Live event: ask your questions about traders – 2pm 22/7/21

Ask people you know for recommendations. But be prepared to be disappointed; other than doing sensible groundwork I do not think there is any foolproof method apart from personal experience. I have an excellent plumber, garage, cleaner, and would recommend them to friends if asked, that originally came recommended to me.

Wiliam – I would look askance at someone who comes touting for work and a trader who wants money upfront (if necessary, I will purchase goods and materials).

On the positive side, I look out for a good local reputation, a permanent address, a landline telephone number, a website or some sort of internet presence, evidence of previous work (if possible), the appearance of any literature, the condition and livery of vehicles, knowledge of the work, and not too many trades offered,

It’s not always easy to “look at work that the trader has undertaken”.

Plumbing, electrical work, kitchen and bathroom fitting, flooring and carpet fitting, plastering and ceiling skimming, painting and decorating, assembling flatpack furniture, or making fitted wardrobes, cupboards or shelving would involve visiting someone else’s property which would almost certainly require a nomination from the trader and therefore not be disinterested.

It can often be possible to look at outside work if it is visible from the roadside and I have formed an opinion of a potential contractor on that basis [i.e. whether or not to invite them to quote for the job]. I have found from experience that a good decorator might not be a good bricklayer so care is needed in matching the skill to the job and not taking advantage of the multi-trade people and the ‘no job too small’ brigade.

I tried to use Which? Local in the past but was not over-impressed. Previous customers’ judgments might have been coloured by price rather than competence and I found the problem of Which? Local traders having gone out of business but still being listed.

On the few occasions when I considered Which? Trusted Traders I found there were none within a reasonable distance. I now have my own little cadre of Ward’s Trusted Traders based on recommendations from other traders I have used and seen working in association with them [e.g. our electrician was introduced by the kitchen fitter and has gone on to do work at successive homes].

I have only had one experience of using a trader recommended by the merchant of the materials. This involved a complete bathroom refit and was a disaster. We had to dismiss the contractor half way through the job and get another firm to rectify bad work and then complete the job and even then, because of the mistakes made with tap positioning , the work was not altogether satisfactory.

Another time, an electrician we chose from an advertisement when we were new to an area, was technically competent but most of his experience turned out to be at RAF aerodromes where neatness of installation was clearly not a priority.

Which? Trusted Traders probably cuts down your chance of getting a rogue but does not guarantee an expert with good customer care, competence, and efficiency of working practice.

Our next job will be alterations to and refurbishment of our porch with a new front door to match the original period style. I have just checked Which? Trusted Traders and only two firms came up, one 24 miles away on the north Norfolk coast and the other 262 miles away on the south coast.

Thank you Philip.

Are you able to say what the annual cost of membership to a Which? Trusted Trader is compared to belonging to any other other trader-rating services? They seem to be growing in prominence nowadays and are like a rash on the internet when researching small traders. Has Which? sought to check out these other sites and compare their quality of service and reliability? The tradespeople I have used recently have not been affiliated to any marketing service; they don’t need to be – their reputation gets them all the work they can handle.

There is a local authority ‘trusted trader’ scheme in our area run by the county trading standards service. It’s website says “Trusted Trader is a directory of local service providers, backed by Norfolk County Council and checked by our Trading Standards team. . . . The directory includes a wide choice of services, including home maintenance, IT, car repairs and personal care services. All the businesses have been rigorously vetted so you can choose with confidence and avoid rogue traders.” I haven’t used the local authority service but I would prefer to do so than either Which? or another commercial outfit.

I wouldn’t recommend a firm to Which? Trusted Traders [or any other marketing service] without the permission of the trader concerned; they might not want the extra attention it would bring.

Like John I have struggled to find local Trusted Traders. There are some franchises that are based many miles away but have local members.

That’s a glowing reference for Which?’s associated DRO service, Emilie. Does nothing ever go wrong and are all clients entirely satisfied with the outcomes?

I am glad that your ombudsman colleagues are “fantastic at what they do”, Emilie. I suppose I am expecting Which? to adopt a more arms-length relationship with them; it all seems a bit cosy to me.