Checkatrade 12 month warranty not valid

JonathanP_2

Having experienced a Checkatrade cowboy builder, they tell me that their 12 month warranty is only valid if the customer posts a review with a 2 week period of the work being completed.  
This can't be right surely?  
In my case the builder's repointing started to disintegrate after a few months, and now almost a year later has all gone entirely.  There was no way this would have been evident within the first 2 weeks.
What is the point of Checkatrade then?  The original tradesman has done a runner back to Romania, leaving me £400 out of pocket and having to get the work re-done properly.  No way I would use Checkatrade again!
Any recommendations would be welcome.

Keep_pedalling

Their T&Cs do require you to leave a review within 2 weeks but it is not asking you to report the issue within the two weeks. If you do that and the shoddy workmanship shows up within the first year you will be covered even if you originally left a 5 star review.

As you trader is no longer in the UK or trading, you will just have to chalk this up to experience.

RefluentBeans

Warranties are on top of your rights. They can have clauses in that require you to do certain things. Mostly this is legal. 

Technically speaking - ChekATrade doesn’t do the work, they connect the builder to a buyer, but act only as a platform or marketplace. So they haven’t actually got to legally offer that much protection, and the guarantee/warranty is far above their legal obligation. 

CheckATrade just allows an easy way to get quotes and putting you in contact with tradespeople. CheckATrade has a lot of professionals on there, and that’s why they make the guarantee. But equally if you received a quote that is too good to be true then it probably is. 

Like said above - a review doesn’t equate to reporting bad work, but the review may be necessary for the warranty. In the same way to get a 25 year warranty on a washing machine you need to register it in first weeks of purchase. These don’t remove your consumer rights, but offer you added protection. 

If the builders left the UK, then I’d look to see if your building insurance will cover something like this. Or if you paid via card, initiate a chargeback or even a S75 claim if paid on credit card. If you paid cash/bank transfer then I’m afraid that not a lot of protections exist. Cash isn’t king when laying for large amounts of money…

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Hello OP

Terms on their website are "applicable from 3rd August 2023", you'd need to ask them for a copy of the terms that applied when you hired the person to see if that clause was present. 

They will invariably do their very best not to pay out and it wouldn't surprise me if they try and claim it was wear and tear any way. 

You need to find someone recommended by others you know, or pop over to the DIY board with photos of the work and ask for tips on how to DIY the pointing, maybe along with viewing some Youtube videos. I would assume the cost of the tools is less than the work, it's a just a question of whether you have time  

user1977

JonathanP_2 said:

Having experienced a Checkatrade cowboy builder, they tell me that their 12 month warranty is only valid if the customer posts a review with a 2 week period of the work being completed.  
This can't be right surely? 

What did the terms say when you originally engaged them? It says 30 days on their website:

https://www.checkatrade.com/guaranteed-terms

Confused_by_much

I contacted Check a Trade to make them aware of a rouge trader forwarding relevant documentation i.e. Gas Safe Inspection report, noting work which could cause death. I then completed a very negative review noting all the deficiencies with the work completed and the trade person's inability to follow a compliance notice and complete work to a legally safe standard. This review was verified by Check a trade after submitting additional information. There is an e-mail trail of contact noting dissatisfaction and a verified review by me on the company's website. I make a claim against the Check a trade guarantee, only to be informed there would be no pay out due to no complaints or communications being raised against the particular trade person. They are rouge traders hiding and protecting rouge traders.

Aylesbury_Duck

Confused_by_much said:

I contacted Check a Trade to make them aware of a rouge trader forwarding relevant documentation i.e. Gas Safe Inspection report, noting work which could cause death. I then completed a very negative review noting all the deficiencies with the work completed and the trade person's inability to follow a compliance notice and complete work to a legally safe standard. This review was verified by Check a trade after submitting additional information. There is an e-mail trail of contact noting dissatisfaction and a verified review by me on the company's website. I make a claim against the Check a trade guarantee, only to be informed there would be no pay out due to no complaints or communications being raised against the particular trade person. They are rouge traders hiding and protecting rouge traders.

Are they embarrassed?

Alderbank

It sounds like they have red faces!