1 September 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Outing the cowboys
Ann-Marie O'Connor
SUMMARY
Published in Ascot News; Brackenll News;Reading Chronicle:Bracknell News(Wokingham,Crowthorne & Sandhurst); Woodley & Earley Chronicle; Royal Borough Observer; Business Review (Reading Chronicle)
PRESS RELEASE
Britain's first vetting company for tradespeople and service companies has officially brought it's campaign to help stamp out rougue traders and cowboy builders inot Berkshire.
Ann-Marie O'Connor, daughter of comic Tom O'Connor, has been granted one of only two Checkatrade licenses, the other is for Hertfordshire, and traders are being invited to register for approval to join more than 6,300 already approved as reliable and genuine.
Managing Director Kevin Byrne founded Checkatrade in 1998 after a tornado hit the West Sussex town of Slesey and rogue traders from up and down the country arrived to prey on the vulnerable.
For more information, visit www.checkatrade.com or call 0845 408 4866
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS
Checkatrade helps combat the UK's rogue trader problem by continuously vetting and monitoring local traders such as builders, plumbers and electricians. The idea was born in 1998 after a tornado hit the small West Sussex town of Selsey. Traders poured in from as far away as Liverpool and Manchester. Unfortunately, some ripped off the inhabitants of the town. Local businessman, Kevin Byrne, realised there was nowhere to check out the traders’ credentials and the company that became Checkatrade was formed.
Since then, Checkatrade has grown to include over 6,300 genuine trade members, growing by an average 120 new members every month, and, via the Royal Mail, distributes 5.9 million directories a year into communities throughout Hampshire, Surrey, Sussex, Dorset and Berkshire, while the website includes traders from across the UK.
CONTACT INFORMATION
PR / Marketing, Checkatrade
5 - 6 Sherrington Mews, Ellis Square, Selsey, West Sussex, PO20 0FJ
Tel: 01243 601234
Fax: 01243 601246
info@checkatrade.com
