28 March 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Prove It: Increased Intolerance for Unbacked Traders
Vetting and Monitoring Company Benefit from Surge in Savvy Customers
SUMMARY
Consumers demanding that the traders they let into their homes are vetted and monitored before they employ them have helped fuel a recent surge in membership of the West Sussex-based firm Checkatrade.com.
PRESS RELEASE
Consumers demanding that the traders they let into their homes are vetted and monitored before they employ them have helped fuel a recent surge in membership of the West Sussex-based firm Checkatrade.com.
The company has seen an increase in membership of over 100% this year from 1000 members in February 2007 to over 2000 members at the end of March 2008, making it the best year for growth in the company’s ten year history.
Checkatrade founder and CEO Kevin Byrne commented: “It took nine years for us to achieve a membership of 1000 traders willing to be vetted and continuously monitored. The next 1000 members only took one year. This proves to me that there is a demand from consumers for traders who are reliable, honest and trustworthy and who can prove their credentials.”
Kevin also pointed out that all members of Checkatrade go through a stringent vetting process, which includes identity checks and the taking of references. All members must have current Public Liability Insurance and must also be able to produce proof of any relevant qualifications. “We believe that it is this process, and the publishing of customer feedback on our website, both positive and negative, that gives greater credibility to our members in the eyes of the public.”
To date over 100,000 customer feedback forms have been received by Checkatrade, who process an average of 3,500 cards a month at present. This figure is increasing as consumers become more aware and careful of whom they choose to do work in their homes. The company estimates that their members are gaining over 300,000 jobs a year from the Checkatrade system, generating around £150 million worth of work in local communities. The aim, Kevin said, “is to keep work in the hands of the honest and reliable and to close the door on rogue traders”.
With over 6000 unique visitors a day to its website, Checkatrade remains on the cutting edge of consumer protection with innovative software, processes and benefits for their members.
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
