Checkatrade.com, the award-winning trade vetting company that helps people avoid cowboy builders and rogue traders, has launched its first App for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. Free to download from www.itunes.co.uk, the App allows users to conveniently find a local tradesperson, check his or her qualifications and view feedback from previous customers all at the touch of a button.
After the wettest June on record, unsolicited traders and cowboy builders may appear on the doorsteps of many households offering to carry out repair work. This means Checkatrade.com’s new App is excellent news for those who have sustained damage to their properties and need repairs to be carried out by qualified professionals.
Kevin Byrne, Managing Director of Checkatrade.com, comments: “This is a digital age and people are constantly on the move, so they want to use smartphones to access an ever-increasing range of services. Our new App is simple, efficient and a convenient means of finding a tradesperson wherever you are. We strive to meet the needs of our customers so the App is a natural extension of Checkatrade.com.”
Checkatrade.com operates an extensive database of traders including builders, plumbers and electricians. It stringently vets and consistently monitors all its members by verifying customer reviews to confirm their authenticity. A special version of the website is already available for smartphones.
Using the firm’s new App, people can find services in their area thanks to its built-in GPS technology and immediately place an enquiry using the call, email or web link buttons.
For those unlucky enough to have an emergency on their hands, such as a burst water pipe, there is even a search facility for trade companies that offer 24-hour emergency callout. When a Checkatrade.com member completes a job, the App allows customers to leave their feedback and comments via a website link.
Checkatrade.com:
Checkatrade helps combat the UK’s rogue trader problem by continuously vetting and monitoring local tradespeople such as builders, plumbers and electricians as well as service providers. The idea was born in 1998 after a tornado hit the small West Sussex town of Selsey. Traders poured in from across the country. Unfortunately, some ripped off the inhabitants of the town. Local businessman, Kevin Byrne, realised there was nowhere to check out the traders’ credentials and the company that became Checkatrade was formed.
Since then, Checkatrade has grown to employ 88 staff with a turnover in excess of £5.5m. It includes over 7,800 genuine trade members, growing by an average of 200 new members every month. Over the past 12 months, Checkatrade-certified tradesmen carried out a combined total of £1.2b worth of work, with complaints at just one in 600, compared to the national average of one in four.
For more information visit www.checkatrade.com
