Great 'how to find decent tradesmen' hunt

jlovatt_2

You can't rely on the council approved contractors list either. I used to work for a builder who was on the council's list, and I wouldn't trust him with anything more complicated than painting.

iamcornholio wrote: »

The internet schemes are all useless as a source of guaranteed good trades people, and have only been set up purely as a business model to get income from the registered members, customers or both. Its a false sense of security to think that they will deliver a good tradesperson. They will delivee a person, but without the 'good' or 'trades' suffix

The governments Quality Mark was a shambles, and its replacement Trustmark is equally useless

Membership of the various trade associations is no guarantee either. Membership is easy to get, and you just make a complaint against a member and see how far it gets, how soon the associaion will distance itself from providing any help at all, and close ranks.

Local councils can have some approved lists of contractors, who have gone through a vetting process, and may be useful.

But word of mouth is the best way to get a good contractor - it's not foolproof by any means, but it is better than the other options.

When you think that a guy does not have to be qualified to make significant structural alterations, but he does have to be qualified to put a plug socket in a kitchen. Then it begs the question as to why there is no regulation of building work, which would require tradespeople to be qualified to a standard in order to carryout building work, rather than just needing a cheeky grin and jeans halfway down their bum.

Lukey_lukey

gramjo wrote: »

Hi i am a decorator and a member of Dulux Select Decorators all the members are also Trustmark registered. Everyone is thoroughly vetted before gaining membership including all aspects of our businesses insurances, accounting, estimating, appearance and standard of workmanship. we are also monitored and checked on a regular basis. All work on domestic properties is covered by a 2 year guarantee from dulux and deposits are covered in case of something happening to the decorator. all the guys are conscietious people who care about our customers and their homes. any disputes are dealt with by dulux immediately. you can get more info from dulux website. all customer feedback is taken from comments on the guarantee forms

I don't understand why you'd need a deposit?

Mary_Hartnell

Because there are a lot of customers out there with debts and this gives rise to a "can't pay won't pay" attitude?.
How much money would you be prepared to lend interest free to someone you had only just met?

http://www.priorydevelopment.co.uk/intheshopwindow/tour.asp

laura99t_2

I am going to comment from the other side of the fence. My partner and I run a property improvement company specialising in interior and exterior painting and decorating. 95% of our work comes from recommendations by current satisfied customers.
We have tried rated people etc etc and paid to quote a few jobs. Every job we went to quote was what my partner called a "donkey". (the people were not home or they had not requested the quote etc etc.) Sites like rated people, etc do nothing to assist the reputation of tradesmen. We work extremely hard to maintain a very high level of service in and around the Shropshire area and have received NO negative feedback to date. We have a written feedback form that we ask each customer to complete at the end of the job.
We are going to rely soley on the recommendation angle as it costs absolutely nothing and people trust you from the very first introduction.

blondrach

Hi All,

This is my very first post ever so I'm not sure if I've replied in the correct order, but here goes...

I'm having 'tradies' dramas of my own...

I live in central London and am having a hard time trying to find a good carpenter, a good handyman and a good plumber. I have a great sparky but can't find anyone else reliable. Every time someone comes recommended I get excited, that finally I have found someone good and reliable, and then they're busy for the forseeable future. So much for this recession, I don't think the tradies ever noticed it's been and gone!!

I don't really want to go through those websites as I know they're full of people who write their own recommendations, but word of mouth doesn't seem to be working as they never call back or are busy for weeks on end (not good if you have an 'emergency' to deal with, which is what I'm experiencing now).

Can someone suggest a different way of finding reliable people? The frustrating thing is that I have work for these kind of trades fairly regularly if I could only find good people I could call upon again and again.

Anyone who works in Tower Hamlets or Bermondsey would be ideal.

All suggestions welcome!

Thank you.

Blondie

polegate

asked two decorators to estimate decorating a bedroom, still waiting, that was over one week ago, if they do not want the job why don't they say, then i could find someone else.

polishing_peanuts

On the principle that it 'takes one to know one' I wrote this a while back. (I am a master craftsman).

ehow.com/how_5634232_good-tradesmen-new-town.html (copy and paste into browser or google)

Basically, ask at your local builders merchant> Believe me builders merchant counter staff are a breed apart, having to deal with the "hairy ar5ed brigade" on a daily basis!

They surely do know the good guys from the bad guys.

Hope that helps
Ian
(been lurkin far to long on MSN!)

redlady_1

My long hunt continues but I may have found a plumber - but he doesnt come cheap! He has yet to start the work however, anyone who gives a guarantee of 12 months for their work and has been in business for 30 years cant be bad. I was so impressed when he came to quote. he even came with a tape measure!!!! Keep your fingers crossed. Cant say the same for any of the other tradesmen though!

Yooj_2

My spark gives a 12 month guarantee on all hardware, and a 6 year insurance backed guarantee on all workmanship!!!

1984ReturnsForReal_2

redlady_1 wrote: »

My long hunt continues but I may have found a plumber - but he doesnt come cheap! He has yet to start the work however, anyone who gives a guarantee of 12 months for their work and has been in business for 30 years cant be bad. I was so impressed when he came to quote. he even came with a tape measure!!!! Keep your fingers crossed. Cant say the same for any of the other tradesmen though!

Plumbing is covered by consumer rights also.....