Checkatrade.com Reviews

Name: Checkatrade.com
Rating: 2.01

2.0 Rating 544 Reviews

25 %

of reviewers recommend Checkatrade.com

Company Reviews

Questions

Metrics

Phone:

01243 601234

Location:

5-6 Sherrington Mews, Ellis Square, Selsey CHICHESTER
PO20 0FJ

Write Your review

Tell us how Checkatrade.com made you happy

Minimum 10 characters

Would you like to add a photos or videos?

Strengthen your review by uploading photos & videos.

Drag files here or browse

(Supported files: jpg, png, mpeg, ogg, mp4 & webm)

What's your name?

Leave this blank if you'd like to publish your review anonymously.

(Optional)

What's your email?

We need your email address to verify that your review is genuine

Please note that we may share your email with the company to verify your order.

Checkatrade.com 5 star review on 21st October 2024

Anastacia Camila

Checkatrade.com 1 star review on 30th September 2024

Luis

Checkatrade.com 1 star review on 25th September 2024

Anonymous

Checkatrade.com 1 star review on 26th July 2024

Naomi

Checkatrade.com 1 star review on 25th July 2024

Anonymous

Anonymous // 01/01/2019

Sort by: Most Recent Most Recent Highest Rated Filter: None None 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Stars Helpful

“I was recommended by a friend about Shureflow.as doing an excellent job. At a reasonable price How true. Spot on time. took out old boiler and fittings, nothing was too much trouble, Very clean job.Very pleased with an excellent job.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 months ago

“K & A Plumbers have just finished changing our old shower and cubicle to a completely new one. Kamran worked tirelessly even through the extreme heat and worked very efficiently. We are very pleased with the work. He was very polite and friendly, we would definitely recommend him.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 months ago

“We signed up with checkatrade as a trial to see how it went for our business. Was talked into taking out one of the highest tiers. Was promised a £200 voucher after 90 days. Come 90 days we decided checkatrade wasn't for us due to the quality and volume of 'leads'. We were told we couldn't leave without paying for 12 months membership! We weren't made aware of this when signing up, oh but it says it somewhere in the pages worth of emailed jargon apparently? Then we were told we weren't entitled to our voucher! So now we are stuck in a contract we didn't want or even know about (thought it was a month by month rolling contract type thing) and won't get the voucher incentive we were promised at many different occasions along the way. Not to mention all the incompetent people who work there that take days sometimes weeks to do anything!. Honestly this company and it's whole setup is a complete farse! Extremely unhappy with this company and certainly would recommend them to anyone. A very deceitful, conning, unfair and dishonest group of people! I will be posting this review everywhere I can to make other people aware.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 months ago

“Dave - Painter & Decorator Dave did an excellent job painting the exterior of my house. I was very impress with his punctuality and work. Highly recommended”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 months ago

“I invested a large some of money. Everytime when I wanted to make a withdrawal there was always something else. When I complied and wanted to make a withdrawal it was all of a sudden rejected because my score is 98. My score was 100 the entire time until I had to make a withdrawal. I had to deposit another large amount for large account activation. I borrowed more money in order to do that and now I am told because my account score is on 98 I cannot withdraw and I need an additional 2 points which is 100K per point. I need my money to be withdrawn as I need to pay allot of people back that I borrowed money from. I am in over my head with debt and am stressed out with this process. This was and still is a very bad and stressed process. Fortunately, I acted quickly and contacted L I N C O X R E C L A I M, a reputable business that assisted me in finding and recovering every penny that these con artists believed they could keep for themselves.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 months ago

“Why are you advertising local trades when your full of national companies misleading the customer is it for local tradesman or national companies where any tom dick and Harry could turn up your misleading the public and money grabbing the same as national companies shame on you you should be letting customers know it's not local it's not trustworthy not vetted just a money making racket who do not use local but mostly big companies and give local traders a chance you should be ashamed”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 months ago

“I believe they are scammers been with them over 3 months lots of fake leads no jobs”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 months ago

“When things go wrong do not rely on Checkatrade to help. Despite substandard work, a tradesman intimidating my mother into paying & the tradesman not responding to either Checkatrade or us, Checkatrade have taken no action & continue to allow them to advertise on the Checkatrade page. Money before morality!”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 months ago

