that as well.
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If it was your own boiler and you either didn't care very much about your own life, or else he was a friend you trusted implicitly even though a rogue gas installer, then you might feel justified in taking the risk.
But this is your grandmother FHS !
Phone him up, ask if he is registered, ask for his registration number, check the number with Corgi or the Kennel Club or whatever they are called now, and then report him quickly before he kills someone.
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I'm all for saving a bob or two, but I wouldn't muck about where gas is concerned.
I say this if you can solder copper pipe for a water appliance and it doesn't leak then you can do gas!
But to do for somebody you have to be trained/registered, doing it yourself thats another matter.
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>>I say this if you can solder copper pipe for a water appliance and it doesn't leak then you can do gas!<<
Course I can do that Big T - and I did at the 'old' place, but its dem dare flue gasses that put the Shi'ites up me.
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Well just come back from the job, my mother tried typing in details of known plumbers she was on it. No trace, she then tried it another way and found his details.
So it turns out he is registered after all that. Very very poor that the website isn't working properly though :(.
Seems CLK has had the same issue with it.
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The guy that came round to fix my boiler said there are "issues" with Worcester Bosch now. The old Heatslaves were cracking units, the latest ones cannot take the use. He recommended Grant - never heard of them before. Now ours is fixed (PCB fail) it works well. The advantage with WB is the warranty, but their service plan ain't half as good as it used be and is insurance based and the capped repair limit is not that generous.
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How would the house insurers look upon any claim for damage that could be traced back to a boiler fitted by an unregistered (by definition DIY) man.
Last edited by: Old Navy on Fri 24 Feb 12 at 16:21
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How would the house insurers look upon any claim for damage that could be traced back to a boiler fitted by an unregistered (by definition DIY) man.
How would they know who did what when it blows up? Receipts up in smoke boiler exploded.!!
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The Boiler should be on the GasSafe register - first point for H&S to check in the case of a fatality I reckon.
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They would probably say; well, when you 'ad the boiler installed, times was 'ard. Go on, we'll pay you out this time. But if you ever do it again...
Last edited by: Clk Sec on Fri 24 Feb 12 at 16:34
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Was the PCB expensive Rob? I was quoted £340 for mine but £75 with a 12 month warranty by someone who would repair it. Same sort of scheme as REMAN who do car ECUs I think.
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It was around 200 pounds......hideously expensive !
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>>first point for H&S to check in the case of a fatality I reckon.
Happens too often in rented properties. Tenants should ensure that any property they rent is covered by a current annual Gas Safe Gas Safety Record. The original (white) copy should be given to them by the gas operative, the letting agent or their landlord.
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Why taking the change having a boiler fitted from somebody not properly registered.?
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The boiler manufacturer would not honour any warranty, the product and installer have to be registered with them.
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>>Why taking the change having a boiler fitted from somebody not properly registered.?<<
To save on the green folding stuff.
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No good when you hear a big bang in the early morning.Whoops somebody dropped a clanger.>:)
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Isn't it the case though that anyone can install the boiler, as long as it's done properly and according to the regulations, but that a registered person is required to complete the final stage and testing?
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Well as long as his last job wasn't Merlin Road in Irlam ?
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Tell the twoss to bog off and ENSURE that he understands it.
For gas use Vallaint boilers.
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I keep wondering whether to change boilers. Last time I looked the payback was 10 years.. and judging by reviews the expected life of a new boiler is : 10 years..
I'll stick to our 30 year old one.
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>>I'll stick to our 30 year old one.
I bet that's a floor mounted boiler.
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I don't know what "registered", of gas fitters, means just now. When the registrars were Corgi, a fitter I used said his Corgi examiner knew less about the topic than he did. He also said condensing boilers were unreliable and expensive, in spite of being more economical in use. He had "taken off the hands" of a customer, who insisted on a replacement, an old floor mounted boiler, renovated it and used in his own home. They are simple and rarely need other than routine servicing. My own Potterton was installed in 1997, before condensing boilers were made compulsory, and so it has turned out.
