'Cowboy plumber' fined by trading standards

Article date : 08/09/2008

A 'cowboy plumber' has been fined after claiming he was a member of the Council of Registered Gas Installers (Corgi).

Peter Norton, 60, from Dorset, was fined £5,000 and given a three-year conditional discharge after he was prosecuted by Dorset county council's trading standards, the Wiltshire Gazette and Herald reports.

Mr Norton also falsely claimed he was registered with the Institute of Plumbing, the paper says.

Customers had complained about his work - which had to be redone - to trading standards.

"Consumers often face difficulties in selecting traders to carry out plumbing and heating jobs in their homes," Bill Jaggs, from Dorset county council, reportedly said.

Mr Norton claimed in court he could not remember telling anyone he was Corgi-registered, the Wiltshire newspaper writes.

For homeowners to comply with gas regulations, any installation of a boiler, whether it is conventional or an energy-efficient condensing boiler, must be done by a Corgi-registered installer, the Energy Saving Trust website says.

Corgi, the gas safety watchdog, says on its website that having a registered plumber is important to prevent carbon monoxide leaking from boilers.

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