help please

[persistent king]

Hi im Brian mod on the flooring forum, I was wondering if you could give me some advice plz. Ive had a log burner fitted by a guy I thought I could trust but when there was no breeze outside a dreft blew down the flu so I had to open the front door to get the breeze blowing up otherwise when I lit it smoke would blow in my lounge.He told me to warm it with a blow torch to warm it up , so I got a seconed opinion from a company who specialize in fitting them . theyb asked me did I get a certificate and was he hetas registard I asked him the question but he said he was in the plumbing and heating assoc and he could give a certificate because of this and he would give me one that I still haven't received , on the inspection they told me he had gone horizontal 800mm instead of on a 45 diigree there was a pipe joined in the cavity and it wasn't twin lined going through the wall ,there was to many bends in the flue and the harth wasn't deep enough. he came back and took the fire out and I got the harth re done to the correct size but he wont come back to fix the pipework and refit the fire or give me a certificate.i am going to take him to small claimes court but I feel he needs stopping fitting these , so what can I do to report him and who do I report him to as I feel cowboys like this like in my trade need to be stamped out. Regards Brian.

 

[WHPES]

Trading Standards

Local Authority Building Control (they can prosecute him if he has done work which is supposed to be notifiable and hasn't been done in accordance to Building Regs or other standards.

HSE

HETAS (they can only take action if he is registered which he probably isn't).

Unfortunately somebody usually has to die of CO poisoning before any serious action is taken.

 

[persistent king]

ive tried to keepm it brief and short nas I can , there is a lot more he has done wrong but bthe fire is the main one

 

[WHPES]

First port of call for advice would be Trading Standards, then your LABC

 

[SimonG]

Did he fit ventilation and a co detector. HETAS won't be interested as it sounds as though he's not a registered installer. Trading standards or citizens advice as a first port of call.

 

[WHPES]

LABC may want to make an example of him as it's notifiable work not done according to Building Regulations etc.

 

[persistent king]

Whats LABC and HSC and no I had to buy a carbon monoxide alarm after thanks for the replies

 

[persistent king]

he has taken my money and the company that did the inspection said it is unsafe to use

 

[WHPES]

LABC - Local Authority Building Control Dept
HSE - Health and Safety Executive (more dealing with workplace issues but they sometimes get involved with fuel safety issues)

You have a strong case if you can prove in court that the installation is "not fit for purpose". You will need a report from the registered company who inspected it saying so. I would expect that the original installer would be liable for any cost for any remedial work to make the installation conform plus any making good, rather than being made to refund the amount they charged you.

 

[persistent king]

that's fantastic mate thank you very much , I will ring traiding standatds and building controle and HSE tomorrow and see what they say , I have lots of proof he fitted it

 

[WHPES]

Because the work is notifiable, you should have a stronger case than simply for poor workmanship.

The main battle is of course getting the money out of the company once a court judgement has been made in your favour.

A number of LABCs are undertaking a crackdown on rogue tradesmen doing notifiable work at the moment.

 

[persistent king]

he is a soul trader

 

[WHPES]

[sole] trader. The other is St Peter! (was the punchline in an old joke....)

 

[persistent king]

if I could spell I wouldn't be fitting flooring haha

 

[WHPES]

Joking aside, get someone you know to proof read through any correspondence you have with any organisation or individual regarding this issue to make sure it's all correct as everything needs to be correct and accurate.

 

[persistent king]

he also fitted my bathroom suite the pump isn't strong enough the sink that is fixed to the wall free standing is bent and to low so I cant get a vanity unit small enough and the bath panel on the p shaped bath isn't fitted correctly and water is making it bubble as when you stand in the baqth it drops slightly because he didn't fill it with water before he sealed it and fit my shower screen

 

[WHPES]

You need to get a report done detailing everything not done properly and a cost for putting it right including any making good.

Common bodges (amongst others) to watch out for are the shower tray not sealed properly and plasterboard instead of cement board behind the tiles in the shower.

 

[SafeGasInstall]

that's fantastic mate thank you very much , I will ring traiding standatds and building controle and HSE tomorrow and see what they say , I have lots of proof he fitted it

ask for all you money back from installer , and tell him he has two options money back in full or you on the phone to trading standards

 

[persistent king]

its funny im very attention for detail with flooring and am very good at my job and passionate about flooring so I didn't go for the cheapest like most do , I just trusted him and didn't know anything about hetas etc ... just thought he knew his stuff as you do

 

[SafeGasInstall]

why did you not come here before work took place ? we have better plumbers here then that one