Would you report illegal gas work???

olly300

OP yes.

I lived in an area where:
1. One property exploded due to a dodgy heating system.
2. In another property divided into flats a boiler in an empty flat wasn't checked causing the asphyxiation and death of members of a family, and hospitalisation and injury to the surviving members from carbon monoxide poisoning.

vaio

DIY or "favour for a friend" gas work isn't illegal and I'm pretty sure there is no power of inspection on DIY work in the absence of evidence it is dangerous.

Having said that, if a complete new system is being installed it's very possible that Building regs approval is needed which I'm guessing will involve a safety inspection if it isn't being done by a GS engineer

geoffky

Without a doubt....

ginamccarthy

I had an engineer who wasnt gas safe registered install a fireplace at my property. Even though i thought he was qualified but didnt realise.

Turns out my whole family became ill with carbon monoxide poisoning because he didnt do it properly. He had 1,200 pounds he had to give to us and 800 pounds in fines and he can not work withgas anymore thank god. Now we make sure we get our engineers who carry their gas safe badges and only use gas cooker installers.

It could have killed us.

ginamccarthy

It is illegal to have someone who is not gas safe registered deal with any gas appliance would appreciate if people knew how deadly gas was and how it almost killed my family go to gas safe register and see true stories if you do not believe me please do not put your families at risk

tonyrichards

becominganobsessivesaver wrote: »

Hopefully a hypothetical question . If you knew someone (who you have had a run in with in the past) was installing a new heating system in the property attached to yours and they weren't gas safe registered would you report them to gas safe and risk falling out with your neighbours (the circumstances would make it obvious that we were the ones who reported them)?

I don't really want to fall out with the neighbours, but as our houses are attached I also have my family's safety to think of.

Opinions please......

I'd try speaking with your neighbour first to raise your concern rather than reporting them immediately. It's a case of the old saying "safety comes first". If they don't listen or pay attention to you then you will have to let a certified gas fitter know because you don't want one of those incidents where your whole row of housing goes sky high. Your neighbour should be more considerate.

ilikewatch

ginamccarthy wrote: »

It is illegal to have someone who is not gas safe registered deal with any gas appliance

Really? I thought you only had to be Gas Safe registered if you were undertaking gas work for reward - does this mean that a householder who regards themselves as competent is no longer allowed to install their own boiler!?

ampersand

becominganobsessivesaver wrote: »

Thanks for the replies, I think we'll wait and see what happens, and maybe try and drop something into conversation with the neighbour just in case. We would like to move in the next year or so, so I suppose longer term it wouldn't be an issue, I just want my family to feel safe and unthreatened.

############
Surely you wouldn't envisage selling your property to someone who would be equally at risk when you leave?
If you know the work is done without safety requirements correctly met, you are equally complicit.

Definitely have everything above board.

Jaynne

ilikewatch wrote: »

Really? I thought you only had to be Gas Safe registered if you were undertaking gas work for reward - does this mean that a householder who regards themselves as competent is no longer allowed to install their own boiler!?

Yes though I believe it isn't a criminal offence but a civil one ie you can't go to jail for it. That doesn't mean that you couldn't be charged with a crime for fitting a boiler when you were not competent to do so.

keystone

tonyrichards wrote: »

I'd try speaking with your neighbour first to raise your concern rather than reporting them immediately. It's a case of the old saying "safety comes first". If they don't listen or pay attention to you then you will have to let a certified gas fitter know because you don't want one of those incidents where your whole row of housing goes sky high. Your neighbour should be more considerate.

I don't see the point in speaking to the neighbour 10 months after the event tbh. Its probably sorted by now.

Cheers