The Review Process
Reviews are important both to help traders build their reputation and to inform other potential customers of the quality of work they can expect. We have processes for handling reviews, whether positive or negative.
Positive review process
The majority of reviews submitted to TrustATrader about our members are positive, as you would expect from a directory of vetted and previously reviewed businesses.
Despite this, we still validate 50% of positive reviews, as it's important that both positive and negative reviews are genuine.
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Customer leaves a positive review
A customer leaves a positive review for a trusted tradesperson.
When reviews have a score of 3 stars or greater, and the trader is recommended, they are counted as positive.
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The review is published
50% of the positive reviews are published right away on TrustATrader, as they are usually genuine.
We can quite easily tell if positive reviews are being left by someone other than a genuine customer, and in these cases we will contact the trader to discuss and remove reviews if appropriate.
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The review is validated
50% of positive reviews are validated before being published on TrustATrader, to help catch any potential fakes.
The validation process for positive reviews is similar to that for negative, except that the result is usually that both parties can confirm and remain happy with the review. If a fake review is discovered it will be removed from the website and the tradesperson warned, if they were responsible.
If you would like to leave a positive or negative review about a trader, we want to hear about your experience.
Leave a reviewNegative review process
From time to time, one of our trusted tradespeople will receive a negative review from a customer. Our complaints team are trained to help bring resolution to work that is deemed not up to scratch.
TrustATrader recommend you initially make every practical effort to talk to the trader concerned regarding the issues and see if you can both come to a mutually agreed outcome.
Find out how we do our best to ensure both parties are satisfied after a negative review has been left.
PLEASE NOTE: We do not accept reviews of work which was completed more than two years ago.
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Customer leaves a negative review
A customer leaves a negative review for a trusted tradesperson. This can be for a range of reasons.
Reviews that have a score of fewer than 3 stars, a missed appointment or if the trader is not recommended, will not immediately appear. This is so that our complaints team can check what has happened.
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Our complaints team is notified of the review
Once a negative review has been left, our complaints team and the trader concerned are alerted. The review is then investigated and details are collected at this point.
Sometimes we receive false reviews, these are usually filtered out at this point.
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Our complaints team contact both parties
Where necessary the complaints team will contact both parties to hear each side of the story. With this information, the complaints team can form a fair and accurate version of the situation. Photographs and other evidence are also submitted, to justify the negative review.
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Fixing the solution
If the tradesperson is found to have completed a job poorly, we ask the customer if they would like the tradesperson to fix the problem as a goodwill gesture.
We also ask the customer what they would like to do with the pending review.
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The review is published
The customer reserves the right to publish the review. If the customer chooses to go ahead, the review is published on the tradesperson's profile page (after 14 days) once the trader has had the option to leave a response.
TrustATrader helps supply the UK with honest tradespeople. If a registered trader is found to offend multiple times, they are banned from the TrustATrader website.
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The review is updated
In many situations, the problem is rectified by the tradesperson. This results in the customer being happy with the service provided. The customer may then choose to:
- Retract the review
- Update the review
- Publish the review
Since TrustATrader launched in 2005 there has been a total of 523466 reviews left for our trusted tradespeople. There are 794 reviews on the TrustATrader website that have an overall score below three stars.
As we display negative reviews on our website, two actions can result. 1: the trader does not like the situation and removes himself from our advertising, or 2: the trader receives further negative reviews and we do not wish to be associated with a trader/company which cannot maintain the high standards we set.
We operate a three strike rule, and when a trader has not complied with our standards we place a strike against them. If they should reach three strikes they are removed from our website and banned – not to return.
If you would like to leave a positive or negative review about a trader, we want to hear about your experience.
Leave a review