Corgi Gas Man Says He'll Cap Off My Wall Heater if I Don't Agree To Him ServicingIt

SambaRamba

Last week I noticed that the flame on my gas fire had changed a little and was looking yellow at the top. My carbon monoxide alarm hasn't gone off, but I thought it best to get it checked anyway.

I rang around for a service, using contacts off the Corgi website. Quotes ranged fro £15-£75 to service the fire.

I arranged for the man who quoted £15 to come and have a look. He said the fire needs a clean as it is leaking carbon monoxide, but that I could still use it as it wasn't life threatening and that he'd come back to service it the following week, along with my boiler and a gas wall heater I have in my hallway.

I told him the wall heater is soon to be replaced.

Today he called back to arrange a time to come. He told me the work will cost £100 and this includes a certificate and servicing of all 3 appliances - I told him I don't need a certificate as i'm the home owner and not a landlord - he says I do.

I also told him that I don't want the wall heater servicing as it is getting relaced. He said that he has no option but to cap it off then - he's never even looked at the heater - or even asked me when it was last serviced!

Does this sound like normal practice? Does he have a right to cap and appliance he's never even looked at, and do I need a certificate?

Many thanks, Sam.

Canucklehead

Hi

I would not be able to walk in and cap off an appliance with out your agreement . If I felt you were endangering your life (or someone else's) I would have to follow RIDDOR.
See here www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg238.pdf

I would spend a bit more money and get a proper Corgi. Did you see a valid ID?Is he registered.? I cant believe he is.What part of CO is not life threatening?

In the meantime don't use the fire if you suspect it's dodgy.

Corgi Guy.

And no you don't need a certificate.

daveyjp

You chose the cheapest option and now he is getting some cash out of you - buy cheap, buy twice.

Thank him for his assistance and cancel his visit. When you have your new heater fitted get the engineer to service the other gas appliances.

Your gas fire probably needs no more than a good clean with a vacuum cleaner - dust blocks the holes in the jets which causes yellowing of the flame.

We had a new fire fitted and received a CORGI certificate, but he didn't look at any other gas appliances in the house. We did receive a certificate from CORGI a few weeks later though

SambaRamba

Thanks I appreciate your responses. Canuckle yes he did show me his ID and I found his number on the Corgi website, I think he was out to make a few extra pounds for the sake of it.

System

maybe the horse tied up outside should have been a clue !

davsidipp

tell him to get lost just because his corgi does not give him the right to cap it off sounds like a conner the only way they can cap it off is if its for a landlord.

EliteHeat

Report him to corgi. They won't actually do anything, but it might make you feel better.

economiser

Canucklehead wrote: »

.What part of CO is not life threatening?

It's a movable feast but there is always some CO in the air. I think the WHO recommend a maximum of 30mg/m3 for 8 hours but 200mg/m3 would kill you in a couple of hours. Current european alarm standards ar:
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
[/FONT]

• [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]at 30ppm CO, the alarm must not activate for at least 120 minutes[/FONT]
• [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]at 50ppm CO, the alarm must not activate before 60 minutes but must activate before 90 minutes[/FONT]
• [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]at 100ppm CO, the alarm must not activate before 10 minutes but must activate before 40 minutes[/FONT]
• [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]at 300ppm CO, the alarm must activate within 3 minutes[/FONT]

There is an issue with gas fires and older boilers, which take their combustion air from the occupied space, in ensuring adequate ventilation. With better fitting windows and the use of draft excluders on doors there is a danger that CO concentrations can get to dangerous levels even when there is no problem with the appliance.

budgetflyer

No Corgi installer can even turn off your appliance without your permission - It belongs to you !
HOWEVER, if its a safety issue and you refuse permission, then it is their responsibility to contact your gas supplier who in turn will get their Emergency service (ie Transco, or what ever they are now called, in Scotland, they are now called Scottish Gas Networks) to cut you off.They have legal powers to force entry etc if the need to.
This corgi guy has got it all wrong anyway. All he needed to do is do what you asked.
Then on testing and completion, do a visual inspection of location and operating conditions of other appliances he noticed.
Obviously if something is amiss, then you would be a fool to not get it attended to but probably all he needed was to sticker it unsafe and for you to sign paperwork acknowledging you have been advised

economiser

Looking into the CO issue more closely this site may be of interest, www.co-gassafety.co.uk/prevention.html
I think it shows just how serious the issue of CO is, although things seem to be improving. People think of gas safety as a problem with explosion rather than CO but as this site shows there have been 62 deaths a year from explosion over the last 11 years compared with at least 475 with CO.