Rated People website

jimbobnew

Hello all, I am another tradesman added to the long list of very unhappy rated people members or ex-members. I am a very good sole trader in the painting and decorating sector and I have never had any disputes or bad ratings from any of my customers since I began trading in 2010. If I carried on like rated people do I would have a huge list of very unhappy customers and many county court judgments against me.
They charge us for leads that they do not check, anyone could post up a job lead with incorrect details, the phone numbers and e-mails could all work but that doesn't mean they will get you through to someone that would like a quote for work. Rated People sell us these leads without checking that they are genuine, when you try to report a bad lead they tell us things like "we cannot guarantee how a customer will behave after posting a job lead" and "we cant issue you a credit if the e-mail doesn't bounce" what the hell! If I went to a customers house and quoted for a job, got accepted for the job, took the money up front and then never turned up to do the work, that is pretty much what rated people are doing to the trades men that they have buying the job leads.They are ripping us off left right and center, how do we know that they haven't got people up and down the country posting dodgy job leads up so that they can sell them for huge profits. This system is completely wrong and I would say they are the biggest cowboy traders around not to mention all the un-vetted ones they have as members, they have also told me that "its due to the high level of abuse" (one can only assume from these cowboy traders) that they have had to remove the re-crediting service for bad leads. Why are they punishing the honest traders for the cowboy traders actions. They haven't been helpfull in the slightest, they have managed to wind me up to the point that have spent all weekend investigating other tradesmens experiences so I can try and get enough people together to do something about it. Its completely wrong what they are doing and they should be made to pay for it! Also anyone reading this, please look out for all the glowing reviews on here as they are all so carefully worded and all by new members to the forum, most likely people that work for rated people. You might want to look at some of there videos on you tube, notice how all the comments are disabled? I think if this company was a fair one they wouldn't be doing their best to cover up all the shocking reviews and experiences that both tradesmen and homeowners have had with this company. They don't care about either of us, they just want their money. Please be aware of using them they will screw you over!

rrtt

jimbobnew wrote: »

Also anyone reading this, please look out for all the glowing reviews on here as they are all so carefully worded and all by new members to the forum, most likely people that work for rated people.

Although I agree with much of what you say, I posted a glowing review on here that was 100% genuine and I'm not that new to the forum with about 135 posts to my name over 3 years+. Please don't tar all of us with the same brush, thanks!

Upthewoodenhill

rrtt wrote: »

Although I agree with much of what you say, I posted a glowing review on here that was 100% genuine and I'm not that new to the forum with about 135 posts to my name over 3 years+. Please don't tar all of us with the same brush, thanks!

There are too many false leads on rated people I've been conned by them as they rip off the tradesmen time and time again. No refunds for false feeds. Avoid this company at all cost.

Upthewoodenhill

rrtt wrote: »

Although I agree with much of what you say, I posted a glowing review on here that was 100% genuine and I'm not that new to the forum with about 135 posts to my name over 3 years+. Please don't tar all of us with the same brush, thanks!

There are too many false leads on rated people I've been conned by them as they rip off the tradesmen time and time again. No refunds for false feeds. Avoid this company at all cost.

Upthewoodenhill

jimbobnew wrote: »

Hello all, I am another tradesman added to the long list of very unhappy rated people members or ex-members. I am a very good sole trader in the painting and decorating sector and I have never had any disputes or bad ratings from any of my customers since I began trading in 2010. If I carried on like rated people do I would have a huge list of very unhappy customers and many county court judgments against me.
They charge us for leads that they do not check, anyone could post up a job lead with incorrect details, the phone numbers and e-mails could all work but that doesn't mean they will get you through to someone that would like a quote for work. Rated People sell us these leads without checking that they are genuine, when you try to report a bad lead they tell us things like "we cannot guarantee how a customer will behave after posting a job lead" and "we cant issue you a credit if the e-mail doesn't bounce" what the hell! If I went to a customers house and quoted for a job, got accepted for the job, took the money up front and then never turned up to do the work, that is pretty much what rated people are doing to the trades men that they have buying the job leads.They are ripping us off left right and center, how do we know that they haven't got people up and down the country posting dodgy job leads up so that they can sell them for huge profits. This system is completely wrong and I would say they are the biggest cowboy traders around not to mention all the un-vetted ones they have as members, they have also told me that "its due to the high level of abuse" (one can only assume from these cowboy traders) that they have had to remove the re-crediting service for bad leads. Why are they punishing the honest traders for the cowboy traders actions. They haven't been helpfull in the slightest, they have managed to wind me up to the point that have spent all weekend investigating other tradesmens experiences so I can try and get enough people together to do something about it. Its completely wrong what they are doing and they should be made to pay for it! Also anyone reading this, please look out for all the glowing reviews on here as they are all so carefully worded and all by new members to the forum, most likely people that work for rated people. You might want to look at some of there videos on you tube, notice how all the comments are disabled? I think if this company was a fair one they wouldn't be doing their best to cover up all the shocking reviews and experiences that both tradesmen and homeowners have had with this company. They don't care about either of us, they just want their money. Please be aware of using them they will screw you over!

