Lack of action from HSE/CORGI

[meldrew's_mate]

The last few weeks have opened my eyes to the ineptitude and lack of enthusiasm for catching the cowboys at CORGI and the HSE; to elaborate...

Called to new customer's house to investigate lack of heating or hot water function from new boiler installation (regular system boiler 24kW). Installer had scarpered after being paid. Found very poor installation standards including:-
1. Poor soldered joints, two weeping, one compression joint where the 22mm pipe just pulled out (=stained ceiling).
2. It's a system boiler, but the installer had reused the old pump external to the boiler.
3. Installer had re-used old F&E tank, proving to me that he didn't have a clue about system boilers.
4. Condensate drained directly into a bucket.
5. No safety relief pipework installed (and system boiler has isolation valves so F&E could be made ineffective)
6. Three port valve mounted so that head could not be removed without removing the whole valve first, installer had chiselled away at the plaster/wall in a previous attempt to solve lack of heat problem.
7. Here's the best one, heating flow pipework from the 3-port (port A) was connected to a 22mm pipe which ran 2 feet under the floor before terminating in a stop-end. NO HEATING, I WONDER WHY?!!!!


Now to the gas defects:-

8. Undersized pipework, 7m of 15mm copper pipe + 9 elbows; inlet pressure at boiler dropped to 14mB at "full" rate, 20mB at the meter.
9. Gas leak, tightness test revealed a 4mB drop over 30 seconds! Poorly soldered joint to blame, plus loose compression nut at boiler. Remember, this boiler had been left "in working order" and with gas connected.
10. Badly supported pipework, 15mm horizontal run of 2.2m without a clip in sight.
11. Vertical flue terminating within 200mm of chimney breast, BS5440 and MI say min 1000mm.

And finally:-

12. Open electrical junction boxes.
13. 13A fuse on heating circuit.
14. Wiring error causing short when roomstat set low (destroyed programmer, see also 13 above!)


I think you'll agree a very poor and unsafe job.
So what did I do about it? Before correcting I took copious quantities of photos, and invited the customer's friends and neighbours over to see the evidence.

Because of the gas leak caused by poor workmanship I reported it to the HSE under RIDDOR regs, and tried to get the Building Inspector and CORGI involved.

CORGI told me to get the customer to complain to them: she did.
They sent her a form: she filled it in & returned it.
The Building Inspector didn't want to know about the non-conformance to Doc L1 or Doc P "as the installer self-certified the installation".

The bozo Richard-head waste of space installer was, and still is, CORGI registered.

All this took place in early January 2007. To date (end March 2007) neither CORGI nor HSE nor Building Inspectorate have visited the house. She has had no proper heating during this period. and no cooking until I got fed up waiting and corrected the leaks and upgraded the gas pipework. The boiler is still off but now she can cook.

If ever there was a case for a cast iron prosecution this must have been it, but because of the authorities lack of action I have been forced to correct most of the faults, so now the case is weaker.

Glad to have got that off my chest, thanks for reading.....

 

[Spark123]

If they were a member of a self certification scheme for Part P then you may report them to their scheme too.

 

[meldrew's_mate]

I think that's part of the problem too, CORGI won't take up the case and give this bozo a rocket up the jacksie, it's left to the customer to chase around, and do I get paid for the grief?...what do you think!!?

 

[Spark123]

Me, I think they should be banned from touching anything like this until they have been retrained. When I say competent person scheme they must be Napit, Niceic or one of those to be able to self certify compliance with part p of the building regs?

 

[namsag]

Often wonder why Corgi are there . One time i reported someone for a open flued boiler in a bathroom it had been in a week.. The answer back from corgi was .. There is nothing we can do it is an existing installation.... Waste of time

 

[Gasguru]

CORGI, BCO and HSE are all pointless organisations. I used to regularly fill out RIDDORs; not any more, you'll waste far to much time. If your really lucky a couple of suits from the HSE will take statements but thats as far as it goes. No one there wants to rock the boat and they don't like confronting dodgy installers. They then make pathetic excuses "lack of evidence" is a typical one despite photo's, signed receipts etc.

Your best bet it to find the installer, track down where he lives. Then give all the evidence of his shoddy work to his neighbours. Maximum embarassment. It may not stop him but you do at least get some satisfaction. Another cowboy happened to be popular in his local pub - all the regulars used him - having seen his dodgy work I told the customer to spread the word around the pub - much more effective than CORGI will ever be.

I pursued one local cowboy issuing fake CP12's (he'd been struck off the register) - all the logo's on his van were fake. Finally met him in Sainsbury's - made it quite clear to him and other shoppers what I thought. HSE dropped the case - lack of evidence.

Disconnected a boiler 3 times once (ID) - landlords son was a lawyer and the HSE got scared; short of DNA and video the HSE will nearly always drop the case.