Getting ripped off constantly

[madcatladyforever]

As the title says I am constantly getting shafted by lousy tradesmen.
I'm new to this area, an older person and I live on my own which probably doesn't help. Very few of them seemed to have any respect for me even though I am far from being a pushover.
First the plasterer I got off checkatrade with all good review came to plaster over my artex, I got home to find a scene of utter carnage. I refused to pay him and had to get another company in to take all the plaster off and do it again at twice the price.
Then the boiler went so got someone in to fix it, cost be £120 and it bust again the next day and I had to get someone else in to have a look as the original guy refused to come back, again checkatrade, no wonder as he had his money. New guy found a big leak and fixed it boiler is ok now but I had to pay yet again.
There were tradesmen I booked and took a day off for and they never showed up on the day.
I'm just so sick of it. I don't know anyone here yet properly so can't get personal recommendations and I've given them bad reviews on checkatrade but I really can't afford to keep losing money like this.
Any ideas?

I think local Facebook Groups are better for recommendations than Checkatrade. Just try to be sure you are getting genuine third party recommendations rather than people recommending themselves/their partner/their best mate.

Is there a local community Facebook group you ask for recommendations on? We move a lot so I know how annoying it is having to start from scratch finding good people to do things, from car garages to haircuts, but I do find Facebook helpful if there isn’t anyone I can ask in person.

Great minds Chicchicchicchiclana

It’s good to ask neighbours for recommendations too. And it’s get better once you find good tradesmen, eg if you have a boiler problem again, you’ll ring the guy who got it right the last time.

I would recommend joining Next Door, I’ve found two really good tradesmen using local recommendations online. It’s a great way to chat to locals too.

nextdoor.co.uk/

Maybe try Nextdoor if there is a group in your area? I have found some great tradesmen that way.

Thats very frustrating, finding good tradespeople is so hard. I have had the complete opposite experience. Every person I went with via recommendation I have had problems with (except for one). All the good traders I have hired via checkatrade.

This is how I get my Checkatrade trades people:

-Must be very local, the closer the better.
-Must have over 100 good reviews.
-I contact them by sending an clear email explaining what I need and that I wish for them to come an quote me for the work. I never call them, if they want the work they will contact me. I give them about 2 working days to reply by email or phone.
-Out of the 5 or 6 traders usually 3 or 4 will get back to me to.

-When they visit they must be on time or let me know they are running late.
-When I talk them through the work I want to feel like they are listening to me. I want them to think along, make suggestions. I will ask questions I already know the answer of. I want them to explain how they are going to do things.
-Red flag for me are; If they suggest cheaper ways to do thing, instead of listening to what you want trying to tell you what you should have, to eager to add expansive add ons to the work, the sentence "I'v been doing this for 'x amount of years' (usually 30) and we have always done it like this".

• They must send the quote via email, not through the letter box, not over the phone.

-I like a professional quote, preferable a pdf with letters head. -I like a good clear scope of work. -I'm not looking for the cheapest one, I'm willing to pay more for someone I feel more confident in.

• Usually quotes come around the same price. If its a lot lower I will wonder why and if its a lot higher I assume they don't really want the work.

Some fantastic tips there thanks folks.