do i need a Hetas cert fire installed Jan 2010

[purplecatqueen]

Hi had my multi fuel stove with back boiler fitted Jan 2010, paid a approved installer £2,000 to fit, nice job very happy with it. Only prob got a neighbor who has complained to council had letter, stating the alleged nuisance smoke, no other neighbors complained, in fact they didnt even know we had a fire. What i need to know is , i have read online that the hetas certificate was inforced on the 1st October 2010, and out fire was installed the jan 2010, so does the Hetas cert apply to us, many thanks, as seem going round in circles....any help will be gratefull, cheers

shelley

 

[Onetap]

our fire was installed the jan 2010, so does the Hetas cert apply to us,

Yes. See P. 6 of the Building Regulations, Approved Document J for details of the work that must by law be notified to the Building Control Body (local Authority).

http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/uploads/br/BR_PDF_ADJ_2010.pdf

These regulations date back to 2000, at least. Using a competent person to self-certify should ensure the installation complies with the shed-load of requirements of the Building Regulations. If you don't have the certification documents, contact the installer. If there is no straight-forward answer, stop using the appliance.

 

[purplecatqueen]

thanks very much, for the info, what a blasted nightmare, the reason we paid someone to install it, and pay £2,000 was to save us all the groundwork, far as I was concerned what ever had to be done would be done, ya only know this if your in the now how, but thanks very much for your input very helpful. have contacted the installer, back when he installed the fire, he worked for a company who he no longer works for, the company he worked for he told me to contact them, i have lest messages, via email and answer machine, but no reply to phone calls etc. So bouncing from the installer. and to the ex boss. The installer said if the company he at the time doesnt help me,will look into it, as the firm he worked for should of inspected his work, after he finished the fire, and given us the Hetas form. had we known this, i would of followed it up, so have now left message for installer to contact me. Have also rang Hetas, and they told me, it is the installer, not his ex boss i need to speak to again, they said he needs to come and inspect it again, disconnect and reconnect what ever that means???. thanks for advice

 

[gasbanni]

Its simple who did you pay for the work to be done the installer or the company that employed him ? Its who you had the contract with, not who did the work you need to speak to !

If the neighbour complains, tough if its a legal installation. if you live in a smokeless zone only certain appliances can be fitted and if you've got the wrong type you've got problems.

Is/was the guy that fitted it HETAS registered ?

 

[purplecatqueen]

I rang Hetas and checked he is reg hetas, wasnt when fitted it, as his boss was gunna come check it, but I was never told thisotherwise i would of sorted it out back then, i asked if the fitting would be Hetas approved, and was told yes through his boss, I just asked on a forum for any advice, and his boss recommended him, it was a first class fitting, and i was very happy with the service, its only now that the neighbor has kicked up, that my hubbys aunt asked us to dig out the cert, and I researched on the internet, that we need one of these certs.I am scared to light fire now.Still no answer to emails, or tel calls, from ex boss. But have left message for the fitter, someones got to bail me out of this, i paid £2,000 and too ruddy scared to light fire, we dont live in a no smoke zone, but I am pleased the neighbor has complained, as we may not of discovered this until it was too late.

 

[expertgasman]

.Still no answer to emails, or tel calls, from ex boss. But have left message for the fitter, someones got to bail me out of this, i paid £2,000 and too ruddy scared to light fire, we dont live in a no smoke zone, but I am pleased the neighbor has complained, as we may not of discovered this until it was too late.[/quote]

Did you get a receipt, did you pay by card or cheque, lor was it a "cash" job? The answer to this has a serious bearing on your options

 

[purplecatqueen]

Had a phone call from the installer,said he will come and have a look at the fire he installed, refresh his mind and make sure we havent changed it in anyway. explained he is busy, for the next 2 wks, and that he will have to give us a certificate but it will have to be dated, at the present date, as he cant issue one, for back then. It turns out his Ex boss has now retired, so looks like i have been shafted,so to get this all up to scratch will have to pay the installer another £150 for the Hetas cert, dont recall how we paid for it back in the Jan when it was installed, but will ask hubby when he gets home from work .trip to see citizens advice me thinks, see what our options are, or if its worth seeing someone independent, ie council to sigh it off build regs,as feel annoyed that have to pay the person who we paid £2000 for a job that in my books is not legal, so didnt see this coming....thanks for the advice.

 

[purplecatqueen]

forgot mention whats a registration plate???as he said he will need fit one of these???? to think for the last year we have been using a fire that, as far as red tape and regulations is not fit to use, feel so stupid, paid all that money in good faith, told it was Hetas, by his ex boss, and it turns out it wasnt, so so stupid.....................

 

[oilhead]

If you have paid a bona fide contractor to do a job that he was aware needed to be notified/certified, then claim your expenses from them. If they will not pay, use small claims court. Very little outlay, highly probable rate of success. If you paid cash in hand, and it was carried out by someone who should know better,( a professional om the 'black') you still stand a good chance of getting it through small claims. He probably won't want to get too official.
As long as the installation is compliant, the date will not matter as long as you get the certification. Don't look to building control to certify. If you do, they will employ a contractor and charge you for the privelige, both their cost and some on top!

