Stopping cowboy builders and rogue tradesmen

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Gareth Thomas MP asked MP's to support and promote TrustMark locally in their constituencies, in the fight against cowboy builders and rogue traders.

The event in the House of Commons, hosted by the Hon Lindsay Hoyle MP proved to be a great success, with considerable interest from MPs wanting to engage further with TrustMark.

In his address the Minister stated: That he was delighted to be able to continue to help raise awareness of TrustMark as it had made excellent progress over the last twelve months in informing the public about the risks of employing Cowboy Builders and Rogue Tradesmen, as well as providing them with the alternatives that are now open to them to secure good quality tradesmen.

The problem of Cowboy Builders and Rogue Tradesmen in the domestic repair, maintenance and improvement (RMI) sector is a very serious one.

Year after year, Trading Standards officers receive an increasing number of complaints about building related work that is carried out around the UK.

Cowboy Builders and Rogue Traders are an annual GBP1.5billion problem for householders across the country.

They ruin the homes and lives of hundreds of thousands of people every year, and give a bad name to an industry which in reality is full of hard-working and trustworthy professionals.

The Minister concluded by stating: TrustMark offers an excellent scheme at no extra cost to the consumer.

Deep Sagar - Chair of TrustMark backed the Ministers comments and went on to say: That he was very grateful to the Government, as well as to consumer protection organisations and the trade themselves, for their continued commitment and support of TrustMark.

TrustMark's priority is to protect all householders, and this can be done through informing them about the benefits of the scheme and how it enables them to have a simple and effective way of employing good quality tradesmen for work inside and outside their homes.

TrustMark is also about education and about introducing choice for homeowners.

People can now choose: they can hire a good quality reputable tradesman who is TrustMark approved, or they can go for the cash-in-hand rogue with only a mobile phone number for contact and no references or accreditations.

Until homeowners realise that choosing a tradesman is a serious commercial decision with significant cost implications around their homes and families, we will continue to suffer from the 'Cowboy Builders and Rogue Traders' who blight our lives.

We all need the confidence to employ tradesmen throughout the home, not get ripped off, to judge tradesman on other aspects than merely price and to be safe in the knowledge that your money is protected, competence is assured and further protection is given through a robust inspection and complaints procedure.

Every householder in the UK needs to demand the TrustMark standards that the Government have set, to insist upon only using those tradesmen that can meet these standards which are fair and proper and expected by everyone.

The TrustMark standards include competence, financial standing and fair and independent redress mechanisms.

MPs were asked to help in getting this message out to all their constituents, so that they can now realise they have a choice and can be protected against Cowboy Builders and Rogue Traders that operate locally to them.

Tackling the increasing 'Cowboy and Rogue' problem won't be easy and it won't be instantaneous.

But TrustMark is making a difference and with consumers help we can guide and support, ensuring it becomes more difficult for the rogues to take advantage of us, our families, parents and friends.

For help visit the TrustMark website.

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