mybuilder.com - any good?

Helen_London_2

I used this site when looking for a general builder. I did not realise then that builders were paid customers although now that I know what happened makes more sense.
Basically I had a couple of total cowboys around, very rude and clearly not interested in doing the job. I posted a negative feedback and I had some threatening text messages back from them (strange as how before the feedback they couldn't even be bothered to pick up the phone but they had time to post these texts). Anyhow the very next day my negative feedback was gone, when I called MyBuilder they gave the reason that as the job had not been completed I was not allowed to post a feedback ! The fact that there were not negative feedbacks on any of their builders now becomes clear, negative feedbacks are removed.

KateLiana27

(I know this is an old thread but it's still useful, so I'll add my tuppence worth).

Another reason for skewed feedback is the fact that many people do not feel comfortable posting negative feedback about someone who knows exactly where they live (not to mention the way around their house). I know I didn't. So I wouldn't trust good feedback on these sites one bit.

Personal recommendations are the way to go. Widen your net if necessary - I'd rather go with someone recommended by a random person at the bus stop than someone with glowing reviews on MyBuilder or similar.

Ollimae

ECEC wrote: »

Saw the link to this site through the channel 4 website. Need a bathroom and showerroom refitted/modernised, in the S. London area.

Not too keen on ratedpeople due to the mixed reviews, but was wondering if anyone has used mybuilder.com?

WARNING!!

My son-in-law used this site to find someone to build him a retaining wall. The man took £1200 from my son-in-law, which was half the cost he quoted, demolished the old wall then left the job after two days during which he had caused about £1000 worth of damage to the property and also damage to the neighbour's property.
We later discovered he'd been made bankrupt the previous year and mybuilder had no record of this. He also only had a mobile phone number which he didn't answer for obvious reasons, and two different addresses. He sometimes used his partner's name too instead of his own, probably because of the bankruptcy.

My son-in-law has had to take recourse with Trading Standards and small claims court was advised, although they have told him he's unlikely to get anywhere.
He contacted 'mybuilder' who disclaimed any responsibilty because the customer doesn't pay them, the builder does.....although they have removed this cowboy builder from their site now.

I would advise anyone to do their own checks before accepting anyone advertising on this site.

fluffpot

I'm an electrician and I left my builder because they started charging me for 'leads' ie jobs I might not even want. Since I have plenty of work I'm sure as hell not going to pay for stuff I don't want!
I would suggest joining Which? and using the whichlocal website to find local trades. Traders can't post - only which members, and there's no £ involved so it's like a personal recommendation.

BTW I don't have any links to Which? in fact I'm not even a member, but I have been added to the list of local recommended electricians. I'm very happy to work for Which clients as they tend to know what they want, not be time wasters. nice customers and pay promptly.

Leif

I got two sets of builders via CheckATrade. The first were okay, and as far as I can see most of the work was done well, some rough edges, but nothing serious. However, I would not use them again. The second were cowboys, and I am £3,000 down and about to start court proceedings to get the money back. They had 39 glowing reviews on CheckATrade, but the work they did was appalling, such that I threw them out. It looked bad and was potentially dangerous. I would have missed the worst faults had it not been for showing photos to experienced pros who pointed out what was wrong, and I found that tiles above a bath were barely attached to the wall. The problem with CheckATrade is that you do not know the people who post the reviews, and it is conceivable some are fake. So you do not know the standards of the people. The cowboys were incredibly charming and credible, apparently providing lots of advice, which turned out to be wrong, and presumably designed to con me into choosing the easy path for them. The cowboys provided a quote, then afterwards said a towel radiator would be £300 extra, and moving the soil pipe back would be £500 extra. The new people I got in (recommended by a colleague) to completely redo the work just said "if you want a towel radiator, buy one, they cost £80" and chased the pipes into the wall at no extra cost. And they also rerouted the soil pipe, moving it back for use with a modern toilet. Oh and all pipes were chased into the wall, no extra charge. And the total cost was less than the cowboys.

The problem is that non pros such as myself do not know the difference between a good job, and a quick and dirty one. And we do not know when we are being conned.

keystone wrote: »

So the oft repeated (and often ignored) advice remains that these sites are a total waste of time and you should only go for recommendations from a source you trust.

