By law any engineer working on boilers and gas appliances must be on the Gas Safe Register. It is the official gas registration body for the United Kingdom, Isle of Man and Guernsey.
But why?
Gas Safe engineers are fully qualified and insured. There are unqualified "Rogue Traders" working illegally and putting people in danger. They are probably a bit cheaper, but is the saving really worth risking you and your family's lives!
Gas Safe Register investigates any reports of illegal or unsafe gas work, and that information is passed on to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), who can prosecute.
Gas is perfectly safe when installed and maintained by a qualified engineer, but in the hands of an illegal unqualified worker it can kill.
Gas Safe Register statistics show that unqualified gas engineers do a quarter of a million illegal gas jobs each year!
Some statistics from the Gas Safe website:
The British public is wasting £100million a year to rectify illegal gas jobs that put their homes and families in immediate danger.
These illegal gas jobs cost an extra 25% on average to rectify and they are often carried out by tradesmen who are recommended by friends or family, but are not qualified to work safely with gas.
One in five of the homes investigated by Gas Safe Register were found to be ‘Immediately Dangerous’ and the appliances had to be disconnected straight away to make them safe. In all cases the work had been done by an illegal gas fitter.
Further research from Gas Safe Register found that one in three people would trust a tradesman to do their gas work purely on recommendation from a friend or family member. Five times as many people would take a recommendation on trust, rather than actively check whether they were registered to work safely and legally on gas. Most people chose a fitter that they liked, who had been recommended and who offered a good price.
Paul Johnston, chief executive of Gas Safe Register explains the dangers: “All too often our investigations team find illegal gas fitters preying on the public, using charm tactics. Many use the Gas Safe logo on their van, adverts or paperwork when they are not registered. If you have a boiler, cooker or fire fitted by a gas engineer who isn’t registered to do the work, then you may end up paying to have it ripped out and start again which may cost you thousands of pounds, or worse, cost you your life. With a quarter of a million gas jobs carried out every year by illegal gas fitters who don’t have the skills or the qualifications to work safely on gas, it is vital that people always check that the engineer they use is on the Gas Safe Register or they could be putting their lives and pocket at risk.”
So if in doubt, check the register here.