mybuilder.com - any good?

keystone

bk1967 wrote: »

Make up your own minds whether this is biased towards the tradesmen................................

No it isn't really because this:

and MyBuilder's credibility is brought in to disrepute.

is what they are really worried about.

Cheers

Leif

keystone wrote: »

No it isn't really because this:

is what they are really worried about.

Cheers

Yes, biased towards MyBuilder.

bk1967

Agreed.
So then back to the topic are mybuilder.com any good?
No, not while their review system misrepresents trademen by not allowing negative feedback.

Patr100

I see that I was subscribed to this thread but haven't replied. I used My builder last year for a couple of smallish jobs. There definitely were some negative ratings for some businesses that replied to my job listings but I would take these rating sites with a pinch of salt. Years ago I employed a builder that was listed under a similar "Fair trades" scheme and their employees stole a cam corder while I trusted them to work on the house when away!
Even word of mouth recommendations can go bad as I have also found.

bk1967

In a response I received from mybuilder as to why they rejected my feedback they wrote

"Feedback on MyBuilder is tied to the job description so that customers can comment on quality of work, based on the assumption that the work was carried out. Unlike other ‘review’ based sites, we insist that feedback is tied to an actual transaction between two parties. This way, we avoid disputes from builders who might claim that the feedback is simply malicious."

They go on to say

"We recognise the need for a means of allowing job posters to report unreliable tradesmen and for this to be reflected on their profile for all to see. Such a system would need to be designed in such a way that there is no margin for dispute from the tradesman. This is no small task but something we would very much like to introduce at some point in the future."

So they are removing feedback, but only because they have not got round to writing a proper disclaimer.

blondie_one

Always found good people on this site however, I have one major issue with this site which is that it is unfair to tradespeople as they apparently charge any tradesperson that is shortlisted - yes, shortlisted - so they don't even get the job and they get charged - outrageous!

Leif

blondie_one wrote: »

Always found good people on this site however, I have one major issue with this site which is that it is unfair to tradespeople as they apparently charge any tradesperson that is shortlisted - yes, shortlisted - so they don't even get the job and they get charged - outrageous!

Interesting that you found good people, and yet your complaint is from the point of view of a trader.

anneatkins

baldelectrician wrote: »

Thing is - if they want to buy the domains (myhammer and mybuilder) for £800 then that is vastly cheaper than the lawyers and court fees.

*Necroposting*

I think people like you (but on a much bigger scale, I reckon you're just chump change) are making the internet a mess by soaking up good domain names and then charging pricey rates for them.

I can't stand it when something I am looking for or a business I like has a wonky domain name because some goober bought the most natural one "to thell it to thomeone for lotth of money!" (Pratchettised)

This is called domain/cyber squatting, and is in some countries quite illegal. In Europe 84% of cases against people like you have been lost by the squatters.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cybersquatting


Grrrr.
:silenced:

mrben_2

as a tradesmen there is only one site I would reccomend and that is "buy with confidence" (can't post the link as i'm a new user sorry)
this is a site that is run by trading standards and all tradesmen are thoroughly checked.
My company had the last 7 clients details taken as references. 3 of which were followed up to check how happy the clients were with the work carried out and the quality of the work.
The company accounts were also checked over to make sure everything was legitimate, and every employee had to be crb checked

Leif

mrben wrote: »

as a tradesmen there is only one site I would reccomend and that is "buy with confidence" (can't post the link as i'm a new user sorry)
this is a site that is run by trading standards and all tradesmen are thoroughly checked.
My company had the last 7 clients details taken as references. 3 of which were followed up to check how happy the clients were with the work carried out and the quality of the work.
The company accounts were also checked over to make sure everything was legitimate, and every employee had to be crb checked

The cowboys who screwed my bathroom are on the BWC scheme. I guess none of these schemes are foolproof, and the only sure way to check a trade is to examine the work closely, which no scheme does, or can do. The difference between BWC, and commercial schemes, is that Trading Standard do pursue complaints. In my case they have pursuaded the trades that compensation is due. Thus far I have been offered £1,500, compared to £2,000 which I think I am due, and which Trading Standards initially said I was owed. So yes, this scheme is much better than the commercial ones. I know from first hand experience that CheckATrade do not take complaints seriously, and they side with the trades, irrespective of the evidence. In my case they 'investigated', and came to the conclusion that I owed the trade further money (paid £3,000, one bathroom destroyed), but the trade would ignore the debt out of goodwill on their part. Trading Standards concluded that the work was below the legally acceptable standard, and I was owed the cost to make good.