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What does "***** registered" mean ?

2.6K views 19 replies 11 participants last post by  JohnsCrossMotorHomes  
#1 ·
When a trader advertises himself as - for example- " Corgi Registered" what exactly does that mean ?

Does it mean he has been on a course run by that firm or organisation and has been certified by them as competent to install or service their product ?

Does he buy the qualification after writing to the firm or organisation and having his name added to their registration list ?

Do the firm or body with whom he has registered have any clout if he does some work for someone and it goes wrong ?

Thanks

G
 
#2 ·
Corgi registered is now Gas Safe or similiar.

It means the person has attended and passed an aproved training course in all aspects of gas supply, installation and testing for safety.

A Corgi registered personis the only one who can issue test/safety certificates for landlords and for example in the leisure industry any motorhome used for commercial hire.


Peter
 
#3 ·
I'm not 100% but I am sure it is to do with plumbing and heating. And that a person of such a trade is registered to deal with Gas installations such as boillers etc.
Not sure if it is by law, but know that the course costs around ÂŁ3000 to do and yes there is a register somewhere.
 
#4 ·
Thanks both...so what if a trader advertises himself as registered to in another field than gas installations ? Is it always the same- ie they have been on a course in the skills needed for that particular product ?

I'm going round in circles so I'll be specific.

We want to alter a bit of the layout of the pipes connected to a Truma boiler. If we choose a Truma registered trader to do it is he likely to have been checked out by Truma ? Does that mean that non-Truma registered have not ?

G

Edit: If it makes this clearer then NCC is another example. Do all dealers /traders dealing with vans go for NCC registration ?
 
#6 ·
Grizzly said:
Thanks both...so what if a trader advertises himself as registered to in another field than gas installations ? Is it always the same- ie they have been on a course in the skills needed for that particular product ?
I'm going round in circles so I'll be specific.
We want to alter a bit of the layout of the pipes connected to a Truma boiler. If we choose a Truma registered trader to do it is he likely to have been checked out by Truma ? Does that mean that non-Truma registered have not ?
G
Debatable there are a number of Trade Organisations that people or firms can join but that does not mean they are qualified or for that matter any good at what they do.

For example I once joined the Institute of Directors and got some fancy letters after my name.............................. any one could join, so big deal.

As to altering the layout of the pipes on a Truma whilst none of my fitter are Corgi registered, they and Johns Cross are an approved Service Centre and the lads regularly go on Truma courses same as other approved Truma Service centres do.

Our rental fleet we have a Corgi registered fitter come each year to issue Cerftificates as its not worth the expense to send one of ours on a Corgi course.

Peter
 
#8 ·
The new 'Gas Safe' register that has replaced Corgi (corgi is no longer valid) is a registration scheme that regulates, checks both qualifications and quality of workmanship and sets standards of gas fitters. A gas fitter cannot legally work without this registration.

The scheme is regulated through the HSE.

Registration costs around ÂŁ190 per year, and will include checks into qualifications and regular refreshers to ensure up to date standards are met. They also deal with any complaints.

The new scheme regsiters under seperate sections. These include domestic boilers, mains gas, lpg domestic, caravan/motorhome lpg, natural gas etc - each section is different and the engineer can be in as many sections as he is QUALIFIED to do.

Interestingly - an LPG fitter than does commercial kitchens, cannot test the gas on your motorhome, as this is a seperate section requiring additional training and qualifications.
 
#9 ·
You always have to be careful! Many alarm installers advertised (some still do :roll: ) VSIB Which is "Vehicle Security Installation Board"

I would never allow any in our company to enrol as although I was asked to write the Code of Practice for Leisure Vehicles when the VSIB was first started, it was privately owned and a money making organization.

Consequently it had no teeth, and not enough money to police the industry as it should. In fact in 1998 it had to be baled out with a cash lump sump from the main four alarm manufactures who then controlled the purse strings. A huge conflict of interest

It went bust in 2009 and at the moment Thatcham who are owned by the ABI (association of British Insurers) are taking control of the situation. The have set up a small working group (of which I am privileged to be part of) and new industry rules will be announce very soon.

So up till the latter part of this year, many in the trade and lots of public thought that the VSIB was the industry watchdog (some even advertised VSIB the same as CORGI :wink: ) However this was never the case.

I would always check with an organizations "head office" before taking anything as read by way of professional organizations.

Eddie
 
#10 ·
Thank you all...Apologies, I think I've tried to be non-specific and so have muddled my whole question.

I'm not just interested in gas registration - I gave that as an example- but there are so many traders who say they are registered with one body or another and I wonder if this means that they are especially qualified or trained and so I should choose them over another.

Does it also mean that if anything goes wrong the registering organisation will help the customer ?


G
 
#12 ·
Grizzly said:
Thank you all...Apologies, I think I've tried to be non-specific and so have muddled my whole question.

