Are Corgi trying to kill...

[n2o]

...the goose that is laying the golden eggs for them?

If they succeed with this latest scheme I suspect that a lot of registered installers will become unregistered installers. This will mean reduced income for Corgi via the annual fee system so they will have to introduce even more stealthy ways of generating their income off the backs of the registered installer. This will cause a downward spiral with the remaining registered installers footing the ever increasing bill.

 

[TexMex]

For those of us not in the know, could you explain what this latest scheme is please.

 

[PEDANTICVINDICTIVEMAN]

From April 2005 the registered installer is going to have to charge his customers a fee for any gas appliances fitted or exchanged and send the money to CORGI who are goint to do craap all in return this is on top of the annual fee registered fitters already pay to corgi and already pass onto there customers, the customer is going to pay twice for the same thing (nothing) and the fitter is the money collecter on CORGI's behalf.

 

[ChrisR]

SO when charging say £30 - £40 for installing a new cooker, the guy will have to take money from the customer to pass to corgi, and fill in forms, and get to post it. The fee looks like £5, plus whatever the installer feels is right for the administrative hassle, say another fiver.

For that the customer gets a bit of paper from corgi to say that the cooker was properly installed because it was a corgi guy who did it. What a nonsense.

Unregisterd installers can just take the £10 and blame corgi for losing the form!

The half-baked scheme isn't fully announced yet, but the implication seems to be that corgi will be able to write to customers asking to see installations. I hope they get told to go to hell.

There's going to be a lot of fuss - active discussions currently on the gas-news.co.uk site forum

 

[walkingonsunshine]

Yep it's a big con under the guise of improved safety, but everyone in the gas industry can see it's just corgi doing a scam. The reason the installers are angry is they get to be the tax collector in the scam.
It would be nice if some investigative jounalist done a piece on it as it will not stand up to the slightest scrutiny

 

[corgiman]

SO when charging say £30 - £40 for installing a new cooker, the guy will have to take money from the customer to pass to corgi, and fill in forms, and get to post it. The fee looks like £5, plus whatever the installer feels is right for the administrative hassle, say another fiver.

For that the customer gets a bit of paper from corgi to say that the cooker was properly installed because it was a corgi guy who did it. What a nonsense.

Unregisterd installers can just take the £10 and blame corgi for losing the form!

The half-baked scheme isn't fully announced yet, but the implication seems to be that corgi will be able to write to customers asking to see installations. I hope they get told to go to hell.

There's going to be a lot of fuss - active discussions currently on the gas-news.co.uk site forum

HERE HERE.

I cannoy say how much I agree with Chris here

Corgi=money making, good for nothing, unsupportive and downright weak bunch of wotsits

 

[kevplumb]

just thought id throw my two penneth in totally agree just another scam
as soon as you mention saftey they(corgi) get away with it everytime

 

[ArtfulBodger]

I would just like to say - me too.

 

[wickerman667]

I am a training plumber and i was thinking in the future to become corgi reg'd, but after all the bad press about corgi its beginning to look less desirable. Another thing is that to become corgi reg'd you have to have experience to become knowledgeable to do ACS, but how can you get experience? Its a very vicious circle colleges and CORGI need to work out.

 

[kevplumb]

try following the link your veiws are welcome as well

 

[weargas]

Surely the customer can just ring the number on the Corgi ID card (you know, the thing they made a big fuss about a couple of years ago but not enough to make everybody ask you for it) before the appliance is installed to confirm the validity of the installer. This would only cost the customer only a few pence instead of a few pounds. They could then have piece of mind that it has been installed by a competant person.
If the gas regs change in such a way that it makes a formerly corgi certified installation become ntcs will Corgi send an updated certificate to the gas user? Will they leave it up to the customer to contact the original installer and grief him/her because another installer has informed them that their installation doesn't conform to the regs in force?

Smells like a very unpopular get rich quick scheme to me.


Think about it CORGI,
STOP STORES SELLING GAS APPLIANCES/FITTINGS TO ANYONE WHO DOESN'T POSSESS A CORGI ID CARD!!!

Incidently, how many installers actually get asked for their ID card on a regular basis???? I have been asked only once since the card scheme began. Perhaps if CORGI advertised the card id scheme in somewhere other than trade magazines the general public will know that it exists.

 

[ChrisR]

Never been asked for mine.

Ther was a safety review a few years ago which asked the public about restricting sales to corgi only. Definitely a non starter, far too big-brotherish. Also you'd have to do the same with car brake parts to give just one example, but it would in fact have to cover stacks of things.

Trouble is, only 40 people a year are killed by gas related incidents. No breakdown on that is available I believe, but we certainly don't know how many are related to diy issues. Probably very few. Against that, eg, hundreds die just falling down stairs - would you want 2 government approved handrails in your house?

 

[PEDANTICVINDICTIVEMAN]

I think tony is wonderful and I am hoping he will send round big lorries full of cotton wool and wrap us all up nice and cosy so nothing happens to us, then if I trip over I wont hurt my liddle toesy woesys, baaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrfffffffffffff

 

[kevplumb]

asked twice most people dont know you have one
says it all

 

[Registered Gas Man]

Never been asked eithier!! In 3 yrs of reg.

I'm only 25. With my youthful appearance and being self employed i expected ppl to ask for it regularly!!