A Comber plumber was fined a total of £500, plus £250 costs, at Newtownards Magistrates' Court yesterday (8 December 2008).

In a case brought by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment's Trading Standards Service, Edward Kenneth Hopkins (60), of Carnesure Park, Comber, who traded as Comber Boiler Services, claimed that he had fitted new parts when he repaired a customer's central heating boiler.

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Following a subsequent breakdown, the customer took parts of the boiler to a different repairer who discovered that, in fact, no new parts had been fitted as claimed by

Mr Hopkins.

Philip Donnelly of the Trading Standards Service said: "Consumers are entitled to get what they pay for. The ordinary customer often has no way of telling if work has been completed correctly.

"Traders are relied upon by customers to identify faults and are paid to carry out appropriate repairs. Failure by traders to do this is not only against the law and the interests of consumers, but also damages the reputation of legitimate boiler repair businesses," he added.

(PR/JM)