How Do I Check a Trader to Find Out if I can TRUST a Trader?

It can be a daunting task trying to source a trader you feel you can trust. These days we all rely on reviews to help us make informed decisions, and there are plenty of websites that allow customers to share details of their experiences with traders, which should in theory put us at an advantage.

Say for example you are looking for a tree surgeon in Essex. You type what you’re looking for into your search engine, and in the results you’ll find plenty of ‘trusted trader’ websites where tree surgeons are listed.

You click or tap through to read about the companies you’ve found, and take note of the reviews. Naturally you’ll trust these reviews; after all, they’ve been posted by genuine customers. Or have they?

Can all Reviews be Trusted?

The sad fact of the matter is, not all reviews can be trusted. There are two reasons for this.

The first is the plain and simple fact that there are some unscrupulous companies out there that are prepared to pay people to post positive reviews about them. Only this past week we’ve seen in the news how Amazon has filed lawsuits against over 1,000 people it claims offered to write positive reviews for authors or sellers in exchange for payment, in order to boost sales. Amazon has taken a very bold stance in the matter, saying that its brand reputation is being tarnished by ‘false, misleading and inauthentic’ reviews.

We share their dismay. We want our potential customers to see an honest and fair account of the service we provide, not something that has been falsely concocted in exchange for financial remuneration.

We said there were two reasons that not all reviews can be trusted. The second is that some ‘trader websites’ are very much focused on the advertisers, rather than the customers using the site to source tradespeople.

What do we mean by this? Basically, in exchange for a high premium, they promise their advertisers good press. And they do this by making sure only positive reviews are posted about them.

Having conducted some research ourselves, we have found that there are numerous websites that don’t allow negative reviews to be left, or at very least they make it extremely difficult to post feedback that is not of a positive nature. How does this offer the customer any proper, factual insight into the trader they are considering using?

So what to do?

Firstly you can check that the websites you are using to search for traders only allow verified reviews from actual customers who have used the services of the traders concerned.

Secondly, look for reviews posted on traders’ own websites. These should be accompanied by names, and you are within your rights to follow these up by asking the trader to put you in touch with the people who have left the reviews, so that you can verify them. Any trader that refuses to do so, or has ‘testimonials’ on their website from ‘Mrs E from Essex’.

Look for verified traders. There are numerous ways to do this.

Next up, check the company’s Facebook page for reviews, but remember that these may not always be reviews of services, rather the page itself. Sometimes you’ll see comments left on tree surgeon websites for example that complain about trees being removed, because some people just don’t like it!

Next, and possibly the most important, is to seek outside verification of the trustworthiness of the trader. In terms of tree surgeons, you should be seeking out City & Guilds NPTC CS39 qualification, British Standards accreditation, £5 million liability insurance and employer’s liability insurance. Any professional company legally has to hold this if they employ people.

Remember that rogue traders tend not to hold the necessary qualifications which would render any insurance they hold invalid.

Even More Reassurance

If your tree surgeon is approved to carry out local authority work, and is employed by commercial organisations as we here at T.H. Tree Services are, then you will have even further peace of mind. Commercial and local authority work demand a superior level of health and safety knowledge. If you find a company with Safe4site Gold approval, then you know you are in the safest hands. It’s a badge of honour we’ve earned, and are very proud to hold.

Also seek out Trading Standards Buy With Confidence Scheme membership. This is a strictly verified scheme that involves in-depth vetting of a company before they can be accepted. For the customer, it provides the ultimate in reassurance.

Tree surgery can cost a fair few pounds of your hard earned money, so make sure you take your time and check your tree surgeon thoroughly.

We hope our opinion on selecting a trusted professional tree surgeon that stands behind an honest reputation has proved helpful. If you would like to verify the reviews that our customers have left for us on our website, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Is Your Tree Surgeon REALLY Insured?

Experience Counts for Everything: How to Check the Background of your Tree Services Company