Rated People website

Nicos_2 · 16 November 2011 at 9:48PM

I used rated people to get some roof repairs. I went with the majority of the comments posted instead of trusting my instincts. The guy took an hour to do the job charged 750 pounds. The first sign of rain and the roof is in an even worst state. I have called him but its beyond his skills, do not trust rated people it is not a kite mark for quality, My battle is not over as I will sue. But also I feel angry at the endorsements given to operations like ratedpeople from newspapers. If you feel angry write to these papers and contact your trading standards. Rated people is a scam and a disgrace.

sarahhill_3 · 6 December 2011 at 1:39PM

i recently put a job on rated people within a few minutes the phone calls started and got a quote from one person (which i found a bit too expensive) and i told them im waiting for other people to get back to me as im waiting for other quotes to come through. since then ive had text messages everyday asking me if im going ahead with the quote, to which i replied no as it's a bit expensive and i have my other half's friend doing it for cheaper,
i have since withdrawn the job from the website and still been contacted as why i have not chosen them for the job..:mad:

Hugh_Jass · 7 December 2011 at 12:35PM

Hi - I used Rated People to get a leak fixed and I got one quote and the plumber did the job in one hour and I had excellent service.

davalo · 11 January 2012 at 12:12PM

I employed a builder on rated people, and stupidly paid a deposit after he failed to turn up on several dates, I asked for my deposit back, still waiting. Anyhow I placed negative feedback on the rated people website and waited for this to be posted to alert any anyone thinking about using this builder. To my surprise when I looked at the site to see if my comment had been posted, all i seen was amessage ststing that it had been removed, no explanation as to why. I have requested an explanation from rated people as to why it was removed but to date have had no respone. I would advise people not to use this website as obviously they only allow positive feedback to be posted resulting in a people like myself employing unscrupulous tradesmen and having no way to warn others.

dejey_2 · 17 January 2012 at 2:19PM

Not sure how you can trust a site that is totally sexist,
TV ad states find local quality tradesMEN, showing an all male cast.
site states find tradesMEN and don't get ripped off,
my partner has been an fully qualified and competent electrician for 16 years and SHE is constantly having to still prove herself, and often gets overlooked for less qualified male electricians, sites like rated people do nothing but help promote the sexist attitude thats still alive and kicking in this day and age.
:mad:

prestigemark · 17 January 2012 at 6:28PM

I joined Rated People about a week ago and have since purchased 5 leads, you get your first one free so use it for the biggest job you can. Having said that I have only been able to make contact with two of these leads, one had already assigned someone to the job and the other I am seeing on Thursday. I am now having doubts as to whether I will get a refund for my failed leads though one is currently being looked at apparently.

It is a shame that so many of you have had bad experinces with dodgy tradesman because as one person said it does give us a bad name.

To insinuate that a tradesman without work is a dodgy one is a little unfair as I currently find myself without work hense grasping at the rated people. Since I became self employed 18 months ago, I have been constantly in work bar a 3 week period last year. 70% of my work has been through word of mouth and repeat business since April last year.

A good place to check out tradesmens credentials is at freeindex.co.uk, they take their reviews more seriously. You cannot just sit at your own computer writing loads of reviews about yourself as they use a IP addresses from your computer network to identify people who are making repeated reviews for themselves. As with all things electronic there are ways around this but takes a bit more doing.

I run my own Plastering and general maintenance company in Stockton on Tees so if anyone out there needs any work doing in the area by a competent tradesman then please drop me an email at [EMAIL="mark2@trade.co.uk"]mark2@trade.co.uk[/EMAIL]

Sorry about the plug, needs must in a recession.

I was just flitting between this and another forum and all I can see is rated people getting slated, I think I shall cancel my trial membership tomorrow before they start stripping £40 fees out of my bank.

mickeyb01 · 27 January 2012 at 7:19PM

I am a qualified tradesman with 15 years experience, gas safe registered and a member of the ciphe.