“Pest & Property solutions: charged £600 for doing very little and taking the traps away on second visit, unknown to me as he insisted that I didn’t need to enter the loft. I am a single Mum with a disabled child and felt completely ripped off. Please do not use them! You should delete the company from your list. I shall never use your Checkatrade leaflet again.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 months ago

“They make it as difficult as possible for you to cancel even after two hours tell you only got 48hours to cancel and tell you they will phone you back and don't phone you back put you on hold for long time 45min and tell u not there department but will not put you through never again high pressure salesman and neer impossible to cancel ps I have been going since 1988 and never had to deal with a company like this”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 months ago

“It would help if any of the tradespeople actually phoned prospective customers about arranging an estimate. 0 out of 10 rating for this company, avoid save time and issues”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 months ago

“I think they are completely untrustworthy company. I just signed up and they don't even check if I was a reputable tradesmen. I think they are shocking to deal with. I only signed up for 3 months in their local brochure. They told me I would pay monthly for 3 months and then I would appear in the following brochure when the new one comes out. I haven't even been in the new brochure and they have taking money out my account for the next 3 months which I wasn't interested in because the service has been shocking to say is an understatement. I received a email to say they will take money out literally just before they took the money came out the bank. I tryed logging to my account to cancel the payment. This didn't work because I believe they stopped me from logging in as I knew my details. I even tryed to ask for to reset my password but this couldn't been done as no text messages came to me. I then tryed the send a email to their help service but this come bouncing back to me. I can really smell a rat hear. I then decided to call them and ask for my money back but they told me a director needs to call me. They said I would receive a call within 24 hours but of course you guessed it no call come. They are complete scamers.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 months ago

“Worst Company ever be very careful if you are a trade Looking for big jobs as they won’t have. It is a scam be careful. They didn’t deliver what they promise and they want me to pay for the whole contract of the year. They have only small jobs if you You are an electrician or plumber or single trade they will have definitely jobs for you but for Big projects they don’t have avoid avoid avoid”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 months ago

