After a court case now called Corgi Homeplan.

After a court case now called Corgi Homeplan.

I think the whole Corgi thing stinks - they acquired the register from Corgi detailing those who had new condensing boilers fitted in the last few years and started contacting them, using the Corgi name to sell them "Homecare" plans, which is British Gas's maintenance plans name. It's very misleading because so many people see the name Corgi and trust it is CORGI the licensing body, who are now defunct and have been replaced by Gas Safe, however it is just a small company operating from Dumfries from memory, subcontracting all over the UK. The T&Cs of the policy isnt great either.

totally agree...

when customers call to book an appointment, details of the fault and a contact number is taken, then they call the customer back asap to advise when appt will be!

totally agree...

 

when customers call to book an appointment, details of the fault and a contact number is taken, then they call the customer back asap to advise when appt will be!

It's definitely not ideal. Companies like this are more than happy to take the money to pay for the agreements, but if we have another winter like last year then they don't stand a chance in hell actually getting to people in a reasonable length of time and completing repairs. I actually feel sorry for the customers.

I am researching the CORGI HomeCare/HomePlan once again, as I have fresh guaranteed intelligence that CORGI are using stolen data (yes you may quote me personally) to target consumers. I was not aware that a court case had taken place (thank you for that) but following that up I researched trademarks and noted that British Gas owned a HomeCare trademark (one of the classes # 37) and CORGI are shown as having surrendered a trademark with one of their classes being # 37. I assume the court case has arisen from this and would most appreciate details of the court case please.

NB: It is ironic because in recent years I spearheaded the campaign to force British Gas to surrender the ‘powerflush’ trademark, registered at Alicante in spain.

a totally unprofessional company..... run by someone who's knowledge is in the property market.

they have broke so many rules since their inception.

Corgi Homeplan is run by a company called Green Installer based in Scotland.... SOmehow they get this data, and used to send out the paperwork under Green Installer.... Obviously not hughe take up, as people never heard of them.....

Now for breach 1......

They amended their plan to Corgi Homecare, and started sending out paperwork. Registered Gas Men started complaining to Corgi, as they felt Corgi were directly targeting their business.

Corgi were informed who denied knowledge of this.... As a result and an invesitgation, Corgi Homecare's website was temporarily shut down ( i imagine an Injunction or threat of legal action). Corgi also released a statement.

During the next few months Corgi HomeCare reappearred, having secured a license from Corgi to use the Logo and the name...... highlighting this is the only association between the 2.

So here comes breach number 2..... HOMECARE is TM by British Gas...... British Gas obviously warned them, but they failed to comply, and subsequently went to court and won..... in this time, it seems this company weren't able to send letters out promoting the product.

Now how unprofessional is this wereby a company fragrantly abuses copyright on 2 fronts?????

make your own mind up!

Your input is much appreciated. I am off out soon as I spend a lot of time as a nature photographer (wildlife et al) and it is sunny here in Cheshire.

I am amongst many other things a Registered Gas Installer and have been fighting the CORGI waffle machine for years. They are hopelessly addicted to waffle, that being their principal asset. I could write a book on it and have now decided to. I have had enough. Key to that now is my ownership of rock-solid evidence which has just arrived.

I run a website and forum on the topic but will not post details here without admin permission. The site was set up almost a decade ago as an answer to CORGI and we have been spearheading the campaign to oust them.

Back later and thank you for responding.

The following between the dotted lines appeared in HVP (Heating Ventilating and Plumbing) Magazine Online Version and was a response by CORGI. The acronym CSL refers to CORGI Services Limited, one of endless names and URLs used by CORGI.

==========================================================================

Data misuse response

8 June 2011

Under a licensing agreement, licensees are able to use the CORGI brand name, and are given legal access to the CSL database. CSL data should not be confused with Gas Work Notification data, which was used by one of our licensees for a pilot marketing exercise in March of this year. I can state unequivocally that this Gas Work Notification data is no longer being used by our licensees.CSL would not knowingly allow its data to be used inappropriately and, as a precaution, we are currently in discussions with the ICO (Information Commissioner’s Office) for clarification.