After my experience, I agree completely with this.

Review sites are there for the trades people, and good trades people get enough work by word of mouth. Only new ones, and those who cannot get work by word of mouth need to use review sites.

spitthedog

I used mybuilder.com to find a plumber to sort out my boiler that had broken down leaving me without hot water and central heating.

I hired a local guy based on a quote he submitted in response to my job on the mybuilder.com site.

When he turned up (3 hours late) he walked in as if he owned the place giving me attitude right from the start. He checked over the boiler for a few minutes whilst cursing and slagging it off (apparently he didn't like the model). By this point I smelt a rat and was starting to get nervous at what he was going to do next. He emerged a few mins later saying "your boiler is dangerous mate, and I'm gonna have to disconnect it as it's leaking, these boilers are a pile of sh*t". I was suspicious but went along with what he said as I felt I had no other choice but to trust him. He was recommended by people on mybuilder.com and was gas safe registered so I thought ok, do what you have to.

Anyway, to cut a very long story short he said I needed about £200 worth of parts to make it safe and working again. I said I'd think about it and get a second opinion to which he was annoyed about but I thought I should get a second opinion as I was suspicious he was just trying to rip me off. After he left I phoned another gas engineer who came out the next day and looked over the boiler, turns out what this bloke was spinning me was all bullsh*t and I didn't actually need £200 worth of work doing at all and there was no leak. The new engineer fixed the fault and charged just £80 call out including a small part.

So here comes the good bit, I went on mybuilder.com and left the cowboy plumber negative feedback. A few days later I got an aggressive and abusive email off the cowboy saying he was going to sue me for slander and claim damages against me. I logged back in to mybuilder.com and was stunned to see they had actually REMOVED my feedback!!! I emailed them to tell them the entire saga but never heard anything from them. So I emailed again saying I was planning on leaving the site as I thought it couldn't be trusted and I received a reply stating 'Thank you for your concerns, we have reviewed this particular case and have decided to remove your feedback given the circumstances. They didn't explain why though.

I won't be using any of those sites again. :wave:

sara12_2

I'm afraid I cannot comment on mybuilder, however I have used checkatrade.com in the past and found it to be a useful resource.

Greg123

MyBuilder are fine until something goes wrong.

I have lost hundreds of pounds through their siding with a cowboy electrician. Mybuilder were totally one-sided and used false arguments. I eventually took the electrician to court and won on all points.

I was so annoyed at Mybuilder that I put up a website

This site blocks me from putting this link up - do a search on mybuilder-review.

(you are always going to get cowboys, but firms like MyBuilder who misrepresent references given to builders re their past jobs on their website and do not follow their own guidelines should be blacklisted)

Wedgie

As a petite lady who moves about the country I have always found the process of find good tradesmen difficult. After being badly burned over my kitchen by a smooth talking Project Manager with !!!! taking employees I am more aware.

I would never recommend rated people. They do not do any checks. However, My builder does check insurance documents and qualifications. There are a few sites like this. As with any workman you don't know it's good to find out as much as you can about your job before calling them in. I have had men who think that I will employ them if they are rude to me, if they are slightly aggressive, if they lie about building regulations (this is quite common.) etc etc.

So, at the end of the day check out their recommendations, scrutinise their photographs, put forward your own terms and conditions to come to a compromise with theirs, pay VAT unless you know them really well (and if you did you wouldn't be here,) go visit a couple of their jobs, speak to ex clients on the telephone and most importantly, do you honestly think that they will provide the service you want in the most stress free manner?

Good Luck! And if you need to meet eight builders to find one then do it. Choosing great workmen takes time

raul_ross

mybuilder.com like any other web are not regulated by anybody, they never tell you about the hide charges made by the trades man registered with them.
you do not need to prove that you are qualified for the job as a builder.
as a tradesman you just have to pay your fee on time and you are considered a professional on mybuilder.com and on many other similar websites.
to be shortlisted for a job (as a tradesman)on my builder.com the charges are around £15 any customer can shortlist 5 tradesman and not to use any of them to get the job done!!!!!
yes they have money to advertise all over the place,
they are only a money making machine