Checkatrade might lead you to a good fitter but is not a specialist body. Make sure there is parking for the fitter's vehicle and try to get him to remove any spoil. It may pay him as he should make money on the scrap value.
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>> gas fitters >>
nah, they call themselves Gas Safe Engineers. (despite allegedly having been told by the Engineering Council that they should not use the term "engineer".)
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And where are all the Clerks, Shop Assistants, Mechanics, Dustmen, Salesmen from a few years ago?
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>> And where are all the Clerks, Shop Assistants, Mechanics, Dustmen, Salesmen from a few years ago?
>>
Office Managers, Retail Managers, 'Engineeers', Waste and Recycling Operatives, Sales and Marketing Consultants?
All a part of continuing government inspired plan for education and expectation inflation! Inflation will always result in devaluation.
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I nhave to add "Revenue Protection Officers"! Train ticket checkers!
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Beware of sneaky British Gas sending a renewal letter for boiler & central heating cover, with increased payments compared with your existing cover price.
I am contracted for Homecare 200 at a cost of £17 per month. The renewal came in at £21.03 per month. We have not used their call out service in the past 12 months.
British Gas website, today 25/02/2012, is showing Homecare 200 to cost £17 per month.
I was so annoyed that I called the helpline and complained bitterly that loyal existing customers were being treated shabbily compared with new, unknown, customers.
After some discussion + threats of looking elsewhere (put politely) and being handed further up the line from the original parroting drone I managed to get a reduction to £17.80 per month for the next annual contract.
I saved £38.80 with one (0800) call
Last edited by: VxFan on Sat 3 Mar 12 at 16:49
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>> Office Managers, Retail Managers, 'Engineeers', Waste and Recycling Operatives, Sales and Marketing Consultants?
Spot on. Five out of five!
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>>Beware of sneaky British Gas
One of just two large companies that I would never, ever, use.
I've got a long memory.
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>> >>Beware of sneaky British Gas
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>> I've got a long memory.
>>
Me too, when I reported a fault they used my boiler as a test job for an apprentice involving delicate soldering of the gas pipework inside the boiler. Pity it was unrelated to the fault which they did not fix. That required another call out and I had correctly identified the fault as a (very) noisy fan bearing, (they replaced the gas valve).
When the boiler was replaced and partially dismantled the plumber commented that he doubted that the boiler was operating at anything like full power as the gas pipe inside the boiler had been partially crushed when it was bent during the repair.
The new boiler has a seven year warranty, and BG were quite aggressive on the phone when I cancelled my policy.
Last edited by: Old Navy on Sat 25 Feb 12 at 17:33
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>> >> >>Beware of sneaky British Gas
>> >>
>> >> I've got a long memory.
And here, they conned me for donkeys years on fuel prices.
Maybe i'm a bit simple, yes i am, but i'd have thought a good company would ensure their regular long term customers who never fail to pay would be on a decent tariff, not so, they appear to be cash cows to be milked dry.
They will never see another penny of my money, 'hand them fed bit the that'...
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I will not let BG near my boiler after they condemned our previous cooker.
IIRC they had dug up the street to do some pipe work. They knocked on the door and said they must come in to check all was OK. The next thing they said was our cooker was faulty.
Cocky guy says I know what is often the cause and took the top of the cooker , totally disabled the ignition pipes and then found he was wrong so declared the cooker condemned.
So no cooker, not interested - " You had better get a new cooker!"
In those days with a fair wind it was at least a week to get a replacement.
What also hacked us off was that in those days and to this day we have not found a gas cooker with a thermostatic ring. " No such thing sir, - never has been one!!! Response "Well clever clogs we have used one for years!"
Or we got " It is just not possible with gas"
The truth is it was an optional extra ( which we paid for) in 1965.
