Industrial News

Despite the home being people's most valuable asset, people spend an average of only twelve minutes checking the credentials and references of tradesmen before letting them into their house. Two thirds (65 per cent) of people admit that they have knowingly employed a tradesman with no recognised accreditations or recommendations of any sort simply because they provided a cheaper quote. A further three out of four people (73 per cent) have let tradesmen work on their homes without ever drawing up a contract – an act that leaves them without any consumer protection whatsoever.

Andrew Skipwith, founder of Rated Tradesmen, comments: "As with all things in this world, the best price is not always the best value and when it comes to your home you really do only get what you pay for. If you go for a cheaper option and don't use reputable tradesmen the deal is likely to backfire and you'll end up with shoddy craftsmanship and poor customer service that will undoubtedly cost you more in the long run through repairs."

In the past year alone over 10 million – 68 per cent of home owners – have suffered from a cowboy tradesman's botched job with seven out of ten saying they are 'extremely unhappy' or 'unhappy' with the levels of service they have received. A massive one in three home owners (34 per cent) have employed another tradesman to correct a previous tradesman's mistakes costing on average an extra £256 per botched job. 17 per cent try and improve on a bad job themselves with a spot of DIY. 14 per cent of home owners who experienced unsatisfactory work preferred to do nothing and put it down to experience rather than face the hassle of a dispute.

London is the capital of rogue tradesmen with more than £95 million a year spent by home owners on the repairs of botched jobs followed by tradesmen in the South East (£91 million) and the East (£85 million). Scottish home owners are the most satisfied with their tradesmen spending the least (£64 million) on fixing botched jobs.

Skipwith adds: "Rogue home owners are fuelling a boom in rogue tradesmen by not playing by the rules. Cutting contractual corners and paying cash-in-hand is not only denying reputable tradesmen work, it is also leaving record numbers of home owners with huge repair bills. To avoid nasty surprises you should always employ tradesmen from credible sources with established reputations."

Top five tips on how to avoid cowboy tradesmen:
1. Ask a few questions - Take time to get to know your tradesmen and the services they offer
2. Get multiple quotes – but don't just choose on money, take into account their reputation and any ratings they have earned for quality and reliability
3. Sign an agreement – make signed records of the job description, start date, duration and agreed price before any work commences
4. Get your tradesmen from reputable sources – be wary of adverts that come through your door or directory listings with only a telephone number. Anyone can claim to be a tradesman
5. Pay in instalments – never pay the whole amount in advance, and avoid paying large deposits up front. On longer jobs, agree a schedule of payments and make sure that your payment at each stage reflects the progress made

The Rated Tradesmen advice e-Book 'The Little Book of GSI' is available for free to download from Rated Tradesmen.

Notes to Editors:

• Rated Tradesmen is the UK's most popular web community bringing together customers and highly skilled tradespeople (according to latest Alexa Rankings - 18 October 2006).
• Once registered on the site, tradesmen receive details of customer-submitted jobs that match their work interests and local area. After quoting for and completing a job, the customer then rates the tradesman on quality, value and reliability for other home owners to see.
• Tradespeople interested in joining the on-line community and customers seeking more information should contact Rated Tradesmen by calling 0870 220 8820 or by visiting the website

Results at a Glance:

According to Communities & Local Government (www.communities.gov.uk) there are 14,621,000 owner occupied households in the UK – 9,942,280 (68 per cent) home owners have suffered from a cowboy tradesman's botched job. 34 per cent of those suffering from a botched job (3,380,375) pay on average an extra £256 each to repair the botched job – cumulatively costing £865,376,000.

How home owners have reacted to botched jobs:

• Employed another tradesman to improve the work (34 per cent)
• Gone to a consumer advice service such as Consumer Direct or the Office of Fair Trading (22 per cent)
• Tried and improved the job yourself through DIY (17 per cent)
• Nothing, put it down to experience (14 per cent)
• Given the tradesman more money to sort the problem out (13 per cent)

League table of rogue tradesmen based on amount home owners spend on repairing botched jobs:

• London – £95 million a year
• South East – £91
• East – £85
• Midlands – £82
• North East – £79
• South West – £78
• Wales – £76
• North West – £75
• West Midlands – £71
• Yorkshire – £69
• Scotland – £64