We would also like to make it clear that CSL data is not given to us by boiler manufacturers or any other organisations operating within the plumbing and heating sector, and we would never allow CSL’s commercial activities to jeopardise installer businesses.

Caitriona Deakin.

CSL head of trading

Ms Deakin was responding to allegations suggesting that data was used inappropriately by one of its licensees to promote a CORGI HomeCare maintenance scheme.

==========================================================================

In fact CORGI are continuing to plunder stolen data because they are targeting consumers with letters bearing the new HomePlan name. I now have cast-iron proof and will be going right to the top now with this (HSC Commission and others).

If you would like me to put some flesh on the bones please say so, but I do not want to bore you to death.

It would be appreciated if you could get me nearer to the detail of the CORGI v BG case. Where it was heard and when.

I strongly suspect now that there was no court case involving British Gas and CORGI. Even CORGI or £ORGI as they were dubbed by many, would not be chump enough to go head to head with BG in a no win situation. BUT would I use a company who registered an obvious trademark without first checking if that trademark already existed. I don’t think so. You don’t need a PhD in business administration to figure that out. It beggars belief.

Obviously I am going after £ORGI now we have the evidence but I will also set up a site or sub-site to advise people who ask questions. Half simply seem puzzled but half can get quite angry because they don’t understand where £ORGI has got their details from. That is because the letters contain ‘personal’ information a typical junk email company would not have access to. I think it unnerves people.

When £ORGI was ‘in power’ they started to produce what they called a magazine (it was not) which was sent to the same people on the confidential list. The useless Information Commissioner could do nothing as £ORGI addressed their mail – a loophole – to The Occupier. That same magazine included advertising from a national contractor who had been well featured on a Rogue Traders type programme. In other words £ORGI were sending our customers, details of other contractors, as is happening now.

I have just had a run in with Corgi Homecare, my girlfriend took out a maintenance with them in May this year, our boiler broke down 4 weeks ago and they sent an engineer out he had a look at the boiler did absolutely nothing apart from turn it on and it fired back up, whilst he was looking at the boiler he disturbed the flue, he the told me that the flue was not running back at a steep enough angle and that was the fault i never said any thing as i was in a hurry to get out but all he did was twist the 45 degree bend so the flue was running level then show me and then twist it back to the same place it was originally and tell me he it would be okay now.

He then asked me who had i got to fit the boiler i told him that i had fitted it under supervision of a gas safe engineer as part of my portfolio for my own gas safe qualification.

On Saturday the boiler broke down again we phone Corgi home care and they have just came back to us today to tell us that they have cancelled our policy because we have

1 Two boilers fitted in our property ( we live in an old railway station with 13 rooms)

2 The boiler that we had covered by them had been fitted by myself

3 The flue was incorrectly fitted

The lady on the other end of the phone then told that the engineer (who she had just spoken too) had to refit the flue reset the boiler and do a full system check

I told her this was not the case that he had only put wright a problem he had caused himself.

I offered her the name and gas safe number of the guy who helped me to install the boilers but she wasn't interested she kept going on about the three points raised by there so called engineer.

Surely if the installation was unsafe the engineer has a duty of care to have isolated the boiler and inform the relevant authorities

Any help with this would be great

I am happy to deal with this on this forum but the administrator may consider it to be off-topic. I have not done anything yet in re CORGI as I have been busy with a problem of my own with faulty cavity wall insulation and in doing so I may have opened a big can of worms. That is ongoing but I will deal with CORGI in due course as the evidence I hold is now a matter of record.

I do not fully understand the detail. The fact that you installed it yourself is not a problem at all if it was fitted under the one-to-one supervision of a Registered Gas Installer. Indeed that is the only way to build a portfolio now. The RGI legally takes legal responsibility in law (at that point in time).

You have two boilers but only one was registered with CORGI, that being the one they attended therefore no problem.

