Tuesday 2 October 2012

Yet Another Rogue Plumber Caught By HSE

Consumers should always be vigilant against rogue and illegal tradesman making false claims about their accreditations and skills.

Salisbury Crown Court heard last Friday (28 September) that the Wiltshire plumber Simon Dale who traded under the company name Cathedral Plumbing Services and previously Wiltshire Plumbing & Heating Ltd, had carried out gas work on 13 properties in Wiltshire that he was not qualified or registered to do.

This kind of practice puts selfish greed above the safety of his clients, whilst working in a field that can have very deadly consequences for shoddy work.

Although Dale was registered as a plumber under the CORGI scheme, he was not qualified as a gas engineer. Despite this he made verbal claims that he was qualified to carry out the gas work and used official logos on his paperwork and van that he did not have the right to use.

On one particular job he also claimed to be Part P proficient and able to carry out electrical work.

Illegal gas work is very often of poor quality with the resulting installations carrying high risk of explosions or carbon monoxide leaks. Carbon monoxide cannot be smelt, tasted or seen yet a percentage of just over 1% in the air can cause unconsciousness in a few breaths and death in a few minutes.

The plumber pleaded guilty to six offences under the Health and Safety at Work Act and ten offences of fraud by misrepresentation, breaching the Fraud Act 2006 as well as three breaches of the Unfair Trading regulations 2008 for unfair commercial practice.

This list of crimes landed Dale 30 months of prison, including consecutive prison sentences rather than concurrent as two of the cases of fraud were committed whilst he was on bail for the other offences.

If you live in the Bath area of the UK and need a Bath gas engineer, Bath plumber or Bath electrician you can trust, then BPM Maintenance is here to help. Our tradesmen are fully registered and accredited with their various organisations and are happy to prove that to you to ensure your safety and peace of mind are preserved.

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