FORCE
for which they are not qualified which in some areas can lead to a danger of loss of life. Although a rogue painter and decorator may leave you out of pocket and with an unsightly living room, using a rogue electrician or gas fitter could kill you and your family. If you are employing the use of an electrician then it is absolutely essential that you are using a fully trained and qualified trader. When we employ an electrician to work on our property, we usually take it as a given that they have the requisite skills to do their job in a manner that would never leave their customer exposed to a risk of death. This assumption could prove to be a deadly mistake so Force magazine would like to ensure that all of our readership are aware of the importance of checking the credentials of an electrician. The Electrical Safety Council recently revealed that there are some 20,000 non-registered electricians operating in the UK and that people are actively using them without checking their credentials. Further investigation has shown a third of people have hired someone to carry out electrical work on their house or workplace based on a the recommendation of a friend, without verifying their ability to carry out the work legally and safely. What to Check Under no circumstances should you use the services of an electrician unless you have verified that they are:
• Able to complete work safely and to legally required standards • Capable of working to the very latest health and safety regulations • Able to provide you with the necessary certificates to demonstrate the regulatory compliance of the work they do. These certificates may be requested by tenants, insurance providers and solicitors and may be needed if you are looking to let or come to sell your property. Unfortunately, people are killed every year by the actions of rogue electricians – please don’t become one of them! The figures are astonishing but did you know that over a million jobs are carried out annually by unqualified gas fitters? This is putting an incredible amount of families at risk of death by anything from carbon monoxide poisoning to gas fires and even explosions. The only gas registration scheme in the UK is Gas Safe and you should never employ the services of anyone not registered with them. As with the problem of using rogue electricians, many people simply take the word of a friend or family member that the person they are using does a good job, without thinking of the possible consequences. It is a legal requirement when carrying out work on a gas appliance that the trader is on the Gas Safe Register. gas
Federation of Regional Crime Enforcement
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker