TRICKSTER FINED AFTER FITTING ILLEGAL BOILER

A man fixing a boilerFitting gas appliances is a skilled job, regulated by the Gas Safe Register, because poor gas fitting can lead to gas escapes, explosions or fires that cost lives. Despite the regulations and consumer awareness of the need to use a registered fitter, some tradesmen still try to carry out illegal work, but few get away with it. This month, a Rochdale man was prosecuted and fined by the Health and Safety Executive after he tricked a married couple into thinking he was qualified and registered with the Gas Safe Register to install their new gas boiler. Malcolm Riley was contacted by the couple who believed he was a registered gas fitter, after their boiler started making worrying noises. After inspecting the boiler and identifying problems he then charged the couple £1,700 to fit a new boiler. He used details of another gas fitter, who had carried out the annual gas safety checks on his own home and forged his signature to give the impression the work had been carried out by someone registered with the Gas Safe Register. HSE Inspector David Norton said, “Gas work has the potential to cost lives if it is not carried out properly. That’s why it’s a legal requirement for gas fitters to be members of the Gas Safe Register. “Mr Riley used fake documents to give the impression he was qualified to fit the boiler but in fact it was only luck that no one was harmed as a result of his work.”