ReviewsPosted
on 04 / 12 / 2006  N/A
 N/A
In
the past I have always found it difficult to find good, reliable builders. Earlier
this year I moved out of London to near Bristol and my new home needed a lot of
renovation work. A friend told me about www.ratedtrademen.com and I have been
very pleased. It was quick to register and put in job details. I've done this
three times now to find a plumber, electrician and plasterer. Each time I got
two local tradesmen quoting within a week. The tradesmen know that customers leave
feedback so they have an incentive to do a good job. Its a great way of finding
recommended tradesmen, especially when you move to a new area where you don't
know people to ask.
User Rating - 
User Name - Anita
Posted on 12 / 01 / 2007 N/A
N/A I
am a tradesmen and have registered as a tradesmen. I HAVE ALSO WASTED A
LOT OF MONEY PAYING FOR CUSTOMER DETAILS FOR JOBS THAT REALLY DID NOT EXIST OR
PEOPLE HAVE JUST REGISTERED AS A WHIM. REMEMBER THAT TRADESMEN PAY RATEDTRADESMEN
SITE FOR DETAILS OF CLIENTS, CLIENTS DO NOT PAY TO SUBMIT JOBS...!!
The
site concept is good but really only using a new technological spin on contacting
tradesmen except actually tradesmen are contacting you (sounds a bit like double
galzing in a different guise). People are saying great site, yeah, for the customer.
I have spent over 250 pounds to receive infromation about clients of which I have
had to make a lot of effort to contact people. This is a first as I am usually
being chased by clients to undertake projects. Suffice to say because so many
tradesmen, people posing as tradesmen, or chancers can join as a skilled person
unless you are rapid to answer txt msgs or emails (I work all day unfortunately)
you do not have a chance in HELL. ALL I AM SAYING IS THAT PROPERTY OWNERS
BEWARE AND TAKE NOTE, RESEARCH YOUR TRADESMEN AND GO TO THEM, DONT LET THEM COME
TO YOU!!!!!!!!! YOU WILL BE SORRY I AM ANNOYED AND OUT OF POCKET
User
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User Name - Richard
Posted on 08 / 02 / 2007 N/A
N/A I
totally agree with Richard on this, the tradesmen that came out to me were unreliable.
User Rating - 
User Name
- Mrs P
Posted on 15 / 02 / 2007 N/A
N/A What
a waste of time this serivce is all i did was enter my details and i am a rated
tradesmen no follow calls no refs needed. This is just a web site out to make
money out of tradesmen as they send you details of jobs that are just not worth
looking at it is to easy for people to use and takes no effort to use. This is
why you get people just asking for a price on jobs they have real idea if they
want it done and you have to pay £10 to get there details to find that out.
All of the jobs i have quoted have been with people who have not got a clue and
are just window shoppers and as for the other people i have priced against they
are well cowboys who price at silly rates and dont even try and try and do a good
job never mind finish. One it makes life hard for proper tradesmen when COWBOYS
can, but there details on sites like this and people think they have been vetted
and checked.