I have never advertised in the past, but after becoming quiet in the past month or so and seeing their advert on tv i joined rated people.

I would advise any tradesman to think very carefully before registering. They seem to rip you off by having to pay for leads that in my experience are posted mainly by timewasters, I have spent over £200 bidding for jobs and won some, but on the whole the numbers that are supplied are customers that have already had the work done or already been contacted by a number of tradesmen.

When i looked into this I found out that a tradesmen can buy hot leads or smart buy, and this means that someone has paid extra to get the lead before you, even though you have bought it too.

Also when you cannot get hold of a customer they told me that i have been credited but they don't give you your money back. For example i bought a lead that cost £28 +VAT, and wasn't able to contact the customer, you can only report the bad lead after five days (i am assuming they hope that you'll forget about it). I reported it then waited another 3 days for them to confirm that they will credit me. But they dont explain that they dont credit you to the amount you spent, if the next lead you buy is only £8 + VAT that is your credit gone!!!!!! ripped off. Then once you have set up a card to make the payments from, they help themselves to it to buy you text alerts that you haven't asked for. I only found this out when i went to change my card details and they sent me a text to say that they couldnt take a payment for something i didnt want!

I feel very angry about these people as they re making a huge amount of money out of people that think its helping their business. They never checked any of my references and as far as i can tell any joker can join as long they pay their money.

Very angry and will be writing to watchdog, hope you do too.

red0209 · 1 February 2012 at 11:09PM

prestigemark wrote: »

A good place to check out tradesmens credentials is at freeindex.co.uk, they take their reviews more seriously. You cannot just sit at your own computer writing loads of reviews about yourself as they use a IP addresses from your computer network to identify people who are making repeated reviews for themselves. As with all things electronic there are ways around this but takes a bit more doing.

It's not that difficult to mask your IP and write loads of reviews about yourself. I find that an obvious problem with freeindex.co.uk.

deetee1967 · 7 February 2012 at 2:02AM

Hi all,
I use rated people to generate extra work and have done for just under a year now.

Get this:
I went in with my eyes open, read the T' & C's, bought leads and won jobs.
I've had good ratings and have generated extra work for me and my workforce.

No, I don't win every lead, No I cannot contact some customers, Yes it can be annoying sometimes.
I do make a lot more than I spend......How?
I react to the leads, talk and LISTEN to my potential customer, offer a site visit (so they can see me and I can see them), I have the ability to sell myself and my products and services because I am a genuine tradesperson with a great deal of knowledge and experience in my field.
This is life people, you cannot have it all your own way, but if you are genuinely upfront and courteous and can prove your worth by means other than just a few stars on a website then it can work.
I do not rely on RP, it is just another revenue stream of many that I have built up over 20 years.
For the trades people:
Dont assume that you have bought the lead and the job is yours- you still have to work on getting the job whilst using due diligence.
For the customers:
Ask for references, portfolios, look at credentials ( trade bodies)
You too have to work at choosing the right person/company.
All RP is TRYING to do is give you a helping hand.
For Rated People:
Read through the forums, look at what people are saying - from both sides. Offer some alternative sweetners etc, It cannot be one way traffic.
Otherwise you may end up another .com failure.

I have increased sales during the recession and I intend to carry on doing so. I can't be all wrong, can I!

dacouch · 8 February 2012 at 12:35AM

gareth030981 wrote: »

Hi

Take a look at
They are doing a very similar think but much better in my opinion. have put a few other posts on here about the very same thing. Free to post jobs and the tradesmen are all rated.
I think it's great.

Mr Gareth Jones, are you aware that there is a specific law against companies or their associates posting on forums pretending to be satisfied customers. Have a look at rule 18 here http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/business_leaflets/cpregs/oft979.pdf

P.S Your website is also breaching rules by not showing your business address. (If anyone wants it the address is St Thomas Street in Ryde

Rated People website

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