Checkatrade

cepheus

Did you see the BBC Watchdog investigation of Checkatrade last night?

Checkatrade refuse to allow (negative) feedback if trader doesn't turn up, nor until the trader has been given a chance to fix the problem, nor until Checkatrade have inspected the work and agree with the customer. Traders can also just re-brand after negative reviews and start anew, ensuring near full marks appear on the site. Checkatrade claim to have changed first of these policies since the investigation. Traders pay checkatrade up to £1000 to be registered. Seems like a bargain for that sort of service!

See first item in programme. Also includes intimidatory behaviour of traders to customers giving negative reviews.

Captaincodpiece

Terrible and if he's got good feedback they insist on checking the work first.

jason777

I am a checkatrade member for 2years I didn't want to go down that road but in my area every tradesman was on there so I joined they ask for 6 recent jobs that you have done so I did they phoned each one and ask for feedback 3weeks later I was a memberafter about 2 months with no phone calls I went on checkatrade web site and searched for a builder in my post code and to my shock I was on page 8 all those other builders in front of me were not in my post code so I phoned checkatrade and asked them why they said you get put at the top when a customer submits a feedback I said well I haven't had any work to get a customer to submit a feedback the girl on the phone then said get a friend or family member to submit a review for you so you go to the top of list on checkatrade I was gob smacked since then talking to other tradesman that are on checkatrade they to have been told this and some of them fill the cards in them selfs scoring them selfs yep you've guessed it 10 out of 10 for the work they have just done so if you see a tradesman with a score of 10 with 100 customers don't believe it because no will give you 10 out 10 for everything ie timekeeping 10out 10 tideness 10 out 10 workmanship 10 out 10 price 10 out 10 I'm not saying checkatrade is bad I'm just saying there are many flaws and not once has a checkatrade person gone to one of my jobs to check my work or if it's a real job at allall

jason777

My advice to anybody looking for a tradesman is
1 get three or more quotes
2 never pay more then 75% of the money till the jobs completely finished and your completely happy
3 ask the tradesman if you can go and see there last job or at least there phone number so you can speak to them

dacouch

cepheus wrote: »

Did you see the BBC Watchdog investigation of Checkatrade last night?

Checkatrade refuse to allow (negative) feedback if trader doesn't turn up, nor until the trader has been given a chance to fix the problem, nor until Checkatrade have inspected the work and agree with the customer. Traders can also just re-brand after negative reviews and start anew, ensuring near full marks appear on the site. Checkatrade claim to have changed first of these policies since the investigation. Traders pay checkatrade up to £1000 to be registered. Seems like a bargain for that sort of service!

See first item in programme. Also includes intimidatory behaviour of traders to customers giving negative reviews.

Amusing how they stated they changed number one off their own back and in no way connected to the BBC program...

NonGeographicalMan

jason777 wrote: »

I am a checkatrade member for 2years I didn't want to go down that road but in my area every tradesman was on there so I joined

the girl on the phone then said get a friend or family member to submit a review for you so you go to the top of list on checkatrade I was gob smacked since then talking to other tradesman that are on checkatrade they to have been told this and some of them fill the cards in them selfs scoring them selfs yep you've guessed it 10 out of 10 for the work they have just done so if you see a tradesman with a score of 10 with 100 customers don't believe it because no will give you 10 out 10 for everything ie timekeeping 10out 10 tideness 10 out 10 workmanship 10 out 10 price 10 out 10

Thank you jason777 for this most illuminating confirmation of Checkatrade's extremely dodgy business methods from someone clearly forced to use them against his better judgement and who is equally appalled by their dodgy and disgraceful ways of encouraging traders to come at the top of their listings. In fact if the way that a trader comes at the top of the list is as you describe then this means it is almost always going to be a tradesman who is totally lacking in scruples and who only cares about money who most customers using the website will fall in to the hands of.

Have you thought about writing to the Chief Executive of the Competition and Markets Authority as listed at www dot ceoemail dot com as only real confirmations from Tradesmen like yourself about the way they behave will force a proper investigation in them to have them closed down or stopped.

I also find it totally appalling that ITV's evening weather broadcasts are also allowed to be sponsored by this company thus giving the impression that CheckATrade are respectable and can be relied upon.

Really all of us here who think CheckATrade should be closed down should write to the CEO of ITV as listed at www dot ceoemail dot com obecting to the Checkatrade sponsorship

Mojiver10

Interesting that it has taken this long to get onto watchdog and that they are endorsed by trading standards!

I had an issue a couple of years ago now where we were quoted a price over the phone then once completed asked to pay another £250 on top of what was quoted..... Got nowhere with trader who refused to talk to us so got In touch with check a trade. They did try and intervene with the dispute and even though we proved our side of dispute because the trader refused to cash our cheque for original agreed costs they refused to publish negative review to warn other potential customers. To this day our cheque has not been cashed and our review has not been posted......... So another way the trader gets out of negative reviews. Have never used anyone since who is registered with check a trade and believe the system to be totally biased towards the trader and not the consumer.

1Steve

Had some very incompetent work done by a plumber who is highly rated on Checkatrade. I submitted a negative review but it was not published. As trades pay to register this site is far from impartial. I no longer use it. Totally discredited.

NonGeographicalMan

1Steve wrote: »

Had some very incompetent work done by a plumber who is highly rated on Checkatrade. I submitted a negative review but it was not published. As trades pay to register this site is far from impartial. I no longer use it. Totally discredited.

I still found it pretty alarming that until very recently Checkatrade were being allowed to sponsor ITV weather bulletins in order to try to con yet further unsuspecting punters to be lured in to the hands of their many dodgy wideboy traders.

I meant to send a complaint to the CEO of ITV and/or put in a complaint to the ASA (ok it was only sponsorship with a nasal Checkatrade, Checkatrade jingle but to allow such a disreputable service to advertise at all on national tv seems highly objectionable) but as far as I can tell that sponsorship does seem to have now been brought to an end. Perhaps the wife of one ITV's overpaid senior executives finally tried using a Checkatrade workmen to have something done in their expensive home.;):eek::rotfl:

See https://www.facebook.com/VettedLtd/posts/680307878707614

and

https://www.facebook.com/VettedLtd/posts/738566406215094

sharper9

Checkatrade was a good idea but badly implemented.
By not allowing bad reviews it renders the whole thing pointless.

The staff are no better.

Epic fail!