As CORGI Homeplan (not Homecare any more) only take on modern A rated (therefore condensing) boilers, I assume it is one of those. BUT, is it an open-flue model (hence the 45 degree bend) ? Please state make and model.

If the installation was faulty then there are three options open. The first is Not to current standards (NCS) which requires RGI to issue you with a notice. Second is At Risk (AR) which requires the RGI to request permission to switch off the boiler and issue a notice or finally Immediately Dangerous (ID) which requires the RGI to request permission to disconnect the boiler and issue a notice. If the customer says no to the last two then the RGI should phone TRANSCO who have powers of entry.

Need all facts before I can comment on whether they are in breach of contract (for example).

Did they come outa nd do a First Visit??? Was it passed for contract.

I would be demandin all the money back from them....

Stay well clear of these cowboys, the people in the office dont know these engineers, dont employ them, and dont know what they are up to.... its a wonder he didnt tell them he fittd anew heat xchanger.

As Les said, the fact you have 2 boilers shouldnt matter, end of the day, i bet it was them that marketed you, gave you the impression they were Corgi, when infact they are a company independant from Corgi, called GREEN INSTALLER LTD.

I would recommend we be guarded with comments (remember Godfrey v Demon Internet Service -2001). Green Installer Limited are licenced to use the CORGI brand. CORGI is and was a private company who once upon a time (not now) held the HSE mandate. I do however know that CORGI was and still is using confidential data which may have been supplied to Green Installer Limited OR CORGI may have sent out the mail themselves with punters replying directly to Green Installer Limited.

We need to establish the precise status of the 'contract' in all its aspects. If it is in any way dodgy I would be the first in the queue to scream out, but we need facts.

facts are this:

Green Installer used the corgi logo's firstly without express permission - their website was closed very quickly, due to threat of legal action from corgi.... after several calls to corgi from RGI's, the following statement appeared on Corgi;s website:

CORGI Homecare retraction statement

Following several calls to CORGI regarding a warranty service; “CORGI Homecare”, CORGI would like to assure all that CORGI is not actively running a Warranty Scheme and would apologise that leaflets have been distributed suggesting that we are.

We are, of course, aware that this has happened and are currently investigating the issue and taking steps to retract things. As part of this we can confirm that the web site has been taken down and that no further mailings will be distributed.

More recently British Gas, took them to court as they were infringing on the HomeCare TM by using it in their name. While waiting for the case B Gas has an injunction placed on them preventing them from mailing their letters.

In court BG won, and i believe Green Installer were advised not to send misleading literature.

ie letters were going out, and under the address window, it said IMPORTANT INFORMATION FROM CORGI.... hello, its form Green Installer.

The letters themself, have no mention of Green Installer, but hve the Big Corgi badge top left, and spount of about Corgi's experience, giving the customer the impression they are dealing with Corgi.

It will be interesting to see what happens next............ wew all await with bated breath.

Les can i ask, whats your interest against Corgi? are you an RGI or have your own gas business, or re you punter on a mission?

You can ask anything you wish of me and the name you see here is my real name. I have never posted anywhere anonymously and I never will.

I am a highly qualified construction professional and also a qualified plumber, heating engineer and registered gas installer. My presence in the gas industry was later in life but I was in at the outset when mandatory registration was first introduced. I have never worked as an unregistered gas installer.

Having worked for many years with construction professionals enjoying mutual respect as a Building Surveyor, I was appalled by CORGI’s attitude to people, installers in particular. I never had a problem with the inspectors and I met a few but the controlling minds appeared to me to be a bunch of technically-illiterate morons. Classic administrative jobsworths where absolute power corrupts.

CORGI of course was spun off from the original British Gas when that was privatised by Margaret Thatcher and in those days there were more people working for British Gas in Manchester alone than there are now in the whole of the UK. CORGI was and still is a private company.

[According to the Stockport Express newspaper online BG are about to cull 850 manager jobs (as they have bled the engineers dry). My ear in BG informs me all S&R manager jobs are on notice with only 66% being re-employed following interviews].

