CheckATrade any good?

Hello Keystone, I don't think your comments are fair. I do try to speak with the project manager, who I shall call Peter on the grounds that it is his name, but doing so is very very difficult, and he continually makes promises that he breaks, and continually tells me how busy he is. I have never raised my voice, or got angry, or even sounded flustered or annoyed. On a personal level he is likeable. What am I supposed to do? Should I ring every day and annoy him, or sit around waiting for him to not carry out promises?

I've been asking for an itemised quote for over two weeks now, after receiving an invoice with 7 days to pay. One week ago when I spoke to him he said he was doing it, but there is no sign of it. I have had that "I am doing it now" statement several times". The (verbal) agreement was that they bill me once the work is done and I am satisfied. When I add up the quoted amounts (all but a few small items were written quotes, two were verbal) the total matches the amount requested. How difficult is it to prepare an itemised quote? Is that unreasonable? I think not. I paid the first invoice without argument. But the second plus the first seems to equal the total cost despite the work not being done. He said that was not the case, hence my request for an itemised invoice. I think that is quite reasonable. And I paid all but £1K (£9K total) because they have done a lot of work. Is that unreasonable? I don't think it is. If he is an honest professional person, he should prepare a simple itemised invoice. A week is more than enough time to do that given other commitments.

Regarding the electrics, they have a plan with measurements on (e.g. 300mm wide cabinet) and arrows drawn up by a kitchen surveyor who spent 3 hours in the kitchen making measurements and checking details with me. It is a well drawn A3 sized plan (two sheets). I think you call it an orthographic projection (plan and side on views). I read the plan, and it took me less than a minute to work out where one wire should have been, and to discover that it was in fact completely out of place. That is a basic fault. And I cannot ask them to correct it because it was discovered by the kitchen fitter during installation, and I think he pulled the cable out and moved it (the damage is largely hidden behind cupboards). What did you expect the fitter to do? Stop work, and go home until the builder returns and routes a new channel, tearing up the newly decorated wall? I did not nanny the builder i.e. I did not check that all sockets and cables were in the correct place because I trusted them. They were instructed to get the kitchen ready for installation of units and appliances. They verbally stated that they could get the kitchen ready for painting one week before installation (they had 4 weeks) but I delayed the fitting two weeks because I suspected they could not do so, and I was right. I did not make any accusations, or argue with them. I just asked Optiplan to delay to be sure the work was done.

Regarding the socket box and screw, I have contacted them and indicated that it is broken, without making any accusations or likewise, but I have heard absolutely nothing from them. They are not even aware that I have fixed the issue, which I did because fitting was due to take place the next day. Sorry but I do not agree that they should leave a broken mounting box in place when they know I am going to paint the room, and have a kitchen fitted. I paid a fortune for the electrics, and expect a high standard. I did not expect to pull out a mounting box after installation of the kitchen (which could have been the case, and they did not check to see).

I disagree that damage to the window is acceptable. Peter agreed that they should have protected the window, which would have been a minor issue. Protection would have been really easy, just a covering on the frame. I have not taken issue with them over damage to architraves, or dirty water from radiators splashed over walls (which I did not mention before), or dirty water splashed over paths outside, but the window is more serious.

A colleague's parents had some builders do substantial work for them (move a door and create two bathrooms). At the end of each day they were told what had been done, and there were no problems. I did not go with them as I did not like their proposal for the boiler. They did not cause damage to other parts of the house.

The reason why I am getting wound up is because I can't contact these people as they are so difficult to deal with and they keep making promises they break. He told me they had a selection of floor tiles to view, but that turns out not to be true. Not a big deal, but consistent with the general behaviour of empty promises. Please do not tell me I am not communicating. I have been asking him for the sales sheet to my house for about a month now without success. They are only a mile down the road too, so it would be really easy to drop it off. How many times do I have to politely speak to Peter and ask for something simple to be done?

