Dear Bethan,
I have had a few nightmare customers. One spoke to manufacturer and was given the part no for pcb. They ordered it in and called us to fit it, we only found out once engineer arrived. We fitted the pcb and the fault was still there.
He accused us of damaging the new pcb. I replied and told him the pcb was not the problem, but the style of gas valve. A little water gets onto the terminals and causes the problem.” He argued that the manufacturer always knows best and I was talking rubbish. He didn’t want to pay and wanted us to replace his new pcb, as we must have damaged it.
I pointed to the water, then I dried it out, put the old pcb in the boiler and the boiler worked. Now that was great, but he wanted to pay me with a pcb. I said no and told him to sort the pcb issue with the manufacturer who discussed the fault with a non qualified person and resulted in financial loss. In the end he would not pay us as it was pcb or nothing. I had no idea where it came from, or whether it was a refurb.
This is why manufactures should stick to selling to the trade, as here we suffered financial loss due to their wrong diagnosis on a phone to an unqualified person. Car manufacturers don’t provide diagnosis or part number to the public undermining their dealer, but it seems it’s ok to undermine gas engineers and destroy any profit in our businesses.
I also enclose a brief item for you consideration and ask that you question HSENI and Gas Safe why NI gets a second rate service for the same money.
If you want a story ask HSENI when they contracted Gas Safe why they took on public awareness and marketing and public awareness out of the contract. In Mainland UK Gas Safe carries out public awareness and media, but in NI HSENI is meant to do billboards, radio, ads etc. However, they have axed the budget. So Gas Safe registered engineers pay the same as mainland UK, but only get half Services, no building control notification, Gas Safe events.
The public awareness campaign is effectively free marketing denied to NI, but still paying for it in fees. How can a government department saddle businesses with cost which place them at a disadvantage and reduce safety of the public.
We don’t get building control notification, so instead of £3 or £5, we have to pay up to £150 for a non trained inspector to come out and have a look, with no formal training in gas, oil, renewables.
They also have a gas safety working group made up of two LPG suppliers, two Natural Gas companies, one member from one council, Gas Safe inspector and HSENI, and no one from trade body or any trade input at all. Would be like a builders safety working group without any builders?
Do an FOI and wait and see dodging of direct answers. Their contract is up one year after GB and we would like to get the same service for the same money we pay.
Regards,
Gasmanni