User Rating -
User Name - mr b
Posted on 12 / 03 / 2007 N/A
N/A As
CEO of Rated Tradesmen (www.ratedtradesmen.com) I'm of course very disappointed
to hear of your experience. Tradesmen are asked when they join to specify
the type of work and locations they are interested in so that only relevant leads
are sent to them. We also have systems in place to try and ensure that jobs are
active, for example email and text prompts to customers reminding them to let
us know if their job is no longer available. We never give details of jobs to
more than three tradesmen who wish to quote, so that there is a good chance of
winning the work. Compared to other companies the rates we charge are low –
no upfront charges, just a low membership rate and a flat fee for job referrals
that tradesmen select from the ones we send them. Rated Tradesmen has thousands
of active trade members now. Each of these tradesmen are pre-screened for a good
credit rating which is an indication that they have been in business for more
than a year, have filed accounts and have not had county-court judgments upheld
against them. Unfortunately (for us all) we are not allowed access to other
useful screening information such as complaints made to Trading Standards. There
are two legal barriers (a) the Enterprise Act and (b) personal privacy laws which
cover sole traders and small tradesmen. Whilst there is pressure (from within
and outside the Office of Fair Trading) to make this information publicly available
there has been no movement on that position to date. When recruiting new
tradesmen on to the service we take time to ensure that the tradesman understands
how it works: specifically that they will be rated by their customers and that
these ratings are there for all to see. Deal being: if they are ready to open
up their feedback, ensure that their customers are left happy and earn strong
ratings then the service will work well for them. If they aren't prepared to meet
this challenge then the service is not for them. We are taking the age-old world-of-mouth
approach and building it into a system that lets many people access many comments
about many tradesmen, local to them. All the best
Andrew Skipwith
User Rating -
User Name
- Andrew Skipwith
Posted on 30 / 03 / 2007 If
it worked for the tradesmen it would be good. It doesn't
Inadequate
and expensive response handling Mr. Skipwith "We also have systems
in place to try and ensure that jobs are active, for example email and text prompts
to customers reminding them to let us know if their job is no longer available.
We never give details of jobs to more than three tradesmen who wish to quote,
so that there is a good chance of winning the work."
The problem is
that if, as a tradesman, I find out that the customer is window shopping it takes
a major argument with you to get your to credit back anything. You don't respond
to emails, period. And your screen software is is as buggy as hell. A pal
of mine tried your sytem. First job he was offered was someone who wanted some
built-in stuff doing. The quote was over £1000. I checked out the quote
and came up with a figure around £50 higher and we ran it past a couple
of other guys - the figure was £900 to £1100. Keen to get the job
he quoted a bit lower, only to be told that the customer's budget was £400!
Now let me see, 6 sliding doors, 8 feet high five with mirror glass and then all
the fittings and other work, not to mention a 2-man job for a day to install.
Where the heck does anyone think they'll get that for £400? Cloud cuckoo
land, that's where! "Rated Tradesmen has thousands of active trade
members now. Each of these tradesmen are pre-screened for a good credit rating
which is an indication that they have been in business for more than a year, have
filed accounts and have not had county-court judgments upheld against them."
Really? Well I know of a couple of cowboys in Liverpool who've had work through
you. One of them is still an undischarged bankrupt, so your system doesn't work.
Whether or not someone has a CCJ or not is no proof of their ability to do a job.
Your vetting is based on the wrong factors. This system isn't fair to genuine
tradesmen, if it were the customer would be asked to deposit a refundable bond
of say £10 per job - and you'd be a lot more on the ball when it came to
dealing with complaints. When someone tries to contact you all they get is a phone
number national rate call centre - in South Africa - who stonewall to the limit.
There is no contact telphone number in the UK. does that indicate honesty and
truthfullness on your part? I think not. It has the potential to be a good system,
but at the moment it verges on being illegal I'm with the other trades
people here - unless your site can deliver quality, vetted leads to tradesmen
you will sooner or later find yourself in court, or worse if some of the guys
I know who are unhappy with you Vic
User Rating -
User Name - V. Lightfoot
Posted on 02 / 04 / 2007 it
would be good if it worked
expensive
for a quote We wouldnt mind if we only paid the quarter charge. plus the
£10 for the referal, if we get the job. Thats how it should work. You would
then get customer feedback because you would get your money be it only £10
a job but as you have thousands of job per week sounds good.
User Rating
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User Name - martin
Posted on 05 / 04 / 2007 The
Company Makes Money
Customers
and Professionals Don't Benefit Without a means of assessing the skills
and history of the tradespeople registered this 'service' is dead in the water.
User Rating -
User Name
- Matthew Head
Posted on 09 / 04 / 2007 idea
brilliant!
totally
unworkable I like some of the others have paid £10 plus VAT for a
job contact and description.Many ofthe jobs are either to obtain quotes for insurance
jobs, to get free specifications for required work,to get a general idea of some
project and what it would cost if the project should ever materialise. Perhaps
many customers find this system even better value than yellow pages as the honest
tradesmen are doing all the walking for them, no doubt some work does come but
the only ones making buckets of money not buckets of mortar are rated tradesmen.com.