Determined to counter CORGI excess I set up a website and forum almost a decade ago and that still stands but is almost lifeless because my main aim to see CORGI dead and buried has been almost realised. They are no longer a threat to the industry.

Quite separately I have for years been helping people pro-bono who are having trouble with consumer matters in which I have some knowledge. Mainly dealing with corporate bullying which is endemic of course. I have also worked with BBC Rogue Traders.

I will shortly – busy at the moment – be setting up a corgi-homeplan.anything website so I can intercept people who email me to ask about corgihomeplan (and homecare). Some are confused and some are angry about personal information having been disclosed by someone. I will be explaining the truth.

Your perception of the background is still incorrect but I understand how you have arrived at that perception. You need to remember that CORGI are hopelessly addicted to bull**** and seemingly cannot be cured. That is why they lost the (Gas Safe) contract to Capita plc.

That statement of theirs, which we in the industry are familiar with, is designed to deflect criticism and obviously it has worked. This is what PR is all about. The black-arts as it is known in media circles. The statement originally aimed at installers, not punters.

CORGI has surrendered the Homecare trademark but I still have no evidence of a court case. Stealing the BG trademark must surely demonstrate how inept they are. They are still mailing out letters (October 2011) but using the Homeplan name. I have one such in my possession. That will be going to the HSC, IC and many others.

CORGI had a notion called CSI or their Complete Safety Initiative. The black-arts again. More PR waffle and ironically CORGI themselves were soon to provide the proof that it was 22 carat waffle.

They launched first GWN or Gas Work Notification. That was in August 2004. Everyone and his (or her) dog would be required (by law) to notify CORGI of every boiler they installed. They claimed that records showed boilers were the most dangerous threat to humanity, which of course we all know is not true.

[ironically at about the same time a learned academic completed and published a research exercise proving it was not true]

Having got the data, CORGI’s idea was that they would select jobs at random for inspection. Most professionals, including myself regarded that as a bit of common sense, so we supported that in principle, in favour of consumers and good standards.

CORGI promised in their August 2004 letter not to exploit the data commercially which of course they soon did as there was no one to stop them. The HSE did not give a 4X and the Information Commissioner was toothless. All useless.

Shortly after I arrived at a trade show and was quickly intercepted by a tall, attractive and intelligent young lady who whisked me off to the executive suite for an expensive coffee and a nosebag if I had wished. She was charged with promoting CSI and was anxious to secure my support. I kept my eye on the ball fortunately (the show was at a football ground) and others from CORGI at the show were to quickly confirm my suspicions.

The following January CORGI suddenly and unilaterally decided to extend GWN to most gas appliances. No one to stop them. Trade and professional associations largely useless dinosaurs. The APHC sought a judicial review (asking the wrong question) and lost.

Separately but at the same time, John Prescott launched the useless competent persons schemes (CPS). Notifying certain works to the local authority was to become mandatory. It still is. That was rolled out and soon to link up with HIP. The HIP has now gone but CPS has not. The real reason for CPS and HIP was to try to force punters to use registered contractors and not the black economy. It did not work and never will. CORGI became a CPS for gas and managed that database as well. 1+1 = 2 databases.

The CORGI waffle mill was then working double-shifts and abuse of the database (one or two) then started big style and that is what the are using now. Battles raged and I was constantly on their tail writing well researched articles which cost me a lot of time and sometimes money.

CORGI then promptly lost out to Capita plc leaving CORGI hierarchy with their only real home-grown assets; pure waffle and databases that marketing people would kill for. Green Installer could only have got their data from CORGI and no where else. Everyone in the industry knows that.

What the CORGI waffle machine called a ‘pilot’ was actually a suck-it-and-see [problem] to see if anyone would notice. By jove they did and they still do. I will soon set up corgi-homeplan.something or other.

