BBC's Inside Out to feature Prescot man conned out of £1,500

An investigation by BBC Inside Out (Yorks & Lincs) revealed how unqualified workers can easily be listed on websites - and that hiring these workers can leave customers thousands of pounds out of pocket.

Among those conned who will feature in the show is David Ball, from Prescot, who was tricked by a tradesperson listed on the Rated People website, which advertises that its tradespeople are verified and is endorsed by property expert and TV presenter Phil Spencer.

David, from Prescot, lost £1,500 after being conned by a tradesperson listed on Rated People. He said: “We noticed we had a damp problem inside the house and knew we had to get that addressed. We ended up getting a contractor out from ratedpeople.com, he was a tradesperson who dealt with damp proofing. He came out, quoted us £1,500 to do the work and then pretty much just re-plastered the walls, there was no treatment done.”

David specifically chose Rated People because he thought he could trust the website. “I thought they had a process in place to make sure that people were doing the jobs they said they were doing and that they were trustworthy.”

The contractor gave David a guarantee for the work which is worthless and he is now unable to locate the builder.

Also to feature is Emma Morris, from Mansfield, who fell victim in a similar scenario, when she hired someone to fix her roof via Rated People.

As part of the investigation, Inside Out reporter Phillip Norton set up a property company called Inside and Out Property Services in Grimsby earlier this year in order to test whether trades websites are carrying out the necessary checks on the tradespeople listed on their site.

Norton built a website, set up contact details and a social media profile so that the company looked official. He then tried to list the company’s details on websites including Checkatrade, Mybuilder, RatedPeople, Which and Trustatrader.

He was able to add the details of the fake company Inside and Out Property Services to the Rated People website in just a couple of hours.

No-one asked for references or performed any checks or ask for public liability insurance. The Inside and Out property company was a fake company and Norton has no relevant building experience and yet he was able to create a profile on Rated People and potentially bid for work at people’s homes and give himself a five-star rating on the site.

Philip Norton outside Inside and Out Property Services

Checks by other trader websites varied considerably, as My Builder performed an identity check and asked for a questionnaire to be completed. But, with the help of a quick internet search, Inside Out reporter Phillip Norton passed the screening process and Inside and Out Property Services were listed on the My Builder website.

Norton was also able to get fake qualifications and insurance details listed on the site.

The Which trusted traders scheme was the most thorough, requiring a face to face meeting with one of its staff.

Meanwhile, Checkatrade and Trustatrader asked for at least five references and proof of public liability insurance.

The BBC says Rated People told them that applicants are screened by credit and fraud prevention agencies.

It said Phillip’s application to be a handyman required no formal qualifications. It said that in the cases of David and Emma, both tradespeople were removed from the Rated People website before concerns were raised. They also said that they always encourage homeowners to carry out their own checks, and to read reviews before they make a decision on who to hire.

My Builder said that, on average, it turns down 40 per cent of applicants, and that its 36 trade categories are evaluated individually.

It said the handyman category Norton applied for is easiest to pass, – but it did say that it will now review those questions.

My Builder said it was reviewing its processes in light of the Inside Out investigation.

The full programme can be viewed on BBC Inside Out in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, the North West and the East Midlands on Monday, January 29 at 7.30pm on BBC One and the BBC iPlayer.