It survived the switch over from town gas to North Sea gas and was an absolutely brilliant device. First adjust the flame size and then select the themo setting. This allowed one to leave, for example, a pan of milk being heater and knowing it would not boil over- 1965 magic that " Is not possible sir!"
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>>So no cooker, not interested - " You had better get a new cooker!"
>>
We use an induction hob, instantaneous control, powerful, and thermostatic. The surface does not get hot and is a wipe clean sheet of glass.
And best of all a gas "engineer" can't write it off on a whim.
Last edited by: Old Navy on Sun 26 Feb 12 at 08:38
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+1 for the induction hob!
My wife is a trained home economist who is not only third generation gas industry, but also worked for the Gas Board as a home service advisor, (involving amongst other duties, that of demonstrating cookery to critical and sometimes large, audiences), is a total convert to the induction hob.
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>> +1 for the induction hob!
+2.
Ours is 9 or 10 years old, still looks brand new, despite SWM's best efforts to destroy it the thing still works perfectly, extremely safe clean and controllable cooking.
Wouldn't go back.
Does require very high quality cookware though, which once carefully purchased is the most economical kind to buy anyway as they last.
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Induction hobs look good to me, but I have the impression they have not caught on in this country.
Read somewhere they are more popular elsewhere in Europe.
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>> Does require very high quality cookware though, which once carefully purchased is the most economical
>> kind to buy anyway as they last.
>>
Obviously good quality is best but anything with ferrous metal base will work. SWM has a small aluminium frying pan used for eggs which has steel embedded in its base.
Last edited by: Old Navy on Sun 26 Feb 12 at 09:52
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>> Obviously good quality is best but anything with ferrous metal base will work. SWM has
>> a small aluminium frying pan used for eggs which has steel embedded in its base.
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We have 2 sets of ccokware, all induction rated.
The aluminium bodied set take far longer to reach temperature than the fully stainless steel set, no doubt the whole SS pan is absorbing the induction and heat up at an unbelievable rate.
Or maybe the aluminum set we bought are not good enough, trouble is you don't know how good the pans are until you've bought them and run them in for a while, speed of heating definately improves when you've used the pans for while, quicker to magnetise.
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I thought induction hobs used eddy currents to produce heat in the metal and the type of metal shouldn't make any difference?
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...and the type of metal shouldn't make any difference?...
My understanding is the metal needs to be magnetic, but there are different degrees of magnestism.
Some metals are more magnetic than others, which explains why different pans perform differently.
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Not a good idea to use an induction hob if you have a pacemaker fitted, like at least one of the forum members here.
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Luckily all our pans, except a small frying pan, were and are, stainless steel, bought when we were in Spain to replace some vile "Circulon" pans, allegedly non-stick.
These stainless pans are wonderfully easy to clean.
We have just sourced a small frying pan, suitable for induction from M&S on-line, free delivery to our local "Simply Food" store, with 20% off, for a derisory twelve quid!
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>> >>I'll stick to our 30 year old one.
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>> I bet that's a floor mounted boiler.
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Yes..
Not quite immaculate but nearly..
Worth its weight in scrap metal :-)
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>> Well as long as his last job wasn't Merlin Road in Irlam ?
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Can't find any reference on the net, but according to the BBC north west news this morning, a gas fitter is being prosecuted as a result of this epxlosion, which damaged 15 houses and rendered 60 families homeless
It will be a bit ironic if he turns out to be registered :-)
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>> >> Well as long as his last job wasn't Merlin Road in Irlam ?
>> >>
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>> Can't find any reference on the net, but according to the BBC north west news
>> this morning, a gas fitter is being prosecuted as a result of this epxlosion, which
>> damaged 15 houses and rendered 60 families homeless
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>> It will be a bit ironic if he turns out to be registered :-)
>>
Story here,
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-11671916
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Boiler chancers - WillDeBeest
