Professional trade recommendation services like Checkatrade, TrustAtrader, My Builder, etc. have gained popularity in recent years as a way to find reliable tradespeople. These services provide customers access to a network of local tradespeople and allow them to read reviews from other customers.The idea is that after reading reviews they can make informed decisions when choosing a tradesperson.
There’s no argument that these services have certainly made finding a tradesperson easier, however, they are not without their dangers. What follows is a personal story that highlights the potential pitfalls of hiring based on these services.
A friend of my parents had some damp issues around the top of a chimney breast in a 1st floor bedroom. She visited one of these popular recomendations services and after reading some favourable reviews, she selected a tradesman for advice and a quote.
So that I don’t end up in a court case or worse (i.e wearing a concrete overcoat!) let’s just call them “1st Class Roofing Ltd.”
The tradesman arrived promptly and quickly diagnosed that the chimney pointing and flashing was the fault. He quoted £600 to fix. Given that his reviews were all 4.8 and above ( out of 5) she was very happy for him to start work.
Later that day he arrived with a couple of workers and started the work. Within less than an hour he informed her that one of his men had put his foot through two roof tiles and that on close inspection the whole roof needed replacing. She was shocked to hear this but what could she do, after all he was the expert ( or so his reviews imply) so she asked how much would this be? The new quote was £6,000.
At this point I think it’s fair to say that this trader was no expert but a complete crook.
Within a couple of hours he and his men had stripped the roof of tiles and covered it in tarpaulins. Over the next couple of days they replaced the roof tiles. He then asked her for final payment of £12,000. The poor lady completely shocked, and feeling very intimidated paid in full.
The really sad thing is that when she spoke with my parents about this awful con, clearly embarassed she actually tried to justify her actions but it was clear that the only reason she hired this man was because of the many glowing reviews of the recommendations website.
When I heard about it, I traced the company and did a little research. It didn’t take too long to work out that most of the reviews were poorly written, very similar in content and it’s my opinion they are definitely false/fictitious. I also found out that he had many other companies “1st Class Fencing Ltd”, “1st Class Groundworks Ltd”, “1st Class Block Paving Ltd” etc… And here’s the thing, all of the additional companies had very high reviews scores.
This lady would not have used him had she not had found him through the recommendation service, I believe these services have a huge responsibility to ensure that all reviews are real and accurate. I did suggest she contact the recommendation company but she refused and asked me not to pursue for fear of repercussions.
Unfortunately there are unscrupulous tradesmend that will exploit any shortcomings that can be easily bypassed or manipluated to give the impression that they are trustworthy and honest.
I hope this is of interest and, at the very least, will encourage you to check a little deeper if using such a service to find a tradesman for your next project. Please don’t simply believe all that is written, it could save you a small fortune!
Here are some of the reasons to check carefully before hiring.
1.False Reviews
One of the biggest dangers of using professional trade recommendation services is the prevalence of false reviews. Tradespeople and their associates can post fake positive reviews to increase their ratings and attract more customers. On some sites it may be possible for competitors to post fake negative reviews and damage a rival’s reputation.
There is no foolproof way to determine whether a review is genuine or fake, and this makes it difficult for customers to make informed decisions about which tradespeople to hire. Try to do a little more research in addition to relying on great reviews before hiring.
2.Unreliable Tradespeople
Another problem associated with using professional trade recommendation services is the risk of hiring unreliable tradespeople. While these services may screen tradespeople to some extent, there is no guarantee that every tradesperson listed on the site is reliable, competent, honest and trustworthy.
Some tradespeople may simply have better marketing skills than others, which can result in them being more prominently featured on the site. This means that a tradesperson’s rating on a recommendation service may not accurately reflect their competence or reliability.
3.Limited Choices
While professional trade recommendation services do provide customers with access to a network of local tradespeople, the number of tradespeople listed on these sites is limited. This means that customers may not be able to find the perfect tradesperson for their job, or may have to settle for a less-than-ideal candidate.
4.Hidden Costs
It’s worth noting that some professional trade recommendation services may charge tradespeople a fee for listing their services on the site. Tradespeople may then pass these costs on to customers in the form of higher prices, meaning that customers may end up paying more than they would have if they had hired a tradesperson directly.