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Trades wanted - Vicky (14th Feb 2012 - 09:34:11) Can anyone recommend a kitchen fitter, electrian and plumber? Thanks

Re: Trades wanted - Allison (14th Feb 2012 - 17:01:11) You may like to try Checkatrade where you will get genuine recommendations.

Re: Trades wanted - Dave (14th Feb 2012 - 17:26:38) We employed a local "tradesman" via Checkatrade. He caused us no end of problems which neither he nor Checkatrade were prepared to put right. Just remember anyone can register with them providing you pay the fee.

Re: Trades wanted - Jay W (14th Feb 2012 - 19:59:00) I thought the idea of Checkatrade was that genuine customers got to give their comments about the service they had received? I certainly read good and bad comments about contractors before I made my choice - guess I was one of the lucky ones a the one I chose has been great. We've used Stuart Finch builders of Bordon for our garage conversion - as far as I am aware he uses the same electrican and plumber on his jobs but don't know if they do kitchen fitting - might be worth ringing him. 01420 474460,

Re: Trades wanted - Dee (15th Feb 2012 - 10:27:38) Hi Can recommend a plumber Dennis Green 01428 722467. Very good and reliable. Hope this helps Dee

Re: Trades wanted - helen (15th Feb 2012 - 11:33:37) My understanding of "check a trade" is that it is earning its money from the subscriptions of the tradespeople who then post their own feedback, recieved I presume from customers. There is no way that " check a trade " will have carried out independant research of their own into all of the available tradesmen and picked the best ones, would be impossible.

Re: Trades wanted - Paul Robinson (15th Feb 2012 - 14:12:48) Having used check-a-trade workmen twice recently I can confirm that on both occasions I was telephoned and quizzed about the standard of work, materials used, time taken etc by the Check-a-trade network following up on their members. Both times I was able to assure them of my complete satisfaction. Paul Robinson

Re: Trades wanted - Dave (15th Feb 2012 - 17:51:42) Paul. Presumably they contacted you because the tradesman gave them your details as they had completed an OK job. It is highly unlikely they would have done so had their been any dispute. In my case we left a kitchen fitter to carry out work whilst we were on holiday. On our return we found he had fitted the wrong work surfaces "I couldn't get those you wanted" moved the position of the sink "It was easier to put it there" and fitted what appeared to be a second hand sink. Added to this the standard of workmanship was at best amateur and we had to pay another company to put things right. Checkatrade - no thank you!

Re: Trades wanted - Jacqui (15th Feb 2012 - 18:09:06) Hi Vicky, phone Chris at ORB 07789455578 they have done lots of work for us. Good and very trust worthy.

Re: Trades wanted - Jay W (18th Feb 2012 - 17:35:59) Dave and helen If the tradesmen only give your deails to Checkatrade if they think they have done a good job or the tradesmen themselves post your feedback, why then is there negative feedback for tradesmen on Checkatrade? I understand it works a bit like the feedback on Ebay in that you can give your comments and the tradesman can then reply to that feedback if they feel it necessary. Dave, have you tried to leave feedback for your builder? You really should. Try it and let us know for sure how Checkatrade works!

Re: Trades wanted - Laurence kay (18th Feb 2012 - 18:56:19) Check a trade get your details from your completed review forms you had in or complete online and think they check 1 in 3 of each Id you have had bad issues give them a bad review simple, I am a member of check a trade and also have used other trades from it, Best thing if you have issues leave a bad review and then others won't get effected also don't pay them until work is completed Laurence L Kay electrical Farnham

Re: Trades wanted - Kevin Byrne (22nd Feb 2012 - 09:44:13) Hi, My name is Kevin, I'm the founder and MD of Checkatrade.com I started the concept 13 years ago from a spare bedroom after a tornado swept through Selsey and rogue trades ascended from all over the UK. 13 years later, we now list over 7,000 trades, employ over 70 local people and process on average 15,000 customer feedbacks a month. We are a funnel of information that the consumer my wish to use to help them find the right trade for them. Our vetting includes: Driving License /Passport Tax reference number (make sure they are registered tax payers) Insurance Qualifications Customers referees and Trade referees We then interview the trades and then as part of their membership they have to give customer feedback forms to their customers. Is this 100% abuse proof, of course not, however we have things in place to try and prevent as much as possible. Above, someone has commented that a trade will only give a feedback out if they have done a good job. To combat this on our feedback cards we ask the customer "did you know before the job started that you were able to give feedback when the job was completed? This is our way of identifying trades that are picking and choosing and we then deal with them. If an online feedback is given, we have checks on IP addresses and also an automated verification email is sent to the consumer to make sure it was them that completed it. We then spot check around 25% of our feedback. Of course we can't and don't guarantee the workmanship of our 7,000 listed trades, what we can guarantee is that every feedback is individually read and processed by a human being. Any complaints or low scores are looked into and except in very exceptional circumstances all good and bad comments and scores are made public to help the consumer make their choice. We are not perfect but this has to be better than anything else out there to help someone make an informed choice if they don't have a trade they already trust and rely on. If anyone has had a poor service from a Checkatrade member we want to hear about it. We are very committed to ridding the UK of rogue trades but we need the help of the those that employ the trades, the public. Our offices are always open and anyone is welcome to pay us a visit to see what an why we do the things we do. Sincerely, Kevin.

Re: Trades wanted - Jan (22nd Feb 2012 - 10:14:16) I'd go with CheckaTrade, they are trying to filter the wheat from the chaff and remember you can get more than one member to quote for the work AND ask them for references of previous work they've done. It has worked well for me on 2 occasions, plus I was only able to leave feedback myself on their site after the job was done and only because I had secured the services of one of their members, not just anyone can leave feedback. If you have a problem with a member you can tell CheckaTrade about it, and if they got repeated complaints about one of their members they can remove them. I used a plumber that was recommended to me on this actual Talkback website and was very very disappointed to find he left all his lunch wrappers and used drinks cans in my loft, then demanded extra money as the job took longer than he thought it would. When my other half got home from work and looked at the pipework and welding he felt our dog could have done a better job.

Re: Trades wanted - Jay W (22nd Feb 2012 - 17:44:04) Thanks for that info Kevin. Have just used Checkatrade again to find someone to install a TV aerial point - based on his reviews. Job not yet carried out but initial phone call was positive. Fingers crossed!

Re: Trades wanted - Sharron (22nd Feb 2012 - 19:10:32) I would recommend the Trading Standards Buy with Confidence scheme as a means to sort the good from the bad. It is run by the council and is, as far as I can see the only, truly independent scheme of its kind. All trades participating have been independently vetted by a County Council Trading Standards representative by means of interview, checking references for work done as well as financial checks. Members have to abide by a code of conduct and continue to be monitored on a regular basis. There is a 'Buy with Confidence' website that explains how the scheme runs and provides details of all its vetted members and their trades. At a time when there is a lot of bad press about rogue and cowboy builders this scheme really does try to help people have some confidence in the people and organisations they engage to do work for them. Hope that helps!

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