When you set up an organisation like Homeplan you have two imperatives which have to be in place before you can launch:

1. Contractors who are to some degree known.

2. Customers

In the case of Green Installer, CORGI supplied both, otherwise they could not have got off the ground as they did. I probably still have the original waffle employed by CORGI, stored in a hangar with all the other waffle. That will be unzipped when I write CORGI’s unofficial but probably more accurate biography.

That does not stop Green Installer recruiting new customers once the word gets around. I suspect you will find that the links (form mail used) from Green Installer go back to CORGI. All done with mirrors.

CORGI maintained a register of competent businesses (and their staff) for the HSE until they were sacked in favour of Capita plc. I of course was on that list. I opted to exclude myself from the public database to avoid unwanted enquiries (but on sight of my card you could still check I was registered).

Over the course of time when CORGI ordinarily referred to Installers (on the website etc) as Installers, that quietly metamorphosed into Member. I am not, never have been and never will be a Member of CORGI. Following CORGI’s replacement my name suddenly reappeared on their list of ‘Members’ without my permission. I instructed them to remove my name and they did. I went public with that. Whether others did I do not know.

To get some measure of the take-up, try searching for a gas installer on the current corgi-membership website and compare it with the Gas-Safe database for the same postcode. You will see that CORGI are struggling.

In a quick check it would appear that all roads lead back to CORGI. The 0800 number on both the

Green Installer website and the CORGI Homeplan website are one and the same. Green Installer is CORGI in other words and always has been. We know that CORGI say they have licenced their trademark but that is only on paper. Their past list of tradenames and website URL’s is staggering. I have them all. Homecare URL of course is still showing at NIC if you check.

The CORGI-GROUP Ltd company was showing as ‘proposal to strike off’ at Companies House but that status has now altered to non-trading company with accounts overdue. The companycheck website reveals their financial status.

Just to clarify:

[CORGI Homecare retraction statement

Following several calls to CORGI regarding a warranty service; “CORGI Homecare”, CORGI would like to assure all that CORGI is not actively running a Warranty Scheme and would apologise that leaflets have been distributed suggesting that we are.

We are, of course, aware that this has happened and are currently investigating the issue and taking steps to retract things. As part of this we can confirm that the web site has been taken down and that no further mailings will be distributed.]

The above is what you quoted and of course you are 100% correct. That IS what was written (and still may be for all I know). How could you possibly be expected to believe it was CORGI when that plainly claims it was not.

But there are obvious clues in that damage-limitation waffle, which I suspect now, was mainly (at that time) addressed to British Gas rather than the rest of the industry (who could do nothing about it anyway).

Everyone in the industry was baffled by that bizarre nonsense. Everyone knew it could not be anyone else. Everyone in the industry had a leaflet by then. No one (except CORGI) would be stupid enough to steal a well established trademark.

As I well remember saying when that gibberish was first published, how can they be so certain that no more mailings would be distributed if someone else was doing it and they were not in control.

What I can say is that I was not aware then of the theft of BG trademark. I saw nothing about that in the trade media and I get all trade media including HVP, HPM, PHAM News and H&V News. They are the biggies. That is what suggests to me that there was no court case. One letter from Centrica plc lawyers would have scared the daylights (being polite) out of CORGI.

This of course a perfect example of classic CORGI waffle. Thank you for reminding me.

have just contacted corgi to arrange an annual service -not available until registered 12 months, a problem with a water hammer in shower supply pipes-not covered, a leak to my hot water cylinder- only covered if it's a certain type of cylinder (i.e. vented or unvented ?). I then asked who had given them my name ,they claim it was the person who installed my new system, I asked if they would use him to carry out the service -no.

