HETAS - is it just another certification scam?

[tom.harrigan]

I've recently had a wood burning cooker installed. The installation process involved lining the flue, connecting the cooker, and providing the air supply. The HETAS certificate was not forthcoming so I chased up the installer, whose credentials I had checked on the HETAS website and with the company that sold me the cooker.

I was told that certification would cost me another =A3175 (I'd already paid 10 times that!) and that, "didn't I remember discussing the issue and agreeing I would do building control myself?" I wasn't happy, so the MD of the firm suggested I accept a fraudulent certificate. I have just received the certificate that contains the following inaccuracies.

1. Twin wall flexible liner. - it isn't!

2.Permanently open air vent fitted. - it wasn't (and still isn't)!

And on the safety information plate, there's another porky:

1. Nominal diameter 6". - it isn't.

I could have installed the cooker myself for a fraction of the cost, but decided for safety sake to go down the official route. My conclusion is that the installers aren't certified for the type of flue they did install, despite the HETAS website saying they are ( I checked before giving them the job), so they have just lied.

Now I have a dodgy certificate, I don't know whether its best just to accept it or pursue the matter further?

T

[hg]

I was told that certification would cost me another £175 (I'd already paid 10 times that!) and that, "didn't I remember discussing the issue and agreeing I would do building control myself?" I wasn't happy, so the MD of the firm suggested I accept a fraudulent certificate. I have just received the certificate that contains the following inaccuracies.

1. Twin wall flexible liner. - it isn't!

2.Permanently open air vent fitted. - it wasn't (and still isn't)!

And on the safety information plate, there's another porky:

1. Nominal diameter 6". - it isn't.

I could have installed the cooker myself for a fraction of the cost, but decided for safety sake to go down the official route. My conclusion is that the installers aren't certified for the type of flue they did install, despite the HETAS website saying they are ( I checked before giving them the job), so they have just lied.

Now I have a dodgy certificate, I don't know whether its best just to accept it or pursue the matter further?

T

pursue the matter with hetas and your local building control...why would they want to issue a dodgy certificate if every thing is legit? Your insurance company may take a dim view if some thing goes wrong and things are not in order..

[Rod]

So they have gone from simply not providing to overt fraud. Report. Trading standards. HETAS. Building Control.

[tom.harrigan]

The HETAS registered company don't want to issue a certificate for the liner they installed for some reason. They tried to put me off by charging a ridiculous amount, but decided to go down the fraudulent certificate route instead.

Despite the HETAS website saying they are competent in "all types of chimney lining", they probably are only certified for stainless steel.

T

[dom]

Your points 1,2 and 3 are LEGAL REQUIREMENTS. The building regs specify solid fuel appliances MUST be twin wall, MUST have permanently open vents, MUST be 6" or more diameter.

What was specified in the contract? I'd be reaching for a lawyer in your position - and shopping them to building control. And as they've proposed a fraud - possibly the police.

If they've fitted a single wall liner intended for gas appliances, it may well fail in a few years time - there's damn good reasons for most of the building regs requirements.

[Tim S]

[e-mail] coughed up some electrons that declared:

Time to phone HETAS then. If one's paid a premium for a clan-member, one

*should* seek satisfaction IMHO.

I stuck all foreseeable flue work on my BNA, so I'll be DIY'ing my flue liner, with a bit of advice from the (ironically HETAS registered) fire 'n' stove shop down the road (who despite being registered installed, seem most willing to assist the DIYer - got taken in the workshop last time and shown all the relevant bits I'd be needing).

Cheers

Tim

[Onetap]

I'm no expert, but seem to recall there is a danger of chimney fires with wood burning stoves. I'd be inclined to suspect they've installed a cheap flue liner that isn't suitable for the intended purpose and now are understandably reluctant to provide a written statement of what they have installed.

Find someone competent, get a statement of what is wrong with the work, sue them for the remedial works. Contact Hetas and state your displeasure with their recommended installer. See if they can provide some names.

[tom.harrigan]

Actually, points 1 and 3 aren't legal requirements. The installed flue is a cast in situ refractory concrete liner, the diameter being 7".

They not only proposed a fraud, but I have the fraudulent certificate, and the fraudulent safety information notice.

[dom]

My misunderstanding - I read it as meaning they had installed an undersized stainless steel liner of a grade not intended for solid fuel use.

[tom.harrigan]

I believe the flue to be fit for purpose. There's even a box on the HETAS form for a cast in situ liner. The more I think about it, the more I'm of the opinion that the company has let that part of their HETAS registration lapse, and are covering their backs.

The irony is that the company is called something like CastInSituLiners-R-Us and are part of a national franchise network of the same name.

Nevertheless, fraudulent HETAS forms are one thing, not providing external combustion air is quite another!