An estimated 7,500 hard core illegal gas fitters without the skills or the qualifications are carrying out this work. Gas Safe Register has classified this group as potentially the most dangerous type of illegal gas workers in the country; they are a prime target of its national investigations team. For the first time, the research has allowed Gas Safe Register to develop an accurate profile of those most likely to be involved in illegal gas work.
- More than half (57%) are sole traders and a third (33%) work in companies employing fewer than four people.
- As well as carrying out gas work, many also undertake plumbing jobs (90%), bathroom fitting (81%), kitchen fitting (67%), general building (43%) and electrical work (43%).
Gas Safe Register believes a higher percentage of illegal gas fitters advertise their services online and in local papers as few if any checks for registration are carried out. In contrast, directories such as Yellow Pages and Thompson Local check for registration, so few illegal gas workers advertise their services as for example, ‘gas fitters.’ Commenting on the research, Phill Brewster, Gas Safe Register’s national investigations manager said: “Gas and cowboys do not mix, it’s a fact.
One in 10 of the illegal gas installations we investigated in the last nine months have been Immediately Dangerous and we had to disable the appliances straight away to make them safe. Over a third of these were leaking gas, and almost half had faults that could lead to lethal carbon monoxide exposure.
So, with our research showing that illegal gas fitters do 250,000 jobs in our homes each year, it’s worrying to think how many of these were also left in a dangerous state.” Gas Safe Register’s investigation team are searching out illegal gas fitters around the country who are not registered. They also investigate registered engineers that carry out work they are not qualified to do, as Phill Brewster explains: “We want everyone to understand that different types of gas work require different qualifications. Just because someone is qualified and registered to work on one gas appliance, for example gas boilers, does not mean that they are automatically qualified to put in a gas fire. If they do this, the work is illegal and potentially life threatening.
The work that engineers can legally do is listed on the back of their Gas Safe card – it’s so important to check this every time you have work done.” Gas Safe Register is also urging the public to nominate their property for a free gas safety check if they have had gas work done in their home in the last six months. Phill Brewster added: “In the right hands gas is perfectly safe, but in the hands of an illegal gas fitter it can kill. We are urging people to help us to protect them by
- always asking for and checking the engineer’s Gas Safe Register ID card to make sure they are qualified to do the work
- nominating their property for a free gas safety check, which checks that recent gas work is to the correct standard
- reporting suspected illegal gas workers to Gas Safe Register.” For more advice on avoiding illegal gas workers visit www.GasSafeRegister.co.uk/illegals or call 0800 408 5500
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