FAQ
Using Checkatrade:
No. It is completely free for the consumer. There are no hidden charges. Our telephone line is only a standard local rate call (Calls charged at Local rate for BT customers, other service providers may charge more).
Use our search facility to find the trade or service you need in your area. This will show up a list of businesses who work in your area.
Our stringent vetting and transparent monitoring system ensures that every business is recommended and works to a high standard. You can find details and reviews of their past work by clicking on their names. As every customer is different and each job unique, only you know what you are looking for. The reviews will highlight how each business has performed in areas such as time keeping or value for money.
You are now in a position to get quotes from several businesses that catch your eye. In the end, it might be availability or disposition that helps you choose between them. Whatever you decide to do, you know you are choosing a business that has made itself accountable to the public.
If you would like any further help, call our Customer Service reception team.
Once you are on the profile page of a particular trade or service you have this option via a drop down box. You can sort their reviews via 6 ways, sort by score; highest or lowest are two of these options. We don’t put this function in the initial search result as the average score of all our the listed trades and services are very visible so we don’t see the need for it.
Checkatrade started as a local business and quickly grew because the system works. We are now uniquely positioned to serve the whole country, but building up the directory in each area will take a little time.
You can help us extend our coverage by giving your feedback about trades that you have used. We will then contact the trade or service provider and ask them if they are willing to be vetted and continuously monitored by Checkatrade.
You should receive a review card directly from the tradesperson before the work is done - this means reviews cannot be biased by only hearing from the "friendly" customers. Occasionally this gets forgotten, in which case you can click on Give Your Feedback.
Secure contact details are dedicated phone numbers and email addresses which are used on Checkatrade.com to protect our consumers and trades. They are displayed in place of our trades personal contact details however divert directly to them, keeping communication seamless for both parties.
What's the benefit of secure contact details?
Peace of mind
Using a secure contact detail gives you complete peace of mind that the trade you're calling is a current recommended, vetted and monitored Checkatrade member.
Higher response rate
We want to give you the best chance possible at quickly and easily finding the right trade for you. Because secure contacts help to protect our trades against scam calls and text, genuine customer enquiries are more likely to be connected.
Trades have less spam calls
Secure contacts help us to identify frequent nuisance and spam callers - if we can help prevent these our trades find it easier to respond to genuine customer enquiries.
Trades alerted when they receive a Checkatrade enquiry
It gives them a great start with new enquiries - our trades will hear the Checkatrade jingle when they answer the phone to a Checkatrade customer so that they know where you found their details. If you text a trade through their secure mobile number, it will let them know that you're a Checkatrade customer.
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About Checkatrade Members:
All applicants are pre-screened and told that they will be interviewed, vetted and monitored – and the results, good and bad, will be made public. This alone deters a lot of trades who know that they their service is substandard. We ensure that the trades and services know that we are a consumer information service and that we have to remain unbiased. Our procedures for handling negative comments and complaints are clearly explained.
Our trained staff assess the applicants suitability and will then arrange an interview. To pass our vetting procedure we request:
- Qualifications - we require proof that the applicant is qualified to undertake their chosen profession (e.g. Gas Safe, Part P).
- Insurance - we require proof that they hold Public Liability and combined insurance if they employ people.
- Proof of address - we require proof of the company’s trading address in the form of a utility bill or credit check, dependant on the type of company.
- Identification - we require photo identification (passport, driver’s licence etc).
- Code of Conduct and Ethics - we require the applicant to sign to agree to follow them.
- Credit Check on Limited Companies - we perform a Credit Check on applicants that are Limited and Limited Liability Partnership companies to check their financial history.
In addition we look at length of experience and the company’s history as well as VAT and company legal status.
No reliance on information
The content contained on the Website is provided for general information only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely. Although Checkatrade makes reasonable efforts to update the information on the Website, please note that the content contained on the Website may be out of date at any given time and Checkatrade are under no obligation to update it.
We believe the person best placed to monitor our members is you, the customer.
As a customer you will be asked to leave a review for the tradesperson. This gives you the opportunity to provide comments and scores across different areas of their workmanship and service. You can leave Your Feedback online.
Customer reviews are the very essence of Checkatrade , our members rely on reviews to build their reputation and Checkatrade reply on reviews to be able to monitor our members.
Providing your experience with a Checkatrade member has gone as expected, once we have received your review it will be reviewed and published.
We recognise from time to time things can go wrong and we are here to help. You can find out more about our process for resolving issues.
Your name and address are never published alongside your feedback. However, we do require you to fill in your contact details. Without a name, address and telephone number we cannot substantiate any claim or opinion about a tradesperson and we cannot operate on hearsay. Each month we aim to spot check and verify the reviews we receive. You will receive an email, SMS or a call from Checkatrade to verify the details that you have supplied.
Yes. We’re so confident in the quality of our member's work that we guarantee it for free for 12-months, meaning you're covered in the rare event that your job doesn't go to plan. To activate your guarantee, simply leave a review of the trade’s work on Checkatrade within 30 days of the job being completed. For full terms and conditions visit: https://www.checkatrade.com/guaranteed-terms
Why are we so confident? Because all full Checkatrade members are recommended, vetted, and monitored. They pledge to uphold the Checkatrade Standard – a code of excellent conduct. This keeps the rogue trades away, the standard of work high, and each business is held accountable for its performance.
We also guarantee to publish all reviews - good and bad, as long as the customer has given us permission to contact the trader about the complaint and providing it's not anonymous and in the absence of exceptional circumstances. This means that our members work well because their reputations are at stake: one poor job and they could lose custom. Our system and our guarantee gives you peace of mind.
This is a rare event because our members know that unsatisfied customers will leave a negative review which will be published on our website. If you do have reason to complain about the work undertaken by one of our members, then please Leave Your Review or see how we can help with Resolving Issues.
If the customer is happy for us to contact the tradesperson, we will address any dissatisfaction directly with them. The trade will be given the opportunity to rectify the situation or provide a right of reply with their version of events.
Often issues that have arisen are due to unclear expectations or poor communication. Having contacted the tradesperson we usually find that the problems get resolved.
Read more about making a complaint
Yes we do. In the unlikely event that a business falls short of the Checkatrade Standard, its membership will be suspended. The reason that the vast majority of our trades and services work to a high standard is that our initial vetting is stringent, and the monitoring process puts their reputation and future work on the line.
We do - see our guide here
For members