Jobs ive tendered for are conditional on the client buying the property ,the client
obtaining two other estimates to satisfy insurance requirements.and the cream
of them all give me a quote over the phone for a loft conversion without seeing
the job. I am very suspicious of the jobs that come on the site some are genuine
but many are bogus customers are entitled to and should get as many estimates
as they wish but shouldnt the tradesman also benefit from the payment he gives
to ratedtradesman, jobs should be vetted properly to find out if this is a window
shopping expedition or if a genuine project or job is available.This is the responsibillity
of rated tradesman thousands in their own admission are paying for the service
how many consider it value for money. Maybe builders in the south of england benefit
because of shortage of skilled tradesmen but other ares dont benefit. Customers
should also realise that we want to do a fair price and quality work and in return
dont expect cowboy customers who are very fond of blaming cowboy builders. Blame
for poor service lies with you mr rated tradesman.co.uk
User Rating
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User Name - syed ali
Posted on 16 / 04 / 2007 Great
Idea
Tradesmen From
the perspective of someone trying the service for the first time: the idea is
good and offers the convenience of stating your requirements and, in theory, awaiting
contact from supposedly verified and hopefully qualified tradesmen. Alas, the
theory of operation fails for several reasons. The site is visually appealing
(a shallow aspect maybe, but crucial for attracting potential customers like me)
but on deeper inspection lacks the ability to re-edit a job-spec to further clarify
any work required, has no forum where cust's and suppliers can converse in general,
has no per-job facility where trades people and cust's can discuss the specific
job (as an independent record) and, I'm sorry to say, any site that does not respond
to emails is just plain CRAZY and not worth bothering with. There are many
other reasons why the idea will in all likelyhood fail, not least because trades
people, in general, are simply unreliable, untrustworthy, over-priced and bad
at business even if, in the rare case, they are good at what they do. It's clear
from responses here that their expectations are too high (they only want BIG jobs)
and they don't understand "cost-of-sales". In the past eight years for
several jobs I can only say I have had *ONE* decent tradesman do a good job at
a decent price. Typically it's some idiot who can't even be bothered to research
the basics of a job, has "forgot" the price list or come back with estimates
double what I know to be a reliable ballpark figure.
User Rating -
User Name - DonaldDuck
Posted on 22 / 05 / 2007 has
jobs online
are
they real There are several sites around like this, for the tradesmen I
feel its not good value for money and can be easily manipulated in favour of the
site. Try someone like localtradespeople who don’t charge to put a listing
up. I don’t care what you say how can a company vet thousands of tradesmen
when they don’t even see their work. The only person who can vet tradesmen
is the potential customer. Get references off them and check them. Get them to
sign a contract and don’t get smooth talked by them. Pay when the job has
been sign off. If it was a major building construction the customer will be in
the driving seat, household work should be no different.
User Rating
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User Name - joshua
Posted on 22 / 05 / 2007 great
idea if worked
useless
dont benifit at all 90 Day subscrption is fair to get the leads, should
only pay $10.00 + vat for jobs excepted as this is then classed as a commision
for passing a referal. Not paying $10.00 for a job thats already been done or
a dead lead or just a quote is not acceptable as, we have to pay wages to staff
doing the quotes it costs us all ways. UNFAIR AND UNJUST!!!!.
User
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User Name - Jade Spencer
Posted on 31 / 05 / 2007 great
in theory
useless
in practice Some of the tradesmen on here have said its good for customers
but bad for tradesmen. I'm not sure about this. I'm a customer and had a whole
raft of things that needed doing in the house and I didn't know whether to approach
a builder, a roofer etc. pp. so the website seemed to be a godsent! I submitted
some minor jobs and some very major jobs (e.g. paving and landscape gardening)
I didn't get any quotes at all apart from one. The one quote I got for the landscaping
job was a builder who didn't do gardening at all, never called (I called him in
the end and he didn't call me back...)