I know how you feel I've spent loads of money on leads over the passed few years and now I'm so fed up with so many false leads, even had one that lived in USA! I'm leaving as they are conning us professionals with their amateur attitude, and money grabbing ways.

rrtt

Upthewoodenhill wrote: »

There are too many false leads on rated people I've been conned by them as they rip off the tradesmen time and time again. No refunds for false feeds. Avoid this company at all cost.

I had already said in a previous post that following similar complaints (and more) from another tradesman, I wouldn't be using RP again since I don't support rip-off companies.

Sometimes it pays to read the whole thread!

daveleggy

Hi
when I subscribed I was told we had free membership and would only be charged for leads. Since then we have had invoices for quarterly membership sever al times. I called to complain and they said as I had no name for whoever signed me up there was nothing they could do, however they could transfer me to someone to put me on free membership. I was promised by this dodgy salesman it was free as they didn't even have a category for our work so why would I now at the point of complaining trust them again
my advice is stay away
regards
D

martinj5cut

Sick to death of bum leads . Indecisive people who post a job after a bottle of wine without consulting their other half. Then there is the idiots who post hoax jobs, had a few myself and when I emailed rp they then claim they are only and introductory service . They make out they own us on the advert. And why no refunds? I was more happy when u could claim a bad lead back it cusioned the blow but no we pay for the automated incompetence .

Damo71

In principle the idea seems great. Us traders have to pay for each lead, then we contact the customer, and we have, at best, a one in three chance of winning the job.

But with similar sites that are also free to customers growing, it seems the odds against winning work is decreasing, as customers freely use multiple quotes to get the best possible prices.

So with ever decreasing odds of actually winning work, legitimate traders have to be very picky about the leads they purchase, because all these purchases add up quickly.

So herein lies another problem. Rated People do not seem to have any steps in place to ensure that the trader gets sufficient information about the job. As an example, I have received several job adverts along these lines: "need to build garden wall, 10-20 metres" the job is marked at £250 or under, and to purchase the lead costs me £5.30 plus VAT

We'll, 20 metres is twice as expensive as 10 metres, so which is it? Am I expected to supply the materials? Is it a stone wall, brick wall etc?

By not putting mandatory fields in the customer's job request form, Rated People are letting customers and traders down. Their traders because we could well be wasting our money from the off if we purchase a lead with so little info. And customers are let down because traders will call them only to find that the customer's wall is 20metres long and the workman is expected to supply £500 worth of materials. So the customer gets nowhere.

How can Rated People provide a better service and (from a cynical point of view) stop ripping traders off?

1) devise forms that provide the trader with sensible levels of information on which to give him a better sense if whether the job is suitable.

2) allow or require customers to upload photographs with their job requests.

3) give the customer sensible pricing guides so that they can pitch their request more sensibly. This would entail suggesting ball-park figures for worker day-rates, and material cost estimates etc.

Remember, there are a lot of cowboys out there, and a lot of "traders" who dodge taxes or are shady in other ways and so can keep their prices too low for legitimate traders to compete with. So when a customer prices a job unrealistically low, us traders would not want to buy the lead and risk being beaten by a cowboy.

4) change the payment structure, so that only the winner pays for the lead. Obviously he would pay more, but en he definitely got the job.

rikwill

Just to add to the comments on Ratedpeople.com (Rated People) - I have posted a long post elsewhere on the forum about problems with building work at my house, which led to structural damage following the removal of a supporting wall. I posted a negative review on RP, but the builder removed himself from the site the next day. I complained to RP, but they were totally useless and washed their hands of the problem, saying that their terms and conditions did not make them liable for any dodgy building work. They tried to speak to the builder but he just fobbed them off. I don't know how Phil Spencer can live with himself promoting this outfit - he wouldn't be too pleased if one of the rogues turned up and wrecked his house. So my advice - if you're looking for a decent job, rely on a personal recommendation. I am sure there are plenty of good builders listed on RP, but there is no way of separating the good builders from the useless ones.