Frustrated Installers Want Cowboys Fined

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A new survey of Certass members has highlighted the frustration felt by installers regarding illegal and unregistered window installations by ‘cowboy’ and unregulated fitters.

Responses to the survey, which was open throughout May, included comments such as: ‘help us to identify illegal installations’, ‘chase the government on the unregulated fitter’ and ‘what bothers me is that there are so many window installers that are still not registered…and continue to trade without being fined’.

Does the new Building Safety Regulator (BSR) hold answers for these frustrated installers? Jon Vanstone, chair of Certass, says: “This member feedback gives a clear position that our best-practice installers are fed-up with seeing poor installations and frustrated that companies who continue to cut corners are getting away with it.

“As we have discussed extensively at the recent FIT Show and in our online webinars, the new Building Safety Regulator comes with new enforcement powers, never before seen in our sector.

The involvement of the Health and Safety Executive means that there are adequate resources to target and prosecute non-compliant contractors and their work.”

Impact

Vanstone continues: “There are many questions and much hesitation around the incoming regulator; particularly with tradespeople’s concerns on the impact that it will have on our sector. The evidence I have seen so far is that the BSR isn’t there to trip us up – but it will serve to make life difficult for those who carry out work without regard for the building regulations or the health and safety of building occupants.

“What was surprising was that most of the suggestions we received were targeted at the wider sector, as opposed to the nuts-and-bolts changes to BSR.”

Other survey responses

Other suggestions included building relationships with more manufacturers to help them offer better guarantees and higher quality products and pushing to make double glazing a sought-after trade for young people. One respondent wrote: ‘I think a big name like Certass, which truly cares about the industry, could actually make something like this happen’.

Picture: Certass’ Jon Vanstone.

www.certass.co.uk

Article written by Cathryn Ellis
20th June 2023

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