The letter I recieved from Corgi states"we can offer you full cover with unlimited call outs for your entire central heating,plumbing and electrical systems for only 12.99 per month,or 16.99 per month with an annual boiler service", I have been paying the latter since May.

have since spoken to the plummer who installed my new boiler, he denies referring me on, why would he when he previously serviced my boiler.I have cancelled my direct debit and count myself lucky to have discovered the shortfalls of this contract before it really matters i.e. in severe bad weather. My concern is for vunerable customers who could find themselves with a large bill after an "unlimited call out" if they don't know their type of tank etc

have just contacted corgi to arrange an annual service -not available until registered 12 months, a problem with a water hammer in shower supply pipes-not covered, a leak to my hot water cylinder- only covered if it's a certain type of cylinder (i.e. vented or unvented ?). I then asked who had given them my name ,they claim it was the person who installed my new system, I asked if they would use him to carry out the service -no.

The letter I recieved from Corgi states"we can offer you full cover with unlimited call outs for your entire central heating,plumbing and electrical systems for only 12.99 per month,or 16.99 per month with an annual boiler service", I have been paying the latter since May.

have since spoken to the plummer who installed my new boiler, he denies referring me on, why would he when he previously serviced my boiler.I have cancelled my direct debit and count myself lucky to have discovered the shortfalls of this contract before it really matters i.e. in severe bad weather. My concern is for vunerable customers who could find themselves with a large bill after an "unlimited call out" if they don't know their type of tank etc

There are suspicions the list they have they shouldn't......

The local fitter, would never give your details to Corgi Homeplan, as he is hoping for repeat business from you ie servicing and repairs. if he gives your info to them he gets nothing from you.

Now this i didn't expect we had a phone call today the woman on the other end said she was sorry about the confusion and we will be getting a full refund of all our payments made to them, and we haven't even phoned them yet or emailed them to ask for a refund

I have just had a run in with Corgi Homecare, my girlfriend took out a maintenance with them in May this year, our boiler broke down 4 weeks ago and they sent an engineer out he had a look at the boiler did absolutely nothing apart from turn it on and it fired back up, whilst he was looking at the boiler he disturbed the flue, he the told me that the flue was not running back at a steep enough angle and that was the fault i never said any thing as i was in a hurry to get out but all he did was twist the 45 degree bend so the flue was running level then show me and then twist it back to the same place it was originally and tell me he it would be okay now.

He then asked me who had i got to fit the boiler i told him that i had fitted it under supervision of a gas safe engineer as part of my portfolio for my own gas safe qualification.

On Saturday the boiler broke down again we phone Corgi home care and they have just came back to us today to tell us that they have cancelled our policy because we have

1 Two boilers fitted in our property ( we live in an old railway station with 13 rooms)

2 The boiler that we had covered by them had been fitted by myself

3 The flue was incorrectly fitted

 

The lady on the other end of the phone then told that the engineer (who she had just spoken too) had to refit the flue reset the boiler and do a full system check

I told her this was not the case that he had only put wright a problem he had caused himself.

I offered her the name and gas safe number of the guy who helped me to install the boilers but she wasn't interested she kept going on about the three points raised by there so called engineer.

 

Surely if the installation was unsafe the engineer has a duty of care to have isolated the boiler and inform the relevant authorities

 

Any help with this would be great

Apologies for delay as I have been busy persecuting another biggy.

Could really do with people like you as witnesses if we ever get a Leveson enquiry in re £ORGI Homeplan.

Talking of direct debits I cancelled one giving 8 days notice in a signed letter but the bank ignored it as you can cancel online. I always bank online but did not know that. My brain is still stuck in the groove that you have to send in a signed missive. Served notice on the bank and they refunded within 24 hours.

You must have had better luck that me contacted them on 9 occassions over 11 days and never once did they phone me back worse that useless

totally agree...

 

when customers call to book an appointment, details of the fault and a contact number is taken, then they call the customer back asap to advise when appt will be!

after reading this thread I am completely confused I took one of these plans out after offer was posted to me, I've paid three months and my boiler is playing up have I been ripped off..............?

after reading this thread I am completely confused I took one of these plans out after offer was posted to me, I've paid three months and my boiler is playing up have I been ripped off..............?

let us know how your experience was.

did they give an appointment straight away? if not, how long til they contacted you?

was problem fixed?