I came to believe that the website
is just a ghost website operated by some dumb machine. I didn't realise tradesmen
have to pay for this- why don't customers and tradesmen just pay a one off fee
and then tradesmen can quote away at no cost and customers can find someone they
are happy with. The idea with the ratings is very important as you want a trustworthy
company but I get the feeling there is no 'rating' or prescreening going on whatsoever.
I ended up trawling through the web myself to get these jobs done and regret wasting
my time on that website. Perhaps someone can take up the idea and turn it into
something that actually works!
User Rating -
User Name - Connie
Posted on 31 / 05 / 2007 None
Expensive
inadequate and truly rubbish service I used the service and then canceled
as it was pathetic. after i canceled they rang me up under false pretences telling
me he had a lady who wanted a washing machine plumbing in a job I only charge
58 pounds for where is the profit in that when ten pounds goes for the introduction.
I am a tradesman who completed my apprenticeship in 1980 and a member of the guild
of master craftsmen not some house of horrors candidate or rogue trader naturaly
I told him where he could stick it the only people who should use this service
should be idiots who want to lose money or tradesmen who cannot trade responsibly
or honestly as this is the only way you would make money is by fleecing any customer
you get through this site.
User Rating -
User Name - Anthony Richardson
Posted on 08 / 09 / 2007 None
Expensive
inadequate and truly rubbish service I really dislike reading articles like
this, I use to be a tradesman myself, due to a knuckle injury i had to move on,
I applied to 2 different companies like mentioned above, neither EVER called my
references but called me for final payment, we all know where i told them to stick
it!! we are looking to eliminate the rogue traders, many of these websites are
actually helping them!, saying you do this and do that and dont is exactly like
the cowboy traders!! Dare i say this, but i live in portsmouth, i am starting
a new business (yourlocaltrades.co.uk),first in portsmouth then nationwide at
a later date, the website goes "live" friday 7th september, as an ex-tradesperson
i feel i have the knowledge to actually help the situation.
This is an insight
to what i will be doing (from our first page): Don't waste time looking
through adverts and directories in search of the best tradesperson or service
provider, Guarantee yourself an honest, local, vetted and verified professional.
Simply submit your brief job specification or service requirements to us
and we will instantly select up to 5 of the most appropriate local approved tradespeople
or service providers, each of whom are independently pre-vetted and verified by
yourlocaltrades.co.uk before being accepted by our company. Although we
have vetted our trades, including proof of Public Liability Insurance/references
and verified any other trade associations, you may of course ask the tradesperson
to show you the relevant paperwork/references if you wish to do so. For
your complete peace of mind, we are the south's leading introducer of carefully
vetted professional tradespeople and service providers to private consumers. For
your convenience our local tradespeople/service providers will contact YOU.
________________________________________________________________________ This
is my VETTED/VERIFIED/RATED/RECOMMENDED procedure: Nine point VETTING,ie,
proof of trading time (min 2 years) proof of company bank account, proof of address,
3 references (ALL VISITED), visit the CURRENT job, VERIFY trade membership (corgi/fmb/local
council membership-we have squaredeal in portsmouth/basically any they say they
have we will VERIFY), Customers provided through references will fill in our questionnaire,
this is where they can RATE them (1-5star) accordingly and RECOMMEND them if they
feel they where that good,(red-avoid/amber-good/green-recommended).
_________________________________________________________________________ The
public complete an online form free of charge,
The Trades pay for vetting
and then £5(they are cheaper the more they pre-pay, going down to £4
or £3) per lead (offered 5 for £25 on signing up with an extra 2 free)THESE
ARE COMPLETELY DOWN TO THE TRADESMEN IN QUESTION,IF THEY DONT WANT THEM THEY DONT
GET THEM!!, they will still be listed within the tradesman directory for anyone
to see. IF the lead supplied is for work that is deemed illegal,or from a time
waster/dreamer etc then "credits" are refunded no arguments, We will
be calling the member of the public to ensure a smooth process, any doubts in
the application they make will be followed up with a phone call BEFORE any trade
gets the information, i am not going to waste tradesmens valuable time nor mine!!
