CORGI reduces joining fee for plumbing and ventilation Competent Persons Schemes

(08/09/2006)

CORGI launched plumbing and ventilation Competent Persons Schemes in April to complement the electrical and heating schemes introduced in 2005. The schemes are designed to help CORGI registered installers to comply with Building Regulation requirements for elements of their work.

CORGI has now reduced the price of its Competent Persons Schemes, and is refunding the difference to the thousands of existing members.

Following feedback from installers and improvements to processes, CORGI has released a revised pricing structure for its electrical, plumbing and ventilation Competent Persons Schemes, available for installers working in England and Wales.

The new pricing to join the schemes means that it now costs less to join CORGI's schemes. Improvements have been made to streamline the assessment process resulting in the ability for CORGI to now offer a reduced and combined price.

Refunds will be issued to all installers who have already joined or renewed a CORGI Competent Persons Scheme.

Joining Fee / Joining Fee if you are CORGI gas registered:
To join 1 scheme: £300 / £250
To join 2 schemes: £400 / £350
To join 3 schemes:£500 / £450

Mike Thompson, CORGI's Chief Executive said: "CORGI's Competent Persons Schemes make life easier for our registered installers, and the application, assessment and notification processes have been designed to do just that. Recent feedback from installers showed that the pricing was seen as complicated and the separate assessment fee was confusing. We launched the schemes over three months ago, and since then we have been able to make adjustments to the schemes to make the service even better for installers."

"Now we have got just one price, so it is clear to installers how much it costs to join CORGI's schemes. This change represents another example of our commitment to our installers and to other skilled workers within the industry who are interested in working to high standards and working legally. CORGI runs its schemes to aid installers work in line with government legislation, not to make money. If the cynicism regarding CORGI's motives I have seen in the trade press were true, we would not look to drop prices at all, never mind issue refunds to those already members."

Changes to the Home Information Pack, recently announced by Minister for Housing Yvette Cooper, have raised some doubts about the future demand from consumers for tradespeople to be members of Competent Persons Schemes.

There is a great deal of confusion about what requirements remain part of the Home Information Pack, and CORGI, like other scheme providers, is keen for the DCLG to clearly confirm if Building Regulations Compliance certificates will be essential. However, even with the confusion surrounding Home Information Packs, CORGI is finding that its Competent Persons Schemes are as popular as ever.

Mike Thompson said: "Installers that have joined CORGI's schemes recently have said that they are joining to take advantage of self-certification to avoid building control delays and fees and to be able to use the different CORGI logos to increase their customers' confidence in their service - neither of these reasons are affected by any change to the Home Information Packs."

He added: "Over the last year we have noticed a significant increase in calls to CORGI from consumers requiring copies of certificates because their house sales are being held up without them or because they wish to give their house sale a competitive advantage by having these certificates ready for potential buyers to view - and this is before the introduction of Home Information Packs."

Related categories:  Commercial and offices applications   Equipment   Industrial applications   Legislation and regulations   Organisational changes   Residential applications 

Print version | Email to a friend | View other articles