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I forgot to let you all know about this one, it amused me a bit:
https://nwar.co.uk/index.php/blog/fail-before-start
K.
I might be wrong… But are DASA or WTA still even operating? The industry is crying out for proper regulation. . You need to be gas safe registered to fix a boiler, but you dont need anything to fix an appliance, even something like a microwave which could easily kill someone. I see it as someone trying to actually do something to this dying trade.
The WTA is still alive.
DASA I don’t know but suspect it’s died.
However, be careful what you wish for as regulation, whilst it might seem like a good idea, actually has a lot of downsides to it. And, as someone rightly pointed out at one stage, we dont’ kill enough people to be worth bothering about.
Which is no bad thing when you think about it.
K.
What are the downsides? (Not arguing genuinely interested)
As for not killing enough people. Wasn’t it dodgy fridge wiring that started Grenfell?
For one, if you have legislature, then you have to have a governing body, sorta like Gas Safe and you’d have to pay for it and pay to be qualified. I can guarantee that most repairers will not want the cost.
Manufacturers et all, won’t pay for it, why do they need it?
Then you’d be working to a strict code, need specialist equipment I expect that will have an upkeep cost and so on.
That’s just the start of the cost side of things.
It wasn’t a fridge that caused Grenfell to be the disaster; as such, there were a number of factors. However, it is stated to have been the initial cause by faulty wiring in a fridge freezer, though quite how or why I don’t know. In any event, it wasn’t caused by a repairer, so it has nothing to do with the repair side of things. However, it all pans out.
K.
I see what you mean, you would hope though that if this was the case repair costs would go up to match, It isn’t cheap to get a boiler fixed or a gas hob fitted because of the costs for legislation.
There does need to be some way In which manufacturers and the public can find quality engineers though, that have a record of training or recommendations.
Ive had a couple customers lately that couldn’t get an engineer out even though the product was still in warranty!
And there’s the next problem, CORGI (that many hailed as a great idea) then Gas Safe presumed it’d have the effect that you appear to want.
Only problem is, all it’s done is kill the trade with a great many no longer doing any gas work and, if you can get someone, it’s expensive. I’ve even heard of heating repairers giving it up as it’s too much hassle.
Worse still, due to all the legislation and training requirements it’s nigh on impossible to get appliance techs trained to be able to do gas at all. If you can get trained so you are “qualified” to work on a gas hob or cooker you’re looking at a cost in the £6-9K range and, you’ll have to do that every five years or so. It’s not worth it so, nobody does it.
All this kinda stuff has come up over the years a number of times and invariably, when you drill down into it all, what initially seems like a good and simple idea to protect the more reputable traders turns quickly into a nightmare few want any part of.
K.
electricians with part P is a bit the same. all the thing they are chacking for are the mistakes i dont make because i was trained properly
lost track of how many burnt out sockets i have seen due to poor installation.
also annual checks is money for old rope. who forgets how to do your job in 12 months
Dave
Indeed.
Whilst it’s frustrating, and I do get it, these things really need to be thought through, and as much as possible, any consequences worked out before you implement anything at all. Otherwise, you might just come to regret it.
K.
The White Goods Register is run by the White Goods Training Academy, via their rather grandly named Institute of White Goods Engineers. Registration requires a subscription of £50+Vat per year, with the colour of the badge being upgraded after 5 years of trading and again after 10.
There is no detail on requirements for registration, other than the need to have attended an unspecified type of white goods repair training. Attendance on their own 7 day course certianly seems sufficient. The register can investigate complaints (in relation to safety only) and take “sanctions” against registered engineers, but can’t mediate for customers. They don’t check criminal records or check insurance for public liability.
The search facility brings up no registered engineers (or members of the Institute of White Goods Engineers) within 300 miles of my home. So either there are no registered repairers in England and Wales so far, or the website is broken. So all things considered, the benefit overall to consumers appears limited.
The thing is, all that everyone really wants is a better service, at least us and consumers but an awful lot, if not most all, commercial clients want service to meet their requirements as cheaply as possible. So adding this or any other costs onto that won’t fly with them
Another lengthy one here though it’s worth reading the two before it first:
https://nwar.co.uk/index.php/blog/poor-rates-poor-service
K.
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