According to the Gas Safe Register only two in five people check that their gas engineer is legally qualified before letting them into their home. This is extremely dangerous as it could put homeowners at risk of fire, explosion or exposure to Carbon Monoxide if work on a gas appliance is carried out incorrectly.
Why do we trust tradespeople?
A new video from the Gas Safe Register and consumer psychologist, Dr Simon Moore investigates which factors lead a homeowner to trust a tradesperson.
Their research found that people trust someone based on;
- Personal presentation (44%)
- How official they look (43%)
- Body language (25%)
- Personality (22%)
- A friendly face (18%)
Dr Simon Moore explains: “Our propensity to trust tradespeople is based on a variety of factors such as personal presentation, their body language and how official they look, and not always on their qualifications or credentials. This is a natural thing and is often how we cut corners to speed up our decision making.“
Gas Safe Register or Corgi?
A recent survey from GasTag also had some concerning findings. 50% of those questioned still think their gas engineer should be Corgi registered – this changed to the Gas Safe Register nearly 10 years ago! The same survey also found that almost a third (29%) don’t ask for the credentials of gas engineers visiting their home.
So what can you do to ensure you hire a Gas Safe engineer?
Jonathan Samuel, chief executive, Gas Safe Register, advises: “Always check that your gas engineer is on the Gas Safe Register by remembering to check their Gas Safe ID card on the front and back before letting them into your home to ensure they’re qualified to work on your gas appliances.”
You can view the full video from the Gas Safe Register here or find out more about the risks in our guides to the dangers of a faulty boiler and carbon monoxide alarms.