I'm not just interested in gas registration - I gave that as an example- but there are so many traders who say they are registered with one body or another and I wonder if this means that they are especially qualified or trained and so I should choose them over another.

Does it also mean that if anything goes wrong the registering organisation will help the customer ?

G
G

Would it not be better to state what work you want doing and see if someone could reccomend?
If not I will be quiet and go away :lol:

Hope you get it sorted

Steve

Apologies I have just noticed this is in the Trade thread :oops:
Can we not make it stand out in some way?
 
#13 ·
bevdrew said:
The law in the UK states: If your Truma boiler runs on gas then any work done to it or the gas pipes supplying it MUST be completed by a Gas Safe-registered technician, who has the relevant certificates to work on that category of appliance, whether he/she works for Truma or somebody else.

Link to Gas Safe wedsite here: http://www.gassaferegister.co.uk/

Hope this helps.

Bev
Thanks Bev...I didn't know that. Very useful.

Sorry Steve. I was trying to be non-specific at that point as I didn't know quite what the rules of the new thread were.

t this moment we are interested -as I said earlier- in re-routing the flue pipe of the Truma boiler to give us some space in the locker it is fitted in. The boiler and it's flue, gas and water supply and hot air pipes are in the middle of a 6ft by 3 ft locker so there is plenty of space if we could do a bit of re-routing to avoid squashing pipes.

A local mobile motorhome repair man is Truma registered according to his website and it would be very convenient to use him. We've heard nothing at all about him - pro or anti- and wondered if his Truma registration means he has been vetted by Truma. He is named on their website in their delaers list.

I'm also interested, as I said, in what other trade bodies mean when they register someone.

G
 
#14 ·
Grizzly said:
Thank you all...Apologies, I think I've tried to be non-specific and so have muddled my whole question.

I'm not just interested in gas registration - I gave that as an example- but there are so many traders who say they are registered with one body or another and I wonder if this means that they are especially qualified or trained and so I should choose them over another.

Does it also mean that if anything goes wrong the registering organisation will help the customer ?

G
Hi Grizzly,

This is a question that cannot be answered simply, as some registrations are required by law and regulation, and many are just organisations for which anyone can join, and the amount of training and qualification can vary from comprehensive, to none at all.

As a guide, working on gas (of any sort), mains electricity, mains water, are generally governed by HSE and various other regulators and law.

There are also regulations governed by law for the building industry. Many others are not governed at all, and most organisations, other than those controlled by regulation and law, have no or little clout, if anything goes wrong.

Some of these non-regulated institutions may assist in rectification work or proceedings against the defaulter, but very few have any legal entity, and can only put limited pressure on the defaulter.

Someone (individual or company) recommended by a particular manufacturer or supplier, MAY have had some training on the product/s they supply, but this alone is no guarantee of their ability. If a company is recommended, then they are only as good as the employee who deals with you. With regard to Gas-Safe, it is each individual that undergoes the courses and has to pass each element to be qualified in each field that they cover.

The only recommendation before any work is carried out, is to check the organisation/s they say they are covered by, and ask specific questions of that organisation as to what cover they give, if things go wrong!

As you can see, there is no cut-and-dry answer!

HTH

Michael (TR5)

NB. If someone works on a gas appliance, whether on the gas side or otherwise, they must be a QUALIFIED person - i.e. be a registered Gas-Safe installer, covering that particular type of gas installation. Incidentally, any gas installer working on a specific part of a gas installation in a domestic or industrial situation, is then responsible for the safety of the whole installation, including parts/area's he is not working on, and so should carry out safety tests on the whole installation, upon completion. I would assume this is the same for LPG installations. (It certainly was when I was CORGI registered, but that was a few years ago)
 
#15 ·
Rainbow-Chasers said:
The new 'Gas Safe' register that has replaced Corgi (corgi is no longer valid)
Corgi is still valid and GENUINE Corgi registrations may still be around for another couple of years. The reason is that Gas Safe has not taken on Corgi. The two can run in tandem. Corgi registration was purchased in 3 or 4 year blocks, so someone who purchased a registration just before the switch over still has a valid registration and is not required to be Gas Safe.

My father is currently Corgi Registered and that registration does not expire until Apr 2010.
 
#16 ·
Grizzly said:
bevdrew said:
The law in the UK states: If your Truma boiler runs on gas then any work done to it or the gas pipes supplying it MUST be completed by a Gas Safe-registered technician, who has the relevant certificates to work on that category of appliance, whether he/she works for Truma or somebody else.

Link to Gas Safe wedsite here: http://www.gassaferegister.co.uk/

Hope this helps.

Bev
Thanks Bev...I didn't know that. Very useful.

