Rated People website

A question about : Rated People website

This is a website that puts you in touch with tradespeople. the idea is that you put a review of the work done so that other people can gauge the competence of the tradesperson. The only problem is once you have put a rating for someone they wont change it for any reason. This causes problems when you put a good rating for a job done and then a month later it all starts to fall apart, as has just happened to me. I have spoken to them and they will not do anything about it. If you do use it make sure it is for very simple jobs that can't go wrong a few weeks later. I've just had a tiled floor laid and the tradesmen wont relay it after it has gone wrong and there is no way i can let other customers know.

Best answers:

• Hello angryandy
  Welcome to the MSE site.
  I'll move your thread to 'The (Consumer) Vent' board, where it will get more views.
  Hi, Martin’s asked me to post this in these circumstances: I’ve asked Board Guides to move threads if they’ll receive a better response elsewhere(please see this rule) so this post/thread has been moved to another board, where it should get more replies. If you have any questions about this policy please email abuse@moneysavingexpert.com.
  Regards
  Nile
• Not specific about this site, but I don't know how anyone can trust a website using online recommendations for tradespeople. A tradesman could have 50 good reports on a website, but all of these could have come from him/herself or family and friends (this is very easy to set up on even one computer).
  If you are not sure, always better to get a personal recommendation from family/friends, and if possible, see an example of their work first.
• my point is that you cant add details later if things start going wrong, i dont doubt that there are good people on it. My floor in the bathroom started cracking and that took a few weeks to start, by then i had already given the review and there is nothing i can do to warn people. This is not about doing fake reviews, though that is possible.
• For electrics, there is a few places that list vetted electricians.
  These companies have a complaints procedure,
  You should use a competent person for the work, links below
  In Scotland:
  Individuals regitered;
  https://www.sbsa.gov.uk/register/ListAC.asp
  Companies
  https://www.sbsa.gov.uk/register/Sear...struction&ID=2
  In England and Wales:
  https://www.competentperson.co.uk
• could you not add a new review?
• thats my point, they wont let you add a new review, they say its an IT issue and system wont let you do it. Believe me I have tried.
• I don't trust the "touchlocal" website for reviews either, but for the opposite reason that they seem to take off negative reviews!
  Someone I know wrote a review for a disasterous wedding at a hotel (honeymoon suite that had been reserved for over a year and hotel gave it to someone else but didn't tell them until wedding night when bride and groom were shown to a different room, and buffet ran out with 3 tables still to go, and despite buffet served by hotel staff, they claimed the bride and groom hadn't paid for any more food so that was it, even though they'd paid for a buffet for an exact number of people!!), but this review disappeared a day later, replaced with glowing reports about the hotel in question!!
  I would never use touch local for a review again.
• Re the"guild of master crafstmen",quite a few years ago my business was approached by them to join,my business required no skill at all....
  (Edit-if you wonder why I seem to be talking to myself-its because one poster has removed all his posts,after being challenged.)
• quote=yourlocaltrades;10567377]Take it you never joined then!
  I remember the 118 trades a while back-That was my worst nightmare! talk about help yourself to my credit card! Thank god thats gone!![/quote]
  Correct.There is no way my business involved being a master of a craft,and I didn't need to buy myself into respectibility.
  I see that the Guild of Master Craftsmen accept retailers (and people in the service industry)into their organization, for example, a suitcase shop called "the Luggage Centre" in London,this puzzles me,can you explain it?I get the impression that anyone can buy their way in, (about £350 I think),while the name suggests otherwise. I don't understand why you have included them.
• No,it doesn't make sense.I think you are backtracking.
  Either you are promoting them,as a reputable organization who vet properly,or you don't mention them.......You have listed them on your website too....you are the one who is giving them credibility by doing that.
• I don't think a person that sells luggage is a Master Craftsman.
  I don't think a company that flogs you a logo for £350 so you can call yourself one,is a company I would trust.
  I would also be suspect of anyone who thinks that is a "usefull "so-called trade association,and recommends them.
• It follows that if they are prepared to allow retailers to call themselves craftsmen,they are presumably happy to let any cowboy builder do the same.
• Yet, you could have found out these things very easily yourself,simply by looking at (vetting),the Guild of Master Craftsmen site.It's not hidden.........I wonder why you didn't vet them?
• as a company owner myself the following points should be noted-We joined "rated tradesmen" last summer-we joined online and paid a quarterly membership fee of Ј50 and approx Ј10 per lead,We were not vetted and were supplied with as many leads as we were willing to pay for,telephoning the customers and telling them we were members of rated tradesmen,alot of work was generated with most people believing we were "the best of the best" with no vetting in place this is unable to prove we are no longer members as there are lots of companys doing the same thing,taking money from tradesmen for not doing much. To me they are similar to employment agencys taking a cut,We as a company are unable to get our google listing high on the natural listings because for eg "plumbers in birmingham" the first page is full of directories and sites that will only pass on your details if a fee is paid by tradesmen-My advice stick to companys with their own website,full address,local phone numbers(bear in mind i can purchase a local telephone code) eg We used to sub-contract to another Birmingham plumbing company for 45% of the total customer invoice they had a local number (0121) but were based in Devon they simply phoned us-Admittidly it is diffult for the customer but by asking a few simple questions Are they local? do they know landmarks in the city,What time will they arrive? if they dont know or say will call you back its because they need to check their sub-contractors in the area are available,In my opion trade bodies are also a waste of time i could spend Ј2000 today and join them all,Theres also alot of confusion as an Electrician i am always being asked if we are CORGI registered(which is for gas) or other times for accociations ive never heard off and find this quite amusing !!
• I am sorry to read that some people may have had trouble with 'tradesmen' from the Rated People webiste. May i clear up some issues. I use this website regulaly to source work for my business and it is one of the most expensive to advertise with. I pay yearly fees, i get charged for txt messages and i pay a lot to quote for jobs that i may or may not get. I doubt people are using friends and family as it would cost a fortune to place bids for ficticous jobs. This month alone i have spent almost Ј120 bidding for jobs. Can i also add that there are a lot of good, very skilled tradesmen around and you have to be prepared to pay for them.