Trust a trader website

October 11, 2016 10:47 PM

I'm looking for any real life experiences of using the Trust a Trader website in the UK in general and London in particular. Also for any recommendations for other ways to find reputable trades people.Assume we don't know anyone irl to ask, either friends or others builders/carpenters/roofers. Partner and I have been burned before so general trust is low but need some work doing around the house that is well beyond me.
posted by fatfrank to Home & Garden (9 answers total)

We've always used CheckATrade with good results from picking a tradesperson from the top 10 ranked. Go for 9.8+ out of 10, with as many reviews as possible.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 12:48 AM on October 12, 2016 [1 favorite]

Yeah, CheckATrade seems to be the site that has mindshare. Not that the traders like it very much, but they all seem to be on it.
posted by pharm at 3:20 AM on October 12, 2016

I've also had good luck getting recommendations from local neighborhood facebook groups.
posted by nalyd at 3:22 AM on October 12, 2016

Which? is great. Also, if you're specifically looking for painters/plasterers, I have an amazing team I can recommend -- Memail me.
posted by harperpitt at 4:06 AM on October 12, 2016

Mybuilder.com got us good guys once, bad guys the second time. Both had good reviews, so I think they're gamed to some extent. Certainly those who've had a bad experience tend not to review it (we didn't). It's all coming out about even Amazon reviews etc now, so steer clear basically.
posted by Coda Tronca at 5:33 AM on October 12, 2016 [1 favorite]

Oh my God, there are so many charlatans in London.

I've had good results from using mybuilder.com but only picking people who are in the top 20 with lots and LOTS of reviews AND who are reasonably local. Had a terrible experience with someone with just five stellar reviews. Under no circumstances go by those leaflets that come through your door.

If you're looking in the east, I know a good roofer and a good decorator so feel free to memail.
posted by finisterre at 12:47 PM on October 12, 2016

My experience with any review-driven sites is that they're skewed. People simply don't like to leave non-anonymous negative reviews (so if they've had a bad experience, they simply don't leave a review at all. I've been guilty of this myself). The builders I've been happiest with by FAR were word-of-mouth recommendations.

I didn't think I knew anyone either. Just ask anyone and everyone! Ask on social media! Ask friends of friends, ask colleagues, etc. I got one via my PT and one on Twitter (from EndsOfInvention, actually!).

Also, get looooaaaads in to give you a quote (I've lost all shame with that). After a while you get better at sniffing out the worst scammers and bullshitters.
posted by ClarissaWAM at 1:15 PM on October 12, 2016 [2 favorites]

Just wanted to second harperpitt's suggestion of Which? Local. The downside is that you have to pay for access. The upside is that the payment requirement tends to keep out frauds and spammers.

I will also memail you a specific contractor we've used and liked.
posted by yankeefog at 2:28 AM on October 13, 2016

Which local and Trusted Trader (Which) are better options. Also, staying local, lots of recommendations, and I'm in West London and just rebuilt/extended my house so may have more specific tips/recommendations as well.
posted by C.A.S. at 2:44 PM on October 19, 2016