If gas boilers aren’t serviced regularly they become inefficient, using more fuel, and they are also more prone to breakdowns when you need them most as the weather turns cold. But that’s not all, if not regularly maintained, boilers can also become dangerous, giving off harmful fumes that could make you and your family ill, or even prove deadly. It’s therefore important to have your boiler checked and serviced regularly and to have any necessary repairs carried out by a reputable engineer.
You might be tempted to just pick a gas engineer from the phonebook or a web search, but this can be risky. You might find someone good, but there are some unscrupulous people around who claim to be gas engineers but in fact, aren’t and who carry out unsatisfactory and even dangerous work.
Many people fall victim to these scammers and it’s reckoned that as many as one in five homes may have dangerous appliances as a result. So, what can you do to ensure that any boiler engineer you use is reputable and properly qualified?
Gas Safe
At one time the mark of a qualified gas engineer was that they were registered with CORGI (the Confederation Of Registered Gas Installers). However, in 2009 CORGI was replaced by the Gas Safe Register.
The Gas Safe Register is an official accreditation scheme for all gas engineers in the UK. Anyone can visit the www.gassaferegister.co.uk website to check if an engineer is registered. All registered engineers are issued with a Gas Safe Register ID card and you should also ask to see the engineer’s ID when they arrive at your property to ensure they’re registered to do the job.
Finding an engineer
When you are looking for someone to carry out a boiler service Gloucester firms such as http://www.hprservicesltd.com/gloucester-boilers/boiler-service-gloucester/ use only Gas Safe registered engineers.
You should always check with any firm that you employ that they do so. It’s also a good idea to look for local recommendations if you can. Ask your friends and neighbours who they use to service their boilers. Don’t be taken in by a glossy advert or a slick website, look at independent review sites to see what other people think and as above check to see that engineers are on the Gas Safe register.
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