South Staffs Water and E.ON have teamed up to offer Customers the chance to save money and water - visit www.south-staffs-water.co.uk/SAVE or call 0845 371 1689 (Quoting reference SSW2) to claim your FREE saving pack.  Orders will be despatched after 01st April 2010. 

CPA1 Accreditation is required for Gas Installers to prove and demonstrate their ability and competence with regard to using a tool called a Flue Gas Analyser (FGA)

CPA1 is an extra competence and Safety check over and above ACS gas qualifications to ensure engineers who carry out Combustion Analysis as part of the Installation, Commission, Servicing and Maintaining of Gas Appliances can do so competently and with total regard for Health and Safety which could mean the difference between life and death where Carbon Monoxide and Gas Ommisions are concerned.

The real problem in the gas services industry has been and continues to be that until CPA1 existed there was no 'driving test' to demonstrate that engineers know how to use FGA's correctly.

There are approx 120,000 illegal gas safe workers operating in the UK.. http://www.gassaferegister.co.uk/learn/illegal_gas_workers.aspx

Make sure you are GAS SAFE !!

  How to Avoid a Rogue Tradesman

• Do not use companies who insist on being paid in cash or are not prepared to give you an invoice. Your work will not have a valid guarantee and you may be liable to prosecution for VAT fraud.
• Do not use a company who offer to do work privately for 'cash' at a lower price. Again you will not have a guarantee and there is the risk of prosecution for VAT fraud.
• Do not use companies that do not have a verifiable address - If they won't tell you where they are, perhaps they do not want to be found.
• Avoid tradesmen who do not have a land based telephone line - What sort of response will you get from a switched off mobile phone if there is a problem?
• Never use an unknown company that has not been recommended to you.
• Do not employ tradesmen who are not members of the appropriate, reputable, trade association. 
• Never allow any tradesman who does not carry photo identification into your house.
• Make sure you can communicate with your tradesman - He might be cheap, but can he understand what you want him to do?
• Do not employ scruffy tradesmen who drive rusty old vans - Their work will probably be of a similar standard as their appearance.