Four people who show you the card

Brimwell started with one van and one phone, and still answers the phone itself. Meet the team, and see how to check the credentials of anyone who comes to your door, ours included.

The team

The people who answer and arrive

Turn a card over to see what they enjoy most and the tip they give every customer. All four are invented for this fictional firm.

Dan Pollitt

Owner and master plumberTurn over

Maria Constantinou

Heating engineerTurn over

Tomasz Wilk

Drains and bathrooms leadTurn over

Aisha Karim

Dispatch and customer careTurn over

Check the card

Trust, then verify

A step-by-step way to check anyone’s credentials before they come in, and what to do if something does not look right.

Registered gas engineerA made-up sample design, not a real scheme badge

Name: Maria Constantinou
Company: Brimwell Plumbing & Heating
Licence number: 0000000 (sample)
Expires

Check the number online before you let anyone in

Sample card, invented person

Front of the card: check the photo, the name and the licence number.

Check before they come in

0 of 5 checkedTick each one as you go

Ask to see the card at the doorA real card has a photo, a name and a licence number. Check the photo is the person in front of you.
Check the number on the official registerLook the licence number up on the Gas Safe Register website for gas work, or on WaterSafe for water work. Use your own phone, before they come in.
Read the back: is this job on it?The back shows what the engineer is qualified for. A card for boilers is not a card for gas fires or cookers (as reported by the Gas Safe Register).
Get a written quote before work startsLine by line, with the VAT shown. A spoken price is not enough for anything big.
Never pay in cash up frontPay when the work is done, by card or bank transfer, and keep the receipt. Any deposit should be written in the quote.

If something does not check out

Do not let them in

Be polite and firm: say you will rebook once you have checked. A genuine engineer will understand.

Ring us

We can tell you what a registered engineer should be able to show you, and send one. 01632 960 612

Report it

Report gas work by someone who is not on the register to the Gas Safe Register, and other trading problems to Trading Standards through Citizens Advice (as reported by those bodies). General information, not legal advice.

Smell of gas or a carbon monoxide alarm? Leave the building and ring 0800 111 999 (the gas emergency number, as reported by National Gas), and 999 if anyone feels unwell. Do not wait for anyone to turn up first.

Over a quarter have been scammed

WaterSafe says over a quarter of people have been scammed by rogue plumbers (as reported by WaterSafe).

Gas work is for registered engineers

By law gas work must be done by a registered engineer. The card shows a 7-digit licence number (as reported by the Gas Safe Register).

WRAS tests fittings, not people

A WRAS-approved tap or valve tells you about the product. It says nothing about the person fitting it.

Every name, number and date on this card is a sample, and the card design is invented. Rules change: check the official registers. General information, not legal advice.

How we work

Small enough to know your street

We keep the team small on purpose, so the voice on the phone knows the engineer, and the engineer knows the job before they arrive.

4people, one phone number

8kinds of work

24hour emergency line

100% of quotes in writing

Ask to see the card, every time

We expect it, and we are glad when customers do. Book a visit and your engineer’s name and photo come with the confirmation.

Book a visit