Why is it so hard to find tradesmen

[loopyluloopy]

Literally that.

Need work done and worried I will be scammed.

How do I find decent trades people who can do work in my area without getting reviews from people I know?

I've tried check-a-trade (my dad was not happy about this) he thinks I will be scammed.

If you can't get recommendations, try Nextdoor. Get 3 quotes for significant work, ask for references or photos of previous jobs.

I quite often start new people on small things to see how they do.

Facebook.
All the tradesmen I have used over the last few years have been on local Facebook pages. Every single one has turned up when they said they would and every single one has completed the work required to my satisfaction.

Facebook doesn't have to be a page for selfies and food pics. It is also an extremely invaluable community resource.

My experience of Facebook is the opposite. I wouldn't trust a tradesman who only had a Facebook account.

Why can't you ask for recommendations? On Facebook etc if not in person...

It's fiddly but you can check if company is a ltd company, then check how long they've been trading, if personnel have changed a lot, what accounts show in terms of debt. Be wary of anyone with a long string of companies against their name.

Call for a quote. See if they sound knowledgeable. Be suspicious of anyone who could quote right away or fit work in right away.

Yup, mine too. If you mine down into people's FB accounts/friends you will usually find all the recommendations are from friends and family! Also they show up EVERY time someone asks for a plumber/ roofer etc!

If you really can't get personal recommendations then cross-reference all the different places:

• Checkatrade
• Google reviews
• Facebook (remember you can search a local group for previous recommendations too - you don't always have to post a new request

Also always trust your gut reactions when you meet someone.

Your dad is partially right that Check-a-trade is not as impartial as it seems. Firstly traders only tend to ask people for reviews if they think it will be positive and it's relatively easy for a trader to get a negative review removed.

I don't look for tradespeople's Facebook accounts. I ask for recommendations on the local community pages for specific work that needs doing. For example I might ask for someone to recommend an electrician or a plumber. The local people who have replied have always come up trumps.

On our local Fb pages the recommendations seem to come from the girlfriends / wives.

They probably do, but I have seen recommendations from people I know who aren't related.

Also, maybe I have been very lucky.

@LlamaDrama20 our business is on Checkatrade and you are actually wrong. A review can only be removed if it's factually incorrect (this has to be proven by the company) or is not left for the right business. Reviews can be left by the homeowner without being asked for. We can send out review requests but there is nothibg wrong with that. Although we pay to be members of Checkatrade it is very much supportive of the customers rather then the trades (rather unfairly at times)

Ask for recommendations. Talk to your neighbours who have been around the longest.

Or ask for references and site visits of their previous work. That's what I did when I had an extension built. My hair salon recommended a builder and then I had a look at his last three builds.

It's been especially bad since Brexit. I recently hired a plasterer from mybuilder.com who had six 5-star reviews, but he turned out to be awful. Looking back, I should have known when he seemed desperate for the job and kept asking for payment the second he finished. Now, I only go by recommendations. Word of mouth feels far more trustworthy—those websites, not so much.

Have you got any local community group pages on fb or as a standalone website? There are a few where I live and we use the recommendations (often loads of people have used them!) to help us find tradies. People often post looking for say a plumber and others recommend. Over time they can build up loads of positive recommendations.

village whats app works best of us to find people, but its a nightmare - would not touch checkatrade or similar

It is hard, Op.

I realised how hard when I moved half way across the country several years ago and had to start again.

My approach is to ask, friends and neighbours but also other tradespeople. When I found a great builder I asked him who the best plumber, electrician was in the area.

I then add them to my ‘little black book’.

Before long if you keep asking everyone, the same names will start to crop up again and again. They are the people I approach for quotes.

It takes time, but it works.

Checkatrade is a farce, they can get their mates to write reviews and there’s no checks. Try Which? Trusted Traders. You don’t need to be a Which? member.

Haha. You got very lucky!

It's a nightmare. You contact 10, 5 actually show up to quote, only 1 of the 5 will be punctual. The others will reschedule/be late. You get maybe two quotes, a third after chasing. You do the sensible thing and go for the middle price. They never start the work. You go with the expensive one because you think the cheap one can't be any good. They finally start the work. 3 weeks later than agreed because their nan died/their mate broke a foot/the rain delayed everything. During the works, they turn up as and when they feel like it. Everything runs over by a factor of 2. By that point you're desperate, you don't care that the sockets are wonky and the grout is the wrong colour. You just want them gone. Three weeks later something breaks. You try and contact them, get them to come back. They ghost you. Or maybe you're lucky and they keep giving you hope, telling you they'll come around "tomorrow" but tomorrow never arrives. You contact 10 new tradespeople. The cycle begins again.

And yes, I always get recommendations. It must vary by area because I never had issues where I used to live but then moved across the country and it's just been hell. I've got money but no time. Please just someone take my money and renovate my house to a reasonable standard. Instead I waste days sitting at home waiting for them to never show. And then spend the rest of my time looking at the substandard work that I did manage to get done.

Wow that sounds awful. Roughly, which area did you move from , and where to?
I agree the ghosting is infuriating. I have also found that the most EPC,es I’ve are not always the best. Not a tradesman but I needed a surveyor for probate, I went with the one that quoted 33% less than the others, with some anxiety but he was a real gentleman and did the work with no issues.

Check a trade is ok. The gold standard is trust mark.

We've used checkatrade and it's been fine but I did get a lot of quotes to compare. For large work we needed doing I actually got around 6 and discounted right away the ones who quoted off photos without even visiting! Also discounted the extortionately expensive. Went with someone who quoted a week after visiting and could fit us in a month or so later so he was middle of the road compared to the others. He has been good, actually.

A reminder that leaving a negative review on Checkatrade is extremely difficult. Found out first hand! They DO NOT want negative reviews and create many obstacles to stop them appearing. It’s all about protecting their clients, the traders.
Always google the business name and trader’s name, and search companies house to see if they have a pattern of going bust.

It can be a nightmare. I've started using small local multi tradesmen companies aa they seem to have their act together.

Most of the single person tradesman are more hassle then they're worth.

Age UK have a directory of trusted traders that they vet. I got a builder from there and they've been fine - not perfect, but not scammers!

Is there a good local area online forum where you live? I was recommended a local forum. Immediately found tradespeople with a good five pages of recommendations from forum users. I checked a handful of other posts from those recommending, and they were legit long term forum users. Found two excellent people for different jobs that way.