RATED PEOPLE - bad experience

Leif

Of course they are money making schemes, what else is a company for? The way they operate is flawed, not enough checks on the validity of reviews, no proper checks on the work, reviews posted straight after the job with no possibility of a follow up if problems develop, and so on.

I need a fencer, and I asked a neighbour, as the fencer they used was very good. I've heard some trades say that if you are good, you don't need to advertise.

Tiglath

I've only used ratedpeople once. Found a fencer who did a brilliant job (he hadn't been doing it long on there - one positive review) and subsequently recommended him to a friend who was equally delighted.

robatwork

Finding tradesmen is a real problem if nobody can recommend one. I have also found that when I have a personal recommendation, that builder (or whatever) is booked solid for months.

Having tried just about every avenue short of going for aardvark trades from the yellow pages, I have had the best experiences from Which Local (where I trust the reviews) and trading standards approved tradesmen.

What has really surprised me is how many times I get someone round for a quote, so they have had to spend their time and petrol, and they never even bother to contact me again. If they aren't interested then a stupidly high quote or even a "sorry but this isn't a job I am interested in" would be polite and professional.

Maybe it's me!

Gastines2

The biggest problem nowadays seems to be finding decent trades.I used to be in the Interior re-furb trade,private and commercial sites and was lucky enough to be able to use the same tradesmen for many years.Now retired and most of my workmates are as well,I am now finding out just how difficult it is to get a decent job done at a decent rate. I get a site ready for trades to get straight on with their job but on a house re-furb I tried 6 different plumbers to do a straight forward new bathroom suite in,kitchen sink and supply to white goods. 3 didn't turn up at all,one told me that it wasn't the sort of job he took on,the other two quoted a horrendous price that I presumed was their normal practice."We don't really want the job but if you pay 6 times what it's worth ,we'll fit it in" In the end I waited the extra 10 days for my usual,retired plumber to return from holiday. I may add he's still Gas-Check etc.

Leif

I guess it is worth mentioning that a good way to get a trade is to find a reputable independent bathroom/kitchen shop nearby, and ask who they use. I assume they are happy to pass on business. I would not do that with places like B&Q as I have the impression the sheds have lower standards, going by reviews of their kitchen installations.