Installers buying from BSIA members are protected

Well BSIA manufacturers are going public with our concerns! Installers purchasing equipment from BSIA manufacturers are protected by our Code Of Ethics, which ensures that all members must meet the CE standard – amongst other quality pledges.

If you choose not to use a BSIA manufacturer then you are not afforded this peace of mind and it is at this stage that you would be well advised to ask the manufacturer/distributor for some assurance that the CE mark is genuine.

We would advise you to ask to see the certificate of conformity at the very least. To answer Mr Blount's question (Is using a CE trademark when the product does not meet CE standards illegal?) – the answer is yes.

In terms of policing this, any quality promise like CE comes under the remit of Trading Standards once a complaint is made – but by the time you reach the complaints stage, you have an unhappy customer.

(Incidently, Nick Sims is now Chairman of the BSIA Security Equipment Manufacturers' Section. Nick took on the role from Julie Kenny this summer).

I would also like to respond to the letter from J G Torrance in the same edition of Security Installer. The BSIA's call for removal of VAT, or making the purchase and installation tax deductible, relates specifically to householders putting in a monitored system with police response for the first time. Our aim, therefore, is to assist quality installers of intruder alarms to sell more alarms to home-owners and consequently to improve home security for the general public.

ACPO and ACPOS only award URNs to quality installers, so we can assure your correspondent that it would certainly not be builders with no vetting/intruder alarm installation competence that would benefit from this recommendation.