Checkatrade

[NeilB]

Dear All

I am looking to see if any fixers have joined 'Checkatrade' which is very prevalent down here in Sussex and Surrey. Its open to all tradespeople, and appears to increase business from what I hear from some people registered with them. It isn't cheap and whilst I am contemplating if its the thing to do, I would appreciate hearing from anyone who is registered with them now (or in the past) to see if its worth it

thanks !

[Daz]

If it's anything like all these other websites that get tradesmen to pay a registration / membership fee then tell the general public that the tradesmen listed on their site are only top quality and fully vetted, then it is as big a waste of cash as all the others IMO.

The only websites that are worth registering with are the free ones, that's where the genuine tradespeople are.

[nybor62]

im with the captain , stay well clear, people just trying cash in on the back of a recession , spend ya money on adverts it will generate more work

[Dan]

Once you've been on the forum a bit longer, you'll see plenty of discussion on these types of 'bidding' websites. Where you bid for work, or the customers bids on tilers, or whatever. Many are in the tilersforums arms category, though you need more posts to access that.

[NeilB]

Thanks Guys ! Checkatrade isn't a bidding website though. Its a site where you agree to get your customers to rate your work, and where it will 'appear' that you are a decent tradesperson having been suitably vetted and constantly assesed by the customers. What I am feeling about them though is that they come across as suggesting that if you are not on their site, then you ain't worth the risk.

[CJ CERAMICS]

neil as you say it isnt cheap and to be honest i think that you would be better off using the money to increase your advetising through more regular means than auctioning your services to the lowest bidder.
hope this helps
chris

[Dan]

Thanks Guys ! Checkatrade isn't a bidding website though. Its a site where you agree to get your customers to rate your work, and where it will 'appear' that you are a decent tradesperson having been suitably vetted and constantly assesed by the customers. What I am feeling about them though is that they come across as suggesting that if you are not on their site, then you ain't worth the risk.

And what do you pay for that?

[Colour Republic]

To be fair Check-a-Trade aren't quite in the same mould as websites like , myhammer, mybuilder etc etc. They are fairly big in the South and do advertise for the builder. leaflet drops through peoples doors with their local builders on it, not just generic mass drops.

I personally won't use them as they won't stand behind their members if something goes wrong so the public aren't really any better off.

From what I hear they do bring business in for the members, but personally it's not for me because I don't agree with some of the misleading advertising they do.

I know a builder who was shoddy as hell and he was a member for years.

[CJ CERAMICS]

i have friends in other trades who have used check atrade and have used family members and friends to fill out their ratings to boost their standings. as far as i can make out no actual vetting takes place by the company itself other than possibly a phone call or 2.

[Colour Republic]

And what do you pay for that?

depends of size of the firm between £350-£650 a year if i remember rightly

[Dan]

depends of size of the firm between £350-£650 a year if i remember rightly

So for more possible twice the cost of a website?!
Would never understand why it would be feasible personally mate.

[mikethetile]

all these sites will tell you that you cant afford to not be with them as everybody is trying to find tradesmen and are looking at their site

I get at least two calls a week offering me incentives to join their sites, the reality is you cant afford to feed them out of what you earn and why should you

do a good clean job at a reasonable rate, listen to your clients needs and do what you can to meet them, any problems or mistakes-be on it and sort it straight away

watch the work come in , its a slow but sure way to build a long lasting business, using these simple principles ive gone from nought to run off my feet in 6 months, and I cant even turn the work away as they would rather wait for me

[Scott]

So if your previous customers can rate your work, what happens if you hae a dispute or fall out with them?

They could ruin your reputation on a public media over something trivial, sounds dangerous imo

[pjc]

I would think if you are on there list you ain't worth the risk seen it so many time exploit the new and vulnerable for money the ones that can least afford it

[SandyFloor]

Check out www.gumtree.com. It's free and I've had a few jobs from it

[FreeD]

Why not just use freeindex...get your customer to write you a testimonial, email it to you...if you like it send them the link, submit to freeindex...many customers now use this site to find tradesman...can't see any advantage of checkatrade puts the ball to much in the customers side of the court...spend £600 on a website, optimise it well and u'll never put down the phone down.

[whitebeam]

They want your money, full stop

Never used them

[DJS]

Neil - how are you getting on BTW? Good and busy I hope? (We were on same course together)

I must have put about £150 into the rated people site. It is biased towards the customer, and one bad rating can affect your overall score, but you do have the right to respond to any bad ratings. Had a customer mess me about for payment. After the 2nd time it didn't arrive in my bank account, I called him at 7.45am in the morning demanding it be done that day and it was. He threatened me with a bad rating, but I just said I would comment he was a bad paying customer in responce.

Now I'm so busy with repeat customers and referalls, I'm taking bookings for 2011 already, and I don't spend money on that site anymore (well, probably for the moment!!).

By the time I get these jobs done, I could probably afford £600 for a web-site. Luckily, I know someone who is at college doing web-design and he said he will do me one for a good price.

Keep in touch

[achillea]

As a prospective punter about to embark on a range of renovation works (and not knowing any tradespeople in the area) I was planning on using checkatrade to shortlist. Without recommendations it looks like the best site as you can see each client's feedback - I'd probably go with those having a reasonable track record. So if you get 9.8 out of 10 across 20+ jobs I should be reasonably confident that you are not a cowboy. I used one of those other bidding sites about 5 years ago - got 3 bids (couldn't choose who it went to). Selected a chap who ended up doing a complete botch job and had to get a proper plumber to redo everything... never again!

[Dan]

achillea, search the web for actual tradesmen in your area that have websites or freeindex listings or gumtree listings (both with reviews) and call them. Arrange a quote from three of each trade you need, and get references off them and call those references.

Either you or the tradesman is going to have to pay to for that connection if you use any one of those websites that charge. The downside to that is, it will cost you a bit more as you'll need to pay, or the tradesmen will who will have to factor it in his pricing structure at some point (so you pay anyway).

You can find reputable companies pretty easily using the normal routes to find tradesmen though. It's not like the good old yellow pages only days where you went for the guy with the biggest advert or because their name started with the letter A.

These days you can find all sorts about companies with an online presence. Main thing is though, just get references and three quotes for each job. You'll be fine and it'll not cost you or the trader to do.

[achillea]

Thanks for the advice - I guess its back to the web! One issue I have is that I need to gut the bathroom and do an entire refit (move boiler, new suite, plaster everything, UFH, tile, electrics....) and was thinking of finding a company that can do the lot although my concern is that they may not be great at everything. Finding numerous individual tradespeople feels like a nightmare - any thoughts?

[Dan]

You need a gas fitter to move the boiler and do the first fix, a tiler to do the tiling and UFH, then the plumber comes back to do the 2nd fix. You may be able to find a company that has both employed (or sub-contracted) on their books. Should be easy to find. What area are you in I'll see if I can find you a couple of examples for you. Though feel free to post the tiling work in our I'm Looking for a Wall and Floor Tiler area as the lads (and ladies) on here would be more than happy to help. Some will be able to do everything but the moving of the boiler. But they might know a gas fitter that can do that for you to save you a bit of time.