is this fraud

[saffy1]

Hi

I recently used a tradesman, who advertised on his website that all his tradesmen were trained and registered with a regulartary body.

i have since found out this is not the case. The work done was substandard.

Is it fraud to say you belong to this regulatory body and not be.

Thanks

[bluebottle]

Re: is this fraud

Hi and welcome to Legal Beagles.

In answer to your question, whilst there has been a misrepresentation of fact, it is a matter that falls within the jurisdiction of your local Trading Standards Department, not the police. You need to bring this scumbag to the attention of Trading Standards. Incidentally, which regulatory body did said scumbag say his tradesmen were trained by and registered with?

[saffy1]

Re: is this fraud

Oftec

[IanM]

Re: is this fraud

Report them to your local trading standards office, make a statement and take any physical evidence you have, like quotes/estimates, invoices/receipts, website/e-mail addresses and any photos(before and after) with you.

You may be the first victim or the last but if they have done this to other people they may have already been reported, anything you can add can help the Trading Standards build a sufficient case to get rid of cowboys(hope there's no yanks here being offended) that make life difficult for the honest ones that do things properly.

They cannot say they belong to a regulatory body unless they have an up to date membership with whichever body they say they belong to, which is easily checkable if you contact the body named. i.e., if they say they are Gas Safe registered you can contact gas safe and verify whether the membership number is active or not. They have to be of a certified standard and registered on a regular basis so although they may have a legitimate number it may be inactive for the present time.

[saffy1]

Re: is this fraud

Well the boss is registered, but it states this on their website;

ll our Engineers are fully qualified and registered with Gas Safe Register and Oftec and experienced in all types of Domestic & Commercial Heating including:-

The engineers That did my job are not registered or trained by oftec, and the Boss turned up about 3 times for 5 miutes in 2 1/2 weeks.

Thanks

[PlanB]

Re: is this fraud

I recently used a tradesman, who advertised on his website that all his tradesmen were trained and registered with a regulartary body. i have since found out this is not the case. The work done was substandard. Is it fraud to say you belong to this regulatory body and not be.

I see from your later post that this issue is to do with OFTEC (Oil Firing Technical Association) which suggests that you have an oil fired boiler or an AGA. What was the work you needed to have done and what was substandard about the service you received? I have an AGA and an oil fired boiler so I have some narrow experience of the problems.

Obviously it's unforgivable for a service company to misrepresent its position, but first things first. Have you had the job completed to your satisfaction by another engineer? Have you paid the first engineer and now want to reclaim what you paid them?

Reporting them may give you some satisfaction but the important thing is to get everything up and running and/or your money back for any shoddy workmanship.

Post up a link to the rogue engineer's website too so we can see what it says about claims of being regulated :typing:

[saffy1]

Re: is this fraud

I have a new engineer coming on Monday to commission the boiler and correct some work that still hasnt been fixed.

it was a new boiler.

Bassically was a catalogue of errors from day one. too much to go into. The enginner who quoted and did the work was not Oftec trained or registered, I feel I searched out an Oftec registered engineer, and the experience training and standards that should come with this. I have paid 80% of the amount , holding back the rest, as I will deduct what The chap that puts it right and commissions it charges. i find the boss really intimidating, not easily intimidated, and aggressive. He seemed to think fitting a boiler was just that. When it didnt work at the end of the job and numerous different problems arose, he seemed to think this was ok and demanded his money. I told him I would not pay until it was working. anyway there is a huge list of complaints, He also rang and texted and emailed for the money constantly long before it was actually due.

[PlanB]

Re: is this fraud

Well the boss is registered, but it states this on their website;

ll our Engineers are fully qualified and registered with Gas Safe Register and Oftec and experienced in all types of Domestic & Commercial Heating including:-

The engineers That did my job are not registered or trained by oftec, and the Boss turned up about 3 times for 5 miutes in 2 1/2 weeks.

I've looked at the OFTEC website and can see that they do provide training. The question is whether it was acceptable for the company to claim it was registered by OFTEC (which you say it is) or whether its website claimed that all its technicians had been individually trained by OFTEC, and could the boss argue he was supervising their work when he attended on site.

http://www.oftec.co.uk/consumers/abo...petent-persons

[saffy1]

Re: is this fraud

well i dont think its good enough . Supervising would mean being at my property for many more hours. I believe his statement is misleading.

[PlanB]

Re: is this fraud

I have a new engineer coming on Monday to commission the boiler and correct some work that still hasnt been fixed.

it was a new boiler.

Bassically was a catalogue of errors from day one. too much to go into. The enginner who quoted and did the work was not Oftec trained or registered, I feel I searched out an Oftec registered engineer, and the experience training and standards that should come with this. I have paid 80% of the amount , holding back the rest, as I will deduct what The chap that puts it right and commissions it charges. i find the boss really intimidating, not easily intimidated, and aggressive. He seemed to think fitting a boiler was just that. When it didnt work at the end of the job and numerous different problems arose, he seemed to think this was ok and demanded his money. I told him I would not pay until it was working. anyway there is a huge list of complaints.

If the original installer (the "boss") is a member of OFTEC then they have a formal complaints procedure so use it:

http://www.oftec.co.uk/consumers/complaints-process

Normally you would be expected to give the installer the opportunity to put things right first. Which you say you have done. Phone OFTEC's helpline on Monday morning to check whether you are compromising your position by getting another engineer to remedy the problem.

[saffy1]

Re: is this fraud

Thanks

I still think the statement is misleading and well out of order,

[PlanB]

Re: is this fraud

I still think the statement is misleading and well out of order,

In which case please post a link to the website statement so we can take a view on that for you :beagle: