How to get reassurance a builder is trustworthy and credible?

tallac

So there's a ton of websites to find builders such as Trustatrader, Checkatrader, mybuilder, bark etc. There's a few other more credible sites such as Federation of Master Builders (fmb.org.uk) and Buy With Confidence (buywithconfidence.gov.uk). There's also getting a recommendation via word of mouth from someone I know.

Regardless on I find the initial contact for a builder, how is the best way to get reasonable reassurance that they are going to be trustworthy and credible? Which of the following are reasonable for me to do/check:

1. Request to see previous work they have done with other clients.
2. Check to see if they are registered with some accredited trades person organisation.
3. Check to see if they have a registered company (my rationale is that they might be more credible if they've setup a proper company).
4. Do they have a history of client reviews (e.g. business listing on Google Maps).
5. If I find a trader on one website, can I easily find the builder on the other websites to read all their reviews across all websites?

My worry is that some of the websites above allow traders to game the client reviews in varying ways. For example:

1. Getting friends and family to leave fake reviews.
2. Making the client leave a review before the work is done (effectively making it difficult for the client to be open and honest).
3. Being able to unfairly appeal negative reviews so they are removed.

Any other advice or suggestions on how to get as much reassurance as possible that the builder is going to be a good trades person?

FreeBear

tallac said: Check to see if they have a registered company (my rationale is that they might be more credible if they've setup a proper company).

If they are a registered company, check filing history and other connected businesses. If the directors are associated with a multitude of short lived companies, it could indicate a pattern of phoenix outfits. Just because it says "Limited" on the company heading, it doesn't necessarily mean that they are reputable.

Undervalued

FreeBear said:

tallac said: Check to see if they have a registered company (my rationale is that they might be more credible if they've setup a proper company).

If they are a registered company, check filing history and other connected businesses. If the directors are associated with a multitude of short lived companies, it could indicate a pattern of phoenix outfits. Just because it says "Limited" on the company heading, it doesn't necessarily mean that they are reputable.

Indeed. In fact I would go further.....

Being limited is arguably to protect the directors personal assets from dissatisfied customers!

ka7e

Check any photos they send of previous work against Google reverse image. I flushed out a cowboy who was using images from a bone fide tradesman. If possible, visit the site of other jobs and speak to previous employers

tallac

Does anyone have any other good suggestions on how I can possibly verify past work the builder has done? In a non-covid situation, I would politely ask the builder if there are any previous clients of his who would be happy for me to speak to them and see the work they have done. I've done this before many years ago for a small bathroom job by a builder. He was more than happy for me to do this. His work was very good and in the end he ended up giving a very professional service with a good quality finish.

I can't imagine any previous customer allowing me to visit their homes given the covid situation. If I had to do that just over a normal voice call then I don't think that would be enough (entirely possible a cowboy builder could get some of the friends/family to pretend to be previous clients). And I don't think any clients would be happy to do a video call either (which again still wouldn't allow me to see the work in the level of detail compared to in person).

Asking for photos and doing a reverse image search is probably the best idea although doesn't guarantee that the photos taken are lifted from the internet.

Doozergirl

Undervalued said:

FreeBear said:

tallac said: Check to see if they have a registered company (my rationale is that they might be more credible if they've setup a proper company).

If they are a registered company, check filing history and other connected businesses. If the directors are associated with a multitude of short lived companies, it could indicate a pattern of phoenix outfits. Just because it says "Limited" on the company heading, it doesn't necessarily mean that they are reputable.

Indeed. In fact I would go further.....

Being limited is arguably to protect the directors personal assets from dissatisfied customers!

Erm.  There is that, but if you were turning over hundreds of thousands of pounds in a year but only taking home a fraction of it, you'd be pretty worried about the potential risks of going bump too, especially at the moment.    People with perfectly good businesses have seen them decimated overnight.  Company directors are receiving very little, if anything, so the fact that finances are separate is a very welcome
thing.  There are millions of limited companies in this country, most of them small.  It is a perfectly normal thing.  

OP, depending on the value of the work, there is less and less need for a builder to advertise across many sites.   The bigger the project, the smaller number of clients anyone needs in a year.  The longer the company operates the less it needs to advertise, also.

Being a member of the FMB isn't so much of an advertisement as an attempt to show professionalism.  Members are inspected, insurances, accounts checked etc. and there's no vying for business against other people.  It's a different beast.  

Recommendation is always the best, because builders will use that  recommendation to assess you as well!  If one has the benefit of having had lovely clients and they recommend a friend, you can be pretty hopeful that those friends are also nice people.   

Risteard

tallac said:

I can't imagine any previous customer allowing me to visit their homes given the covid situation. If I had to do that just over a normal voice call then I don't think that would be enough (entirely possible a cowboy builder could get some of the friends/family to pretend to be previous clients). And I don't think any clients would be happy to do a video call either (which again still wouldn't allow me to see the work in the level of detail compared to in person).

Asking for photos and doing a reverse image search is probably the best idea although doesn't guarantee that the photos taken are lifted from the internet.

Being honest I woul never give out previous customers' details for someone to check with them. It's likely to be a breach of GDPR for a start. I really don't know why anyone would think they have a right to interrogate a previous customer whom they don't know about work. Lunacy to my mind.

Doozergirl

Risteard said:

tallac said:

I can't imagine any previous customer allowing me to visit their homes given the covid situation. If I had to do that just over a normal voice call then I don't think that would be enough (entirely possible a cowboy builder could get some of the friends/family to pretend to be previous clients). And I don't think any clients would be happy to do a video call either (which again still wouldn't allow me to see the work in the level of detail compared to in person).

Asking for photos and doing a reverse image search is probably the best idea although doesn't guarantee that the photos taken are lifted from the internet.

Being honest I woul never give out previous customers' details for someone to check with them. It's likely to be a breach of GDPR for a start. I really don't know why anyone would think they have a right to interrogate a previous customer whom they don't know about work. Lunacy to my mind.

You ask the customer's permission first 😉

Risteard

Doozergirl said:

Risteard said:

tallac said:

I can't imagine any previous customer allowing me to visit their homes given the covid situation. If I had to do that just over a normal voice call then I don't think that would be enough (entirely possible a cowboy builder could get some of the friends/family to pretend to be previous clients). And I don't think any clients would be happy to do a video call either (which again still wouldn't allow me to see the work in the level of detail compared to in person).

Asking for photos and doing a reverse image search is probably the best idea although doesn't guarantee that the photos taken are lifted from the internet.

Being honest I woul never give out previous customers' details for someone to check with them. It's likely to be a breach of GDPR for a start. I really don't know why anyone would think they have a right to interrogate a previous customer whom they don't know about work. Lunacy to my mind.

You ask the customer's permission first 😉

I don't go around bothering my customers with randomers wanting to contact them. I doubt most would appreciate that. No-one here operates that way. They'd consider you a lunatic if you suggested that.

Doozergirl

Risteard said:

Doozergirl said:

Risteard said:

tallac said:

I can't imagine any previous customer allowing me to visit their homes given the covid situation. If I had to do that just over a normal voice call then I don't think that would be enough (entirely possible a cowboy builder could get some of the friends/family to pretend to be previous clients). And I don't think any clients would be happy to do a video call either (which again still wouldn't allow me to see the work in the level of detail compared to in person).

Asking for photos and doing a reverse image search is probably the best idea although doesn't guarantee that the photos taken are lifted from the internet.

Being honest I woul never give out previous customers' details for someone to check with them. It's likely to be a breach of GDPR for a start. I really don't know why anyone would think they have a right to interrogate a previous customer whom they don't know about work. Lunacy to my mind.

You ask the customer's permission first 😉

I don't go around bothering my customers with randomers wanting to contact them. I doubt most would appreciate that. No-one here operates that way. They'd consider you a lunatic if you suggested that.

That's not true.  I've had clients at the end of projects offer to speak to any future clients!  No one has even remotely suggested that I'm a lunatic.  

People do ask to speak to previous clients and to that end,  they're happy to do the same when a project is finished.   People are often quite pleased to have the opportunity to show off.  

Doozergirl

Given that you're an electrician, Risteard, I will agree that people may not be that interested in looking at consumer units.