Rated People

I was so hopeful for this site - I hoped it would mean that I could depend on the tradespeople it had on there as I could vet them on there in Ebay feedback style.

I had 3 quotes from 3 tradespeople to do some plastering. All of them contacted me: 2 turned up but the third never turned up despite making an appointment. Obviously the reliability of that tradesperson isn't Ratedpeople's fault but as I found out, it's impossible to leave feedback on Tradespeople that mess you around without actually choosing them for the job, which would make the whole process much easier for the user.

Unfortunately it gets worse. From the other two, I chose one and he completed the work we had agreed to a decent standard. While he was doing the agreed job, we spoke about expanding the project to include a few more rooms. I wondered why he was so eager that I review the first job. Unfortunately to my expense, I discovered why. The later job became a farce. He promised a finish date which was quickly forgotten; he didn't turn up for 11 days straight; the finish of the job was poor as he tried to rush the finish at the end due to the break in work. I also discovered that he'd lied about having a family emergency to explain the break - I found out from a 3rd party that he was on another project.

After all that, Rated People didn't allow me to post poor feedback as they stated it was subsequent work! I replied to them pointing out that "I would assume that potential customers would want to know if their tradesperson is less than trustworthy, whether it's their first job or not. "

In summary, Rated People are designed to protect the tradesperson, and I'm sure they have been complicit in duping many unsuspecting customers in thinking that the tradespeople they've employed is actually trustworthy.