HETAS

Please rate your experience with HETAS regarding complaints for Solid Fuel and Woodburner installations. Any feedback will be passed to HETAS.

Note: It is perfectly legal to install your own stove or use a regular builder providing it is installed to Part J of building regs and then inspected by your building inspector. The cost of an inspection varies between authorities but should be £80-£150. Your local building inspectors are extremely helpful and it certainly works in your favour if you ask for their advice and then follow it to the letter.

I had a stove installed by a Stafford installer found on the HETAS website. After ripping out my fireplace and 7 weeks of not turning up, I contacted HETAS to complain about the installer. HETAS told me that the installer must finish the job before they would investigate further and a further 3 months passed before they finally sent an engineer to inspect the unfinished work. The work completed was condemned and no action was taken against the installer.

It was impossible to get the work completed because other installers would not touch my fireplace until HETAS had finished their investigation. This took a further month.

In my experience, the HETAS complaints procedure stopped me from getting the work completed for 4 months. The builder I paid was half the price of a HETAS installer and the work is inspected and legal.