“As a former employee of Checkatrade, I feel compelled to share my experiences and shed light on the troubling practices that have come to define the company. I spent two years in the membership advice team before transitioning to the reviews team for my final year. When I first joined Checkatrade three years ago, it was a company that valued its mission and treated its staff and members with respect. However, this has drastically changed, and I hope my account will provide a clear picture of what is happening behind the scenes. The Transformation of Checkatrade When I started at Checkatrade, the atmosphere was vibrant and the employees were passionate about the company's mission to eliminate rogue traders. The team was dedicated, with many staff members having served the company for over a decade. However, over the past three years, poor management and a lack of faith in the leadership have eroded this once-positive environment. By the time I left, only two people in the main membership advice team had been there longer than me. Shift in Company Priorities Checkatrade's original goal of eliminating rogue traders has been overshadowed by a relentless pursuit of profit. The long-term strategy to become an end-to-end marketplace has not garnered support from ground-level staff, leading to high turnover rates. The appointment of the new CEO, Jambu Palaniappan, a former Uber executive, has only exacerbated these issues. The influx of Uber alumni into the leadership team raises concerns, given Uber's controversial history during Palaniappan’s tenure (seriously, google it). Troubling Practices with Members Sales Over Service The membership advice team is under pressure to sell additional products rather than fix existing issues. They are given sales targets under the guise of "sales through service," which is fundamentally wrong. Members experiencing account issues should receive proper support instead of being targeted for more sales. Unjust Financial Practices In cases where system errors have led to overcharging members, refunds are only issued if the member complains. I encountered a situation where a member was overcharged by over £2000 due to an account closure error. Although I arranged for a refund, my decision was questioned, and I was told the member should not have been refunded. Favoritism Towards National Accounts Big national accounts receive preferential treatment because they generate substantial revenue. For example, one large company was allowed to remain on the platform despite multiple refunds to customers due to uncompleted jobs. Small businesses would have been removed for similar infractions. Moreover, some national accounts subcontract work to trades that are not vetted by Checkatrade, undermining the company’s foundational principles. Handling of Negative Reviews National accounts can exert undue influence over Checkatrade. In one instance, a major account threatened to withdraw their substantial monthly payment if a negative review was not removed. Despite proof from the customer validating the review, the company remains a member of Checkatrade, underscoring the company's susceptibility to financial pressure. Unfair Contract Policies Tradespeople wishing to cancel their accounts due to illness, even terminal illnesses, are still required to fulfill their contract payments. Conversely, trades removed for misconduct are not pursued for the remaining contract payments, creating an unfair disparity. Declining Standards The number of checks on trades has significantly decreased, with most now being automated. This has led to instances where trades with serious criminal records pass the vetting process, exposing customers to potential harm. The Checkatrade Guarantee, which is meant to protect consumers, often results in trades being unfairly penalized due to biased independent reports. Customer Experience Checkatrade positions itself as more than just a reviews-based advertising platform, but in reality, it lacks the power to enforce meaningful resolutions between trades and customers. The company’s influence is limited, and when trades refuse to cooperate, there is little that can be done to address consumer complaints. Staff Treatment Deteriorating Work Conditions Staff are treated as mere numbers rather than valued employees. The company abruptly ended its hybrid working policy, reducing it to one day of remote work per week. Despite a grace period, only a few staff appeals were successful. The rationale given was to foster team cohesion, yet it was poorly received by employees who had structured their lives around the previous policy. The introduction of trivial perks like sweets, free lunch once a week, and monthly drinks failed to compensate for this drastic change. High Turnover and Recruitment Issues Despite claims on Glassdoor, Checkatrade is experiencing high staff turnover. A recruitment freeze is in place, and any new hires are primarily for the South Africa office, exacerbating the workload for existing UK staff. Morale and Management Issues Office morale is at an all-time low, with micromanagement creating a stifling work environment. Staff are reprimanded for minor infractions, such as logging in seconds late or taking slightly longer breaks. In the membership advice team, employees are even required to raise their hands for assistance, reminiscent of a school setting. Overwork and Lack of Compensation The removal of overtime pay has made it difficult for teams to catch up on backlogs. At one point, the reviews team was nearly 20 days behind, and staff were asked to work overtime for free. Additionally, the traditional summer party, once an inclusive event, saw staff working in shifts and being prohibited from drinking alcohol until after the event had ended. Inadequate Systems The systems used by Checkatrade are outdated and prone to frequent breakdowns. The disjointed nature of these systems leads to numerous mistakes, further complicating the work process. The sudden redundancy of the national account team and the unprepared transfer of their duties to the membership advice team without proper training are indicative of poor planning and management. Conclusion This account only scratches the surface of the numerous issues plaguing Checkatrade. My experiences, along with many more stories shared by colleagues, paint a bleak picture of a company that has lost its way. The shift from a mission-driven organization to one driven by profit at the expense of integrity and employee well-being is deeply concerning. I hope this detailed account provides insight into the real state of affairs at Checkatrade.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 months ago

“Totally ripped off by a plumber who calls himself Joe Dean - JD Plumbing - but that isnt his name. Total of 15 mins work and a £40 part nearly £400. Checkatrade then dispute my review and demand 'proof' from me that he undertook work. I will never use Checkatrade again.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 months ago

“I own a business, avoid at all costs”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 months ago

“just useless, to think they charge tradesmen to use this site. Cant add pictures, doesnt update, automatically assigned jobs. Seriously just avoid and go direct”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 months ago

“DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY BY JOINING CHECKATRADE If you are thinking about joining Checkatrade DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY! Checkatrade has invoiced me more than we agreed. I have emailed them multiple times and had no response for weeks. I've called and still waiting for a call back. Dean King from Limitless Boilers Quick to respond to Trustpoilt review. Still not had any contact after being told on Trustpoilt someone would contact, it's been 4 days now!”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 months ago

“used Impact property maintenance and their work is exceptionally poor. roor flashing that should have been repaired is still leaking annd th elandline numbers, plus mobile are both temorarily not available. Do not touch them with a barge pole”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 months ago

“You sign up pay 117 pounds a month and get mainly useless leads ,loads of stupid jobs ,1 tile to replace jobs also you said you don't do and surveys etc ,we are leaving after this month if no change, bit of a con I think”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 months ago

Checkatrade.com is rated 2.0 based on 544 reviews