When deciding to get work done on your property, it can be difficult know whether your tradesperson is reputable. We have put together a short guide to make you aware of the warning signs that means your builder is not as trustworthy as they first seemed.

A Knock at the Door –

If a builder turns up at your front door offering you service on your house for comparatively low cost, then this is a warning sign. Reputable traders will not need to go door to door in search of work, and although a low cost is enticing, it is often too good to be true.

It is reasonable for you to request a quote for the work before it is carried out, but rogue traders will often refuse this, providing you instead with an estimate. An estimate gives them the flexibility to turn around and charge you a lot more for the work due to unforeseen circumstances. Never allow a tradesperson to carry out work on your house until you have received at least 2 quotes from other builders to compare the prices with.

Questionable Credentials –

Builders are required to have some mandatory credentials in order to work on certain parts of your house. For example, traders that work with gas appliances must be members of the Gas Safe Register. It is easy to forge memberships to these accreditation schemes, however it is also easy to check if your tradesperson is telling the truth, with many of the schemes having searchable online databases where you can look up your trader.

It is also important to ask for contact details. If your builder refuses to give you a landline telephone number or a registered address, then be very wary as these a warning signs.

‘I’ll knock off the VAT’… –

Whilst some small traders may not need to charge VAT, many rogue traders will not charge it as they do not pay it. This is illegal.

Many rogue traders will also insist on being paid in cash, often in full before the work is started. This gives them the opportunity to leave without finishing the job. Be sure to make sure that your contract states that payment will be given at the end of the job, or at least after a certain amount of work have been carried out.