Avoid being ripped-off by a cowboy tradesman

Mortgages and Home

John Fitzsimons
28 October 2010 | 12 Comments

If you have a home improvement job that needs doing, follow these simple tips and you'll avoid losing out to a cowboy.

My father-in-law is without question the most practical man I’ve ever met. He can do pretty much anything with his hands, he’s even built from scratch a nifty chest of drawers for when the baby arrives in January.

However, a couple of months ago, in a moment of madness, he agreed to have his driveway completely relayed by a cold-calling tradesman with the gift of the gab. And it’s fair to say things didn’t exactly go smoothly.

So if you need to make use of a tradesman, but don’t want to waste money on a chancer, here are some of the things you should do.

Do your homework

One way to ensure you choose the right tradesman for your job is to do your homework on them first. In days gone by that probably meant relying on friends of yours for recommendations, but now the internet does that job for you.

A new site called Elite Trades was launched recently, offering users the chance to review the work listed tradesmen perform. So if you need a plumber, and find one in your area on the site, you can also do a bit of background on just what you can expect from them.

There’s a pretty rigorous process before tradesmen even make it onto the site too. They have to undergo a face-to-face interview with the site founders (tradesmen in their own right), provide a number of references, sign and agree to a strict code of conduct and agree to random visits of their work from Elite Trades.

Trade bodies

When considering which tradesman to go for, a good idea is to find out whether they are a member of a trade body.

In order to qualify for membership of the trade association, workers will usually have to reach a certain standard, while in many cases they will also need to agree to a code of practice. This does not guarantee that you’ll end up satisfied with the work you receive, but it’s certainly a good guide.

Friends and family

While the internet is a brilliant tool in allowing you to do some proper research on what to expect from any given tradesmen, nothing can truly replace getting a recommendation from a friend or relative.

In my experience, going with a word-of-mouth recommendation from someone you know tends to ensure the workman goes the extra mile too.

Asking questions

This might seem like a bit of work, but it’s worth it in the long run. If you don’t ask the right questions, you may end up saddled with a ropey tradesman and have to spend a lot of time, effort, and most importantly money rectifying the situation.

Home improvements don’t usually come cheap, but find out the best ways to pay for them.

You should ask about how much experience the workman has of the job you’re looking for, ask for (and then follow up on) references, and in some cases, particularly with builders, to actually go and see examples of their previous work.

You should also make sure that they have insurance cover should anything go awry, including getting them to provide an insurance-backed guarantee, which will cover the cost of getting the job finished should your tradesman go bust before it’s all completed.

Getting in contact

A small but important tip. Before you go ahead with any tradesman, ensure you have a couple of different ways of contacting them – a landline telephone number and physical address are essential. If they will only provide a mobile telephone number, alarm bells should be ringing.

All about trust

Again, before going ahead with the tradesman you’ve found, see if they’re Trustmark approved.

Trustmark is a quality mark, which shows that the firm’s technical skills are regularly checked, they operate to a code of conduct, have all of the correct insurance in place and operate a clear complaints procedure should anything not be to your liking.

The Trustmark scheme is not-for-profit, and backed by various consumer groups, the Government and the building industry itself, so you should feel relatively reassured should your tradesman have it.

Get it in writing!

Most people have a horror story about the cost of the work ending up far more than they were originally quoted.

Slap it on plastic

Inevitably, an awful lot of the jobs you will need to use a tradesman for will set you back more than £100. As a result it’s a really good idea to pay using your credit card, as should anything go wrong, you benefit from Section 75 protection – in other words, your credit card provider becomes equally liable with the tradesman. For more on how this protection works, have a read of Your credit card can protect you from the recession.

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Comments

Spoons
17 December 2010
There are a lot of Trade Directories which just add no real value to your search, but EliteTrades.com are not one of them (earlier comment). I work for a charity and we use EliteTrades.Com because all their trades are Vetted and are checked on a regular basis. We feel safe using EliteTrades.com and have never been let down by their members.
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CuNNaXXa
30 October 2010
With regards to non paying customers, you can always go down the County Court route for non payment. No one who has a solid reputation wants a CCJ against their name, and if their reason for non payment isn't genuine, they'll either pay up or else. I've heard cases of electricians doing full rewires, only to be told when they have finished that the customer has just been made redundant, and cannot pay them. As with all jobs that are invoiced after the goods or services have been delivered, there is a chance for non payment. Also, the perception of what some workmen do is ranked quite low. Plumbers and electricians are highly qualified. Some of their qualifications are to A-Level standard, and some would probably earn a degree with little difficulty, yet people perceive these craftsmen as ignorant savages who are beneath the pen pushers who have these attitudes. Next time you chat with an electrician, ask him or her about the adiabatic equation, or ask a plumber about flow rates and pressure testing. They will come out with maths that will make your mind hurt, unless you are already a mathematician. The reason these people are skilled at what they do is that they understand the necessity of what they are doing to make you home safe for you and your family. Actually, I think people have more respect for Car Salesmen, even though the only thing they are qualified in, is waffle. Ironic that someone can spend a fortune on a shiny new car, without even bothering to negotiate a discount (even I have been guilty of this one), yet they can penny pinch for a rewire or minor works for something that CAN kill if done wrong. Maybe we should turn up in sharp suites and pointy shoes?
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matchmade
29 October 2010
I second davarn's comment that there are many "cowboy" customers around as well: people who add work to a job after a price has been agreed and expect it to be done for free, people who prove to be incredibly pernickerty and expect a far higher quality of work and materials than was agreed and treat the tradesperson's time as if it were free, people who withhold money for no good reason. I know several excellent plumbers and builders who have been forced into bankruptcy by customers - frequently middle-class ones who know exactly what they are doing and treat working people like slaves - who withhold substantial sums for the flimsiest of reasons. In addition to asking for local recommendations, I suggest keeping an eye open for work being done in your area on other people's houses. Knock on their door and ask them how the work is going. Ring the tradesperson and ask to meet them at the neighbour's house to talk over what they're doing, and then move over to your own house. That way you can cross-check the views of the current client, the tradesperson, and your own. Another option is to ring your local parish council and ask who they use for their regular maintenance. Parish councillors tend to be conscientious and locally savvy people, and they will use good workers. I'd be less keen on using local authority workers as I'm a bit prejudiced that they will be chippy, unionised, prone to working slowly and to rule, and local authority charge rates are usually standard national ones with no scope for competitive tendering. You will probably get a good job done, eventually, but if you have complaints, you will rarely get any redress (they've no reputation to maintain, or any incentive to give good customer service), and the cost is going to be high. It's little different from the local monopoly enjoyed by utility firms who install or move meters, or run new supplies to a new-build property: they know you are utterly dependent on them, they can charge whatever figure they like, and there's no-one holding them to account.
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