Avoid Using Checkatrade

NTK

Well what can one say about this charlatan firm that claims to keep out rogue builders ! - joke I fail to see how trading standards allows this company to exist. Its nothing more than a money making racket for its founder. Who by the way is the most pathetic indivdidual to take a complaint to so avoid him. But then the entire complaints procedure is designed for members and not consumers that have been ripped off. Trading standards must look at their complaints procedure and the lack of complaints actually appearing ! Checkatrade has a huge turnover now and has racked up thousands of members in a very short space of time. They are clearly only interested in taking the money off members. Apparently the company was set up to look after consumers ! laughable

Avoid Checkatrade at all costs, members logo means nothing as does all the rather one sided feedback on its pages !!!

unholyangel

Better suited to praise/vent/warnings.

Or perhaps you could tell us why you had to approach checkatrade (for example, did you have a problem with a trader you found on there?).

System

don't be fooled by anything like this as customers who sign for a credit acc in one retail outlet are automatically listed on checkatrade,no checks or recommendations are required.

buglawton

The way the reviews work is, tradesman puts a small part of your job thru a site like Checkatrade and the rest direct to you, to avoid paying a large commission to the site.

All these tradesman finding sites are similar. Avoid.

Last time I found a local plumber it was the photos of his previous work on his Facebook page (likely put together by his kids) that persuaded me.

kjmpde

if a tradesperson does not turn up then there is no negative review on Checkatrade so therefore it is not a balanced review
I waited in all day for this "highly rated" person to turn up. Told a bunch of lies
Checkatrade terms clearly state not get involved if the person does not turn up.
see if you can get a review from somebody else as this website is not accurate and will mislead

shaun_from_Africa

A couple of years ago, I contacted Checkatrade to ask why they were allowing a "Recommended, vetted and monitored" company to be a member of their service whilst at the same time this company was operating illegally (they were running a driveway and tarmacing service from a residential property and had already had planning permission refused twice by the local council).
I never even received a reply.

I've also had the same experience as kjmpde, trying to leave a review for a carpenter who failed to turn up twice and this review was rejected.
I would have thought that the very act of not actually turning up to do the agreed work is something that prospective customers should be made aware of.

mikb

Disappointing, yet ironic, that CheckATrade.com are allowed to sponsor shows like Cowboy Builders/Rogue Traders shows ... you'd think the programme makers would feel somewhat uncomfortable with an organisation like that surrounding their attempts to put RIGHT the work of shoddy traders.

I wonder if Dom Littlewood would investigate Check A Trade