find a trusty tradesman

System

Hi,

Iam a plastering contractor.

My work comes to me on recommendation from those I have previously worked for.

To anyone out there trying to find a good tradesman, firstly always go on recommendations from friends/family/word of mouth. Secondly, if you can't find anyone to give a good recommendation, go through the Yellow Pages or Thomsons (or local papers) and trust your FIRST instincts. Remember, cheapest isn't always the best! Always ask lots of questions and ask for references for previous work.

System

Hi yes there are a few sites:

This http://www.qualitymark.org.uk/ is a new national service which provides a list of tradesmen/builders in all areas. It's a new campaign to get buildings and repairs traders to join up and give owners £2,500-plus home improvements or building work a six year guarantee against loss of deposit, poor workmanship and major defects.

There are 500 firms so far with another 700 in the pipeline. They are aiming to sign up at least one-third of building firms during the autumn with a big advertising campaign aimed at 'keeping the cowboys at bay'


These sites might be worth a visit as well
http://www.fmb.org.uk/ federation of master builders website, you can email for a list of tradesmen in your area.

http://www.buildingadvice.co.uk general advice etc.

Hope this helps

System

Hi Alison, I read with great interest your article about finding a trusty tradesman - We have been trying to find a plumber for nearly 6months now to give us a quote to put in a radiator - guess what they come out, say yes they can do the job and will send us a quote - guess what, we never hear from them again!!! we were beginning to get a complex, but when talking to others it seems that we are not alone - thank goodness for that - or is it?
Hope you find your tradesman and good luck!!!

System

Hello diane

Yeah I really think this a big can of worms.
It's amazing the nightmare it is to get a good tradesman.

I rang British Gas today after waiting for a plumber to turn up (which he didn't) and as I have their central heating cover they are sending a man out tomorrow morning - RESULT!! If the work we need isn't covered they will give us a quote from one of their contractors. Now that is service.
Ha I sound like I work for them. Honest I don't. Fingers crossed. (whilst I was on the phone they flogged me their electric cover too).

Still not sure what to do about the kitchen.

Some the sites people have said to go to are really good. I have been on the ask your neighbour one for the last half an hour.

Bye
xxx

Haggis_n_Neeps

I am a Building Standards Inspector for a Council in Scotland (un-named). I inspect lots & lots of private sector work; domestic, commercial & industrial (from internal house walls to new shopping malls) & I deal with one-man builders to multi-national companies.

FWIW in the domestic market, I would not trust any builder unless I had been recommended them. Always go see their previous work and speak with the property owner/occupier (or the person who got the work done). Do not just ask for a list of addresses of previous jobs and then do a drive-by visit (the builder may not have worked on the job and/or there may have been many problems on it). It is also worth noting that most projects have problems of some sort - what matters is how the builder sorts it out & how much to fix.

Like other posters have advised do not give any money up-front. If asked for money, ask the builder why he/she needs any money up front? Remember if they are reputable, they will have traders accounts with local merchants who give the builder interest free periods after invoice to pay up. So they money cannot be for materials. If the builder says that the money is for materials, they are unlikely to be credit worthy to a Builders Merchant, or they may be having problems paying their accounts there - knowing this you should ask yourself if you still want to give any money up front and take the risk. If they (the merchants) don't want to lend to the builder why should you take the risk and lend to him?

Best advice I can give to you is to ask others who have had work done for recommendations.
Unfortunately, us 'Money Savers' like to save, but sometimes it costs more ££'s in the long run to to be sure of getting things completed in a reasonable time, and less stressful. Also don't pay any more than 75 % of agreed price until you are happy with the work. Tell the builder that this is what you will be doing, right at the start when he is quoting for the job. If you pay it all just as work is finishing, it is commion not to see the builder again as he has no incentive to come back and finish the job. Depending of the scale of the work, a formal contract may be of use - various trade bodies will be able to provide further advice re this.


Anyway enough from me, I am away to see if I can become a consumer advisor now (best not let the Director know or he'll have me in the Trading Standards Section as well ;D ;D, on the same salary as just now )

System

Just to add another one to the list, my other half 'n I run a garden maintenance business and we advertise in 'The Trade Register'. It is a company that vet businesses keep recommendations on them and monitor the work etc etc.... They also work with the local Trading Standards offices.

They cover different areas in sections and I know they are in Hampshire. Give them a call 01243 601234 or try the website - https://www.vetted.co.uk
They also send out cards through people's doors and you might see them on counters in Tesco's, Libraries, Post Offices etc....

System

I am amazed at the naivety of many of the people who have posted on here!
British Gas and similar will rip your heart out!! Who do you think pays for the massive infrastructure? A recent quote for a boiler swap, for a relative, was £3200, one of their contractors did same job for £1500 and earned very well out of the job.
Get a personal recommendation, 3 quotes, copious quantities of tea/coffee and most importantly pay promptly.
The new government list, which is being set up, is a waste of time! The cost, after the first year, is prohibitive and for we tradesmen, who have plenty of work, it offers no benefits, so it will end up with larger companies being the only ones to register and you customers will once again pay through the nose for a poor quality service.
Why not get your offspring to become tradespeople instead of going to the University of Nowhere and graduating with a 2.3 in Media Studies(going to the pictures)?
Look after your tradesmen and they will look after you, the customers who treat me with respect and pay promptly get a top quality service!

trafalgar_2

Being polite will get you more customers ;D

aussielle

I would be very wary unless I had recommendations from family/friends etc
If you want a plumber/electrician but only know a joiner/tiler, give them a call. They all work together at some point and may be able to recommend someone to do the job you want.

System

I always go for personal recommendation and it's never let me down yet. We've recently had our bathroom revamped making a downstairs showerroom redundant. We decided to turn this into a toilet . A local medium sized company (the same one that revamped our bathroom at a cost of just under £10k) quoted us £2,900. I spoke to a neighbour who'd just had work done and he recommended a plumber. I went with this man and despite unforeseen problems(neighbours tree roots totally blocking the sewer) which meant extra digging and laying a new sewer pipe, the whole job including a small amount of wall and floor tiling cost £550. It looks fine and works well. Similarly with an electrician. I'm now building up a list of local good, reliable and reasonably charging tradesmen.You can sometime negotiate a discount if you tell them you'll pay cash in hand. Good luck Alison, but I'd be careful with MFI - known as Made for Idiots in this area.