 

[purplecatqueen]

Thanks very much for your advice, yes that what i was thinking, at what point was i told it needs to be approved, Nil just wasnt told, i so could kick myself for being taken, seems a lot of money to pay out, and off he went, never said a word about, "No you cant light this fire until, you get it looked at by someone, he made sure the fire would light, before he went to see what draw it had on it, and off he went. if it wasnt for the neighbor complaining then we would not of known, any different. will speak to hubby, he is away working, will drop the bomb shell, that the installer is asking for more money, at no point was I told he was sub contracted, by the man he so called worked for at time, I went online, found a forum, like this and just put it to anyone in the know how, I needed a stove, with back boiler fitted, and asked for any recommendations,local. Hey presto, the installer I had fit my fire etc, was told hetas reg, i now can see you can check via Hetas if they are indeed reg hetas, lesson learnt dont trust anyone, his answer to this is, his ex boss, was supposed to check work when complete, I smell a rat. So speak to hubby, and seek some advice, just seems wrong, asking us for more money, when he at no point made it clear that it needed build regs or a Hetas certificate, thought i had done it all correct, but so so wrong. cheers for advice everyone, so far.

 

[gasbanni]

You've still not made it clear, who did you pay the £2,000 to ? If you paid it to the installer and he wasn't registered tell him he took the money by deception and fitted the stove illegally.

You paid him £2,000 your not paying him a penny more, tell him you'll involve building control and hetas and as its notifiable under buliding control and he has not notified it he will get done !

He intends charging you £150 to check the work he's done !!!!!!!!

ROBDOG !!!!!!

 

[expertgasman]

forgot mention whats a registration plate???as he said he will need fit one of these????

This is actuallyu quite simple.

If you paid his boss, or his bosses company, then there is absolutely no reason why he shopuld return to inspect and certfy for free. HAS the boss retired? Was it a Ltd Co, or self employed. If a Ltd Co, which has been dissolved, then you pretty much have run out of options. If he was a sole trader, or a partnership, then his responsibility does not end just because he has stopped working, and you could sue through the Small Claims Court.

The comment that it is the installers responsibility to register the installation, rather than the boss, I beleive is completely wrong. He may be expectected to fill in the forms or paperwork on site, but the boss or his offoce staff would do the physical registrsation, and pay any fee required. (assuming that you paid the boss)

If you paid the fitter IN HIS OWN RIGHT (i.e. you may have given him the payment for him to pass to his boss), then he can not charge you for completing the work, and you should consider the SCC route.

So, you need to establish with whom your contract is, and are you in a smoke controlled area. If you are in a SC area, is yopur appliance approved for such use? Unfortunately, your posts are heavy on misery and shot on actual facts.

If he hasn't fitted a register plate: If you paid his boss, he could argue that he was instructed to fit it in that manner, and remember he wasn't HETAS reg. then, so he could argue that he ws still "in training", and that hois waork was being supervised. In this case you would struggle to bet redress.

If it was him you were paying, then he clearly should do everything for no further charge.

Of course, if you just shoved £2K in someones hand, and got no receipt, then it is a hard lesson learned. I am a little surprised that you could research the 'net for a fitter, but not research some basic consumer protection.

 

[gasbanni]

Fitting a register plate for solid fuel isn't like fitting one for gas and not so simple !

How can it have been installed correctly without one ? as seems to be the case.

Maybe its a cowboy Robdog !

 

[expertgasman]

[quote="gasbanni";p="2145776"]Fitting a register plate for solid fuel isn't like fitting one for gas and not so simple !

How can it have been installed correctly without one ? as seems to be the case.

Maybe its a cowboy Robdog ![/quote]

I don't disagree with you,Gb. But I would hazard a guess that there are plenty of stoves fitted with rockwool stuffed up rather than a plate. And, yes, they are significantly harder and more expensive to fit.

But, my point is that he WASN'T registered at the time, so HETAS will not investigate. He would say that he fitted it as instructed by his boss, and legally her contract is with the company that she paid.

EDIT:: No one has mentioned the cost of the job . £2K is a lot for an install, so probably includes the stove. EDIT: I,ve just noticed it was a wet job. Apologies


She has to establish the facts of her situation, but, personally, If I was going to pay more, I would investigate the true cost of the LA route. At least then she would have a 2nd opinion on the integrity or otherwise of the work

 

[purplecatqueen]

Thanks everyone for your input. The facts, as i have cooled down now,.

It was just to install the stove, and a fireplace, the stove has a back boiler. We bought the stove, arrow stratford.

we were happy with the job, and have been up until now, paid him cash, and at no point were given the impression he was in fact subcontracted.
When he finished the job, he lit the fire, and left, no mention of anything about his boss coming to check his work, i have just learnt this.
So we were happy with fire, as never had any heating for 2 years, so to have heat was a big deal. we dont live in a smoke free zone.

We bougt the Stove, and thought for once in our life pay someone to fit it, have lived at our address 26 years, my hubby is very handy so at best we get by doing DIY, but when we bought the Stove, it was very daunting, i came across a forum about Plumbing and mult ifuel stoves, very much like this, asked for any recomendations, a local supply and fit company, suggested that the said person, was reliable, and was hetas reg. Have learnt a few lessons of late, dont trust people, on face value, , I will only make this mistake once, i am a housewife,not a plumber, builder etc paid someone to do a job, to save us the groundwork,and the know how.

Today rang Heta's and they were very helpful. they are going to contact the person who recommended the fitter, as that is the person who is the so called ex boss. The fitter has 7 days to get back to me, and the so called boss, if they dont contact me, within the seven days then hetas are sending, me some forms to fill in, and action will be taken.