The form does state when the work is to be done, so tradesmen will know
if it is ASAP/Couple of weeks/Six months etc, I will also see what the job is
and what they are looking to spend, so if i feel they are being un-reasonable
with what needs doing, they will be told accordingly, again no tradesman will
get the lead saving everyone any messing around (except me!) I think that
is about everything, any feed back? let me know.
EMAIL DIRECT if you wish,
admin@yourlocaltrades.co.uk
User Rating -
User Name - Yourlocaltrades.co.uk
Posted on 20 / 09 / 2007 Excelant
service and a worthwhile investment
Some
time wasters Having read some of the postings with regard to this site
i am suprised at the attitude of the tradesman with regard to the tender process.Are
the tradesman saying that they never encounter time wasters and chancers in the
open market?I have found the site has provided me with a steady flow of reliable
leads and consider the cost of the service negligable with regard to the size
of the contract sums. Ask yourself this "tradesman" is it you who are
at fault for pricing the job to highly in the first place and not having the confidence
and ability to mange your buisiness to generate the positive responces on the
ratings screen to generate confidence in the customers. User Rating -
User Name - Dave
Posted on 20 / 09 / 2007 N/A
N/A
I think the service is overpriced however have already had one days work from
it and i am currently in process of quoting two more larger jobs perhaps its just
certain trades it doesnt work for or areas User Rating -
User Name - david
Posted on 20 / 09 / 2007 It
does work
leads
to expensive Tradesmen my advice is simple. Over the years i have taken
many photos of my work. I am a tiler/floor layer and i find this helps so much
to show customers you are no COWBOY. I would say out of over 30 leads from tradesmen
i have lose only 2. Not bad i think User Rating -
User Name - Nigel Russell
Posted on 02 / 10 / 2007 cost
effective marketing
too
many customers dont reply, unrealstic expectations, I love it, well generally!
I did have to phone three times to get my credits for jobs customers didn't want
- although the staff were always friendly with a clear understanding of my issues
- give them a payrise Mr. Skipworth - thousands of vetted tradesman - not me luckily
I belong to safetrade who vet my feedback cards. Longer opening hours for the
contact centre would be good. More customers would get a call if they gave a better
description of the job and should be unable to post a job if they dont leave a
budget. For me its much better than the local rag (not focused enough), yellow
pages (too expensive), yell (just a glorified directory, shop windows (thats where
id expect to find cowboys). Overall easy to use, cost effective (mostly) and customers
have nouse (those that answer my calls) User Rating - 
User Name - Neil Wheeler
Posted on 02 / 10 / 2007 Jobs
at just a mouse click away
Expensive!
Great way of finding work if you are just starting out or falling on hard times
etc. Can work out expensive with the £40 fees £11 per job, however
advertising for work can be just as expensive and may not be as fruitfull. The
amount of jobs available at anyone time is limited, however in time im sure it
will become more popular with traders and customers. The jobs which i have had
sent to me are rarely local and i have therefore been forced to travel distances
further then i would like, however i have been able to use this service to get
me out of trouble when i have been low on work. So as a conclusion even though
it is expensive i would give it my thumbs up. User Rating -
User Name - Gary Smith
Posted on 02 / 10 / 2007 Its
easy to use and trademan contact you - nice change
Its
Rubbish If the web site was any good it would show you the rating &
comments of people who have had work completed. It doesnt so its no better than
the YELLOW PAGES.
I have today just cancelled a job with a plasterer "RECOMMENDED"
by this site , who didn't even bother to turn up and do the work even though we
both agreed a date for the work to start. Tradesman are TRADESMAN their
reputation is deserved.COWBOYS.
