gas safe sham or con

[tamz]

I don't really care who runs it but it the system needs shaking up and some serious action taken on the unregistered and the people who use them. There is no excuse as everyone is aware that to work on gas, you need to be registered. Even if they are not quite sure who with. Mr or Mrs average however want the work done for the lowest price and if they pay a painter £100 for a days work when his only outlay is a couple of brushes and a dustsheet, why should it cost more for a gas man!
I'd like more work to be audited, not because i never make mistakes but because i would like to learn from them.
I'd make the ACS a lot harder with proper written exams where you had to learn and understand. If you can't pass them you don't work.
I'd ban all the fast track gas course places as only a very few who go through them could ever be "competent" in the few weeks. (i've had first hand experience of some of these idiots).
I'd also like all the standards to be freely available to those in the trade. I have had to spend 1000's of pounds on the ones i need to be able to know the standard to work to. If we need to work to a standard at least let us read it and know what we need to do.(this is especially important for people starting out who don't have 1000's to spend on 40 page books).
As it is i don't mind trotting out for a weekend every 5 years and handing over some cash (and subsidising the halfwits with the fees) for some ABC's i could get my dog trained up to pass and he can't read.
The current system is all about pass the buck. You are "allegedly" qualified as you hold the qualifications so when it goes t its up the buck stops with you. But what ever happens? .........................

I just rubbed that last lot out as i was going a bit ott

The truth is it is all a big compromise and we are all being played.

 

[Reg Man]

Yer... we are proffesional people, and to maintain that, we all have to keep up to date and enroll to proffesional bodies. Alot of those out there can do nothing but moan and groan about the cost and inconvience and still charge top notch rate for the work. Biggest problem is. who do I enroll with? Obviously Gas Safe Register to do gas work legally. But there are lots of others on none mandatory. This industry is in confusion. Lets have a one stop organisation who cover all of our aspects of work (Gas, Plumbing, Electrical). oop's govement trashed that one when they dumped CORGI. bum for the ACS for gas; why are ther so many elements? your either a gas engineer or not. Break it down to, domestic, LPG and Industrial commercial. All this I can work on boilers but not fires confuse's the customer. Must stop now.

 

[tamz]

Totally agree. You can get your basic 5 ACS for around £500 every 5 years. 27 pence a day. I just counted it. Add in you registration fees, another 48 pence a day.
How much did that coffee you bought today cost and did you gripe about that (mine cost £1.25 and the lady whos boiler i was changing is spending a cold night without heat or hot water because she couldn't find the kettle, easy shift tomorrow for me)

The breakdown of the elements is another sore point. For example. Why is CP1 being done as a separate element when it is being linked it to CEN1 which will be void if you don't have it. Why not incorporate it?

The industry needs a shake from the roots up and i don't believe Capita are the ones to do it. Redifining and transforming services to the public.......aye right!

 

[fuzzy]

the government wanted CAPITA because they said they'd tighten things up and run it better than corgi, the jury is still out eh?

 

[Reg Man]

I've had privilage to read about the Capita and Corgi bid. Its all aload of bull. What have Capita done? Don't believe the spin, its all politics. All Capita (Gas Safe Register) offer is not alot. They have dumped just about every thing other than having a paper work register and lots of spin over promotional activities. They do inspect notified work and do investigate people who are not registered. What about those that do not notify anything? They are probably the one's who have more to hide because they are not conforming.

 

[REDSAW]

What about those that do not notify anything? They are probably the one's who have more to hide because they are not conforming.

i for one knows someone who has not notified in the last 2 years...

 

[Reg Man]

At least they won't get inspected. Only draw back is the customer won't get ther Part L or what ever certificate. This might bite them on the bum, if the customer sells there property.

 

[Unregistered]

Re: gas safe sham or conu

Gas safe would be better as a stand alone organisation not part of the Capita group which means it's make a profit, Capita is the same sham company which runs TV licensing so that says it all.
make an independent body with no parent company or associated company, don't know how many of you notice when you search a local engineer British Gas appears on every page, it's not a fair system it promotes big business and partner companies first then you find yourself way down the list.
There should also be a viable alternative we could collaborate and it up together maybe call it UK Gas or something along those lines.

 

[Rickster123]

Please register and start a new thread. Thanks.