Will Trustmark scheme be effective? 
(09/05/2006)
The government's new initiative to help members of the public find reputable tradesmen is likely to be ineffective and costly for small businesses, says emergency plumbing company Drain Doctor Plumbing.
The aim of the 'Trustmark' scheme is to provide consumers with a database of reputable tradespeople and businesses to ensure they don't get ripped off by cowboys.
However, Robin Banks, Drain Doctor Plumbing's operations manager, says it has little chance of working: "Businesses and tradespeople will end up paying out, both in funds and time, for a service that provides very little return.
"The initiative is not widespread enough to be truly effective. Only 3,000 tradespeople are currently signed up and estimates show that the scheme will only accept a maximum of approximately 15,000 tradespeople. This figure is a drop in the ocean when you consider how many people earn their living from a trade.
"Drain Doctor Plumbing invested a lot of time and effort in the government's previous scheme, Quality Mark. A significant number of promises were made but never kept so we are very wary of becoming involved in this one.
"The quality checks that were independently carried out for the Quality Mark were wholly ineffective. It consisted of one man coming out with us on one job per year - that's hardly going to change the working practices of rogue tradesmen. I'm not sure that Trustmark will be any different.
"Drain Doctor Plumbing provides a genuine 24-hour service, imposes no call-out charges, offers a fixed-price quotation before work commences and guarantees all workmanship anyway.
"The most effective way for tradespeople to be successful, and for members of the public to trust us, is to do a first class job and be absolutely honest about costs. If people trust you they will keep on coming back and recommend you to others - that's what happens at Drain Doctor Plumbing."
Related categories: Plumbing and HVAC market
Print version | 
Email to a friend | 
View other articles