User Rating -
User Name - Karl Bramley
Posted on 14 / 12 / 2007 Right
Idea
Can
be done better Interesting comments! I am someone who is forming a team
and securing finance to build a competitor to RatedTradesmen, which so far, is
the biggest incumbent in the UK of this type of business as far as we know. In
theory and at a high level this model, in my opinion, will be the norm in 10 years
for securing services. Directories will be dead and exist to serve niches. The
trick is in getting the exchange model spot on (or as near to) for both the buyer
and seller. I would be very interested it hear feedback from people willing
it give it from both sides directly to me and beyond whats been said already in
this thread to my email address below. If we want more we would like to
call / meet with you (if we do this we will of course compensate you for your
time!) Best Rgds
Sam mailsamd@gmail.com
User Rating
- N/A
User Name - Sam
Posted on 07 / 01 / 2008 I
can have a moan
Where
do I start? These schemes have one fundamental flaw - they are completely
privately run and policed. What do you think is more important to the directors
of these companies, vetting the trades or taking their money? Schemes of this
type will eventually fade for two reasons I think. 1. Anyone with a PC can
start their own "recommended Trader Scheme' from their bedroom. The only
thing separating the current rubbish is the look of the website and the back-end
technology. There are so many in operation that eventually the consumer will run
a mile at the first mention of 'Rated, Vetted, Checked, Recommended Trades'. 2.
Trading Standards have established their own trader approval scheme called 'Buy
With Confidence'. It is in operation across the entire South East and will likely
spread across the UK. As consumers grow sick of private internet schemes, they
will turn to organisations they trust. And where the consumer looks, the trades
will follow. The largest scheme is in fact Checkatrade based in West Sussex
with around 1800 members (which is very poor membership for an area which includes
most of the home counties) Again, they are not interested in the consumer, they
just want the £1000 a year joining fee. Checkatrade is based on vetting
the trades and 'word of mouth' recommendations -but guess who's in control of
the vetting and publishing the recommendations?
These companies take us for
idiots. The smart consumers know the difference between approval from a
recognised impartial body and being "vetted" by a business. Many don't
touch these schemes with a barge pole.
User Rating -
User Name - Luke Stevens
User rating - 
Posted on 21/ 03 / 2008
Luke, Interesting
comments but I have yet to find a decently run public scheme (unsurprisingly),
we live in a capitalist society and innovation is typically driven by the private
sector so I do believe a major force in this space will emerge, the trick is getting
the business model right so it pays for both the buyer and supplier. Sam By
User - Sam
User rating - 
Posted on 21/ 06 / 2008
none
Bogus
Tradesman and lack of awareness from Rated Tradesman of the capability of the
so called tradesman I first asked for a electrician in June 2007 I eventually
used someone called ADR Russell he seemed a little hyper but still his quote seemed
reasonable enough. When work was finished there was a socket that wasn't fitted
in the wall flush.He also stated he thought he had undercharged us ????. When
I called him back to a fault no reply until this day 24th June 2007.It doesn't
mean nothing even though they might be registered a reconized body,as long as
they have been given their fee who cares about the consumer. I recently advertised
for a gardener it was answered by J M Landscapes three weeks into the job nothing
seemed to be coming to an end.My husband expressed his concern at the way how
the patio was being laid large gaps,small gaps,flags up and down uneven Jeff tried
to explain to me why that was you should have heard the explanation. Why do
all you tradesman always ask for money up front or two days into the job.When
it specifically states from Rated tradesman no money should be paid first unless
there has been a pre-arrangement.I am fed up with all these conmen or partconmen
where are your consciences have you all no family how would you like them tobe
treated like this.Do a good job and be paid at the end. We work all month until
we get paid I wish I could ask to be paid two or three days into the weekjust
because I had done a bit of work what is it pay as you go come on conduct yourselves
like the professionals you say you are How many times have we heard "I've
been doing this for 10 15 years or even 25yrs it doesn't matter JUST DO THE JOB
WE WANT CORRECTLY. By User - Anita Watson | 