Sorry Steve. I was trying to be non-specific at that point as I didn't know quite what the rules of the new thread were.

t this moment we are interested -as I said earlier- in re-routing the flue pipe of the Truma boiler to give us some space in the locker it is fitted in. The boiler and it's flue, gas and water supply and hot air pipes are in the middle of a 6ft by 3 ft locker so there is plenty of space if we could do a bit of re-routing to avoid squashing pipes.

A local mobile motorhome repair man is Truma registered according to his website and it would be very convenient to use him. We've heard nothing at all about him - pro or anti- and wondered if his Truma registration means he has been vetted by Truma. He is named on their website in their delaers list.

I'm also interested, as I said, in what other trade bodies mean when they register someone.

G
I think you have inadvertantly answered your own question - he is on their dealer list - anyone can be a dealer in a product, and receive product training, BUT he MUST be gas safe registered with the relevant section - which I beleive is LPG caravans.

That does not say he has not got the skills, but should you have a fire, and it was modified by someone who was not under the gas safe scheme, then I am sure the insurance would be all to happy to use that as an excuse not to pay out!

I am sure if you asked, he would have a gas safe card!
 
#17 ·
Andysam said:
Rainbow-Chasers said:
The new 'Gas Safe' register that has replaced Corgi (corgi is no longer valid)
Corgi is still valid and GENUINE Corgi registrations may still be around for another couple of years. The reason is that Gas Safe has not taken on Corgi. The two can run in tandem. Corgi registration was purchased in 3 or 4 year blocks, so someone who purchased a registration just before the switch over still has a valid registration and is not required to be Gas Safe.

My father is currently Corgi Registered and that registration does not expire until Apr 2010.
I think suggesting that you "purchase" a block is giving the wrong impression that you buy your way in - not true!

Certainly when I was registered, you had to sit courses and/or tests which you pass or fail, for each element of gas qualification you require, every 5 years. Inbetween time, you are subject to inspections by qualified gas personnel, usually annually, which includes you carrying out specified work and answer questions, as designated by the inspector, that work and questioning geared to the level of elements you are qualified to carry out.

Yes, you have to pay (dearly) for the courses and examinations, especially industrial ones, and yes, you have an annual registration fee - and I assume this is still the same, BUT you have to be competent to pass the examinations, whatever the fee you pay, or you do not get your certification.

CORGI was originally a voluntary organisation, formed after a major gas explosion at Ronan Point, London, killing several people, and deemed to have been caused by incompetency of gas installation work. Most courses were run by The Gas Board (later BG) until about 1990, when the HSE determined that it was to become compulsary, and initially those who had 5 years plus experience was deemed competent. Over the next 5 years, the examinations became compulsary for all, however many years you have worked on gas, and 16 separate elements were formed, later expanding to somewhere around 40 +, covering most types of gas safety and installations, both domestic and industrial.

LPG was not originally included, and this was phased in later.

2008 saw the GB gas scheme put in a public tender process with Capita announced as the successful bidder. From 1st April 2009 the mandatory gas scheme started operating under the "Gas Safe Register" brand. However, CORGI remained to operate mandatory gas schemes in Northern Ireland and Channel Islands.

In 2009, CORGI introduced a new voluntary membership for registered gas installers in England, Scotland and Wales to benefit from. The members of new quality scheme are not only gas competent (members of Gas Safe Register) but in addition to this, committed to providing excellent customer service, which is what every home owner expects from a CORGI installer.

I would guess that all current CORGI registration holders are automatically accepted as GAS SAFE REGISTER members, and be required to carry a Gas Safe I.D. card, until their current certificate runs out, at which time they must become fully fledged members of the GAS SAFE REGISTER, by the same (or similar) process as the original CORGI requirements.
Presuming the timescale between certificates being issued is still 5 years, then this is the timescale that it will take before all old CORGI certificates run out.
 
#19 ·
There's been a number of things said on this thread which don't align with my understanding, but I wouldn't claim to be an expert either.

Firstly, being CORGI registered is no longer legally sufficient to work on domestic installations, even for a transitional period. See Gas Safe's site.

Secondly, as I understand it at least, there is currently no requirement for Gas-Safe registration to work on motorhome installations...the requirement is for the fitter to be "competent" (whatever that means). However, hold the press...according to this month's MMM magazine from 31st December NCC will insist that approved workshops for working on gas (defined as "breaking into the gas system") must have one technician on an Accredited Certification Scheme...which I assume means Gas-Safe.
 
#20 ·
Hi,

There is no legal requirement believe it or not but obviously any Insurance Company will be hot foot if there are any problems.

There is also no requirement with the Truma Service Agency.

But it is a requirement if you are an NCC aproved workshop to have trained fitters with a Gas Competent Certificate issued by CITO.

It is a legal requirement where Motor Home Rental vans are concerned to be checked on an annual basis by a Corgi or Gas Safe certified fitter.

Peter