The kitchen is being fitted by Optiplan. I have had no trouble with them. In fact they are great. I originally gave them slightly out measurements for the kitchen, so when the surveyor came, he had to adjust units. No problem. And when I asked them to delay installation, no problem. When I rang about the waste outlet, no problem. I never get "we are so busy, it is a nightmare" from them. I never get broken promises. They are calm, and friendly. Peter is friendly, but so so difficult to speak with. My impression is that he has far too much work to do, and hence he cannot devote the time he needs to dealing with me.

What you say about CheckATrade is very very worrying. Basically you are saying that only good reviews are allowed, which means that it is pointless, and serves the tradesmen, not the customer. I tried to find out from the site if that is how it operates, and did not get that impression. Are the statements you make based on fact such as first hand experience or hearsay, or speaking with people in the know? This is not intended as a slight to you, merely to clarify as the comments you make are so critical of CheckATrade.

They quoted me for a bathroom but I have had other people visit, and I checked a couple of recent references (rang the people concerned) for them and they seem genuine.

Most of your criticism of me are not valid in my opinion, except for one, that I refilled the screw holes in the skirting. You are right I did not trust them. He used an electric sander and chewed up the (MDF) skirting around the screws. Should I allow him to carry on like that? I am restricted in the time I can spend on the decorating, and do not want to sit around for weeks waiting for a builder to rectify his mistakes. I have most of the house to paint over the next month, all in my spare time.

I need a bathroom fitting, and getting information from Peter is impossible. I've had promises of an itemised quote, of a list of tiles, and so on. None of the promises were kept.

Sorry but I feel your critisicms are not fair.

keystone wrote: »

Stand back and read it again then but objectively. I am not criticising you per se. I am evaluating the scenario you have described as I see it. It reads just like a classic case. The pair of you need to convert your communication solution from transmit on/receive off to full duplex. You and he are clearly not communicating and you are rubbing one another up the wrong way. Sort this one out, apply a bit of give and take and the other problems will self adjust.

Sorry if I'm blunt but thats the way I am.

Cheers

Sorry but I do not understand what you think I am doing wrong as your post read like a stream of criticisms of me.

I do try and communicate, but it is always a case of "I'll get back to you". What am I supposed to do? How many times do I have to ring him to ask him to do something he said he would do a week before? He is not rubbing me up the wrong way. I find him pleasant to deal with, and likeable. I've chatted with him a number of times, for example when they started the work. But I'm now frustrated to find they do not work to the standards suggested by reviews, and that he does not keep his promises. It is only now that the kitchen fitter arrived, and found more than a few issues, and Peter is not providing me with an itemised invoice, that I am getting irritated.

I forgot to mention the radiators. I took them off to do the walls, and left them lying on pieces of old carpet cut to size. When the builders arrived, they threw away the carpet pieces, and stacked the radiators on the concrete floor, edge down. These were nice painted radiators, and they now have noticeable areas of lost paint. I cannot prove the builders did that, as I did not examine the radiators before (I trusted them) but the exposed metal looks fresh. That is not professional. That is not a case of me annoying the builder or vice versa, it's poor work. It is lack of care for my property. And keeping my house sales brochure is lack of care for my property. What am I supposed to do? I have asked politely for him to return it many many times. The kitchen fitter has cabinet doors lying on their sides, with cardboard to protect them from the floor. He takes care.

So how do I get an itemised invoice? I've politely asked several times over the last two weeks. I've sent polite emails asking for an invoice. It looks as if he wants full payment before the work is complete.

Does anyone else have feedback or thoughts on CheckATrade?

olly300 wrote: »

They can.

Good heavens. It is a charlatans paradise then. All you need do is make sure some jobs are good, then don't give a damn about the rest. The web site gives the opposite impression. It implies all reviews are shown. I think I will contact Trading Standards and make a complaint. It is grossly misleading, and IMO a scam. The fact that it gives you the ratings for people is fraudulent.

olly300 wrote: »

Did you go around to their houses to see the work? That's the best way to find out if they are any good.

No, although one lady did offer. The two people I spoke to were retired. She liked the fact that they were approved by Trading Standards. Both said the work was very good.