On Mon, 06 Jul 2009 09:33:45 +0100, GMC had this to
say:

Hi there.

I needed to replace two socket plates in my parents kitchen, i bought
the relevant 2 gang sockets from Screwfix, a brushed stainless Volex
socket which will replace the white plastic ones currently installed. As
soon as I connect either of the new metal sockets the RCD in the
consumer unit trips when the power is turned back on. I have triple
checked that I am connecting it up correctly. The fault goes away as
soon as the plastic socket is reinstated. I initially thought that the
socket may be faulty (!) so used the second one which gave exactly the
same behaviour. It seems that the metal sockets are directly related to
the RCD tripping but I dont understand why, can anyone explain this to
me or offer a solution please? (my solution may be to replace the
sockets with plastic ones!)

This might sound silly, but have you checked that you've connected the
wires to the right terminals? The layout of the terminals can vary
from one make to another.

--
Frank Erskine