Not Ltd company

[Oxo01]

Hi wandering if anyone can help
I'm desperate to get my garden redone and then my Kichen
I'm getting quotes for the garden now.
One person is calling me tomorrow, today i asked via email if he has insurance he said yes he has full insurance, also if hes on Companys House, reply was No he's not as hes not a Ltd company.
So my question is does this mean hes a sole trader and what do i need to know about that if applicable.

Can I find any info about him/ his company ?
Im concerned that if things went wrong i may not get money back etc.
He posts on local sites seems nice good work but I had a terrible time with a plumber few years ago so want to be more prepared this time.
Thanks for any input

Forgot to say if he won't take credit card payment ( as that should give me more protection ) i will be concrrned of any difficulties .

Sounds like he’s a sole trader which is a perfectly legitimate way of running a business. Bring a ltd company and registered on companies house gives you no more redress in the case of breach of contract. The process is the same. Also companies house would give you little to no information other than Director names and addresses (often an accountants address) and if they had submitted their accounts.
Reviews are your best form of research and only pay when the job is done.

@getahhtmapub
Thank you, i looked up one on C/House and it had red exclamation marks something overdue but didnt bother with them.
Can I check his insurance out if i ask for it. ?

What are you looking for with his insurance? He will have public liability insurance which covers him not you.

If you are trying to ensure that he does a good job then none of the things you are looking at will govern you that comfort.

1. check out his reviews
2. be absolutely clear in your expectations
3. get a clear quote and a contract
4. pay a deposit only with the rest on successful completion
5. small claims court if things don’t go to plan

checking his insurance and companies house doesn’t help at all.

You willl struggle to find a tradesman that take credit card, not a usual form of payment for works at all, can appreciate why you may want the added protection from that but to find one that does would mean using a very large company for which the likely higher cost for the work would knock out the benefits

As other posters have said, being a limited company is not really a relevant factor in the way you seem to be looking at it - the clues in the name, it limits liability and is shield for the owner and drastically protects them, it is of no protection to you. I would prefer not a limited company as it's very easy for directors to walk away from a company with lots of debts and issues, not so easy when a sole trader or partnership business as you can take steps against them personally

Insurance - yes check insurance, perfectly reasonable to ask for it. Also references and check them out

Yup very unlikely such a tradesperson would take a credit card. It’s prohibitively expensive for them and there’s a lot to do to get set up to accept payments.

It’s really not that unusual for tradespeople to take credit cards (the washing repair man I had around a couple of weeks ago had a card reader) and it doesn’t have to be expensive, or difficult to set up,!either.

For example, you can buy a zettle card reader for £29, which connects to a mobile phone. There is no monthly fee and the transaction fee is 1.75%. Many people prefer to pay a small percentage in credit card fees to have the safety of instant payment by the customer, rather than having to chase up unpaid invoices and carry the risk of some people not paying at all.

But yes, OP, as PPs have said, whether a tradesperson is a limited company or not is a bit of a red herring for the reassurances you are looking for, so I wouldn’t get hung up on that.

Thank you all for info.
He didn't call me today (Fri) as planned so unless something drastic happened with him I will not bother with him. The search goes on
Thank you very much though.

His insurance would not cover you or anything relating to you, it's just for his own benefit I think.
You sound like you're already having doubts about his legitimacy, which is not the best way to start a business relationship.

If having a ltd company gives you more reassurance then I'd say you should use someone else who has that set up. If you feel wary about it before you've even started you shouldn't get involved with them. It will give you anxiety from the off and they will sense it too.