Which? Trusted Traders - Cardiff

Daniel O.

I will never use Which? Trusted Traders again. They clearly DO NOT vet any of the companies who they recommend. I had an awful experience with one of their ‘traders’ and was severely conned and mislead. The response from which? When I raised it with them was: “we have now parted company with this trader and there is nothing we can do” this absolutely shocked me as I took them to be a reputable site but will make it my purpose in life to make sure all of my friends and colleagues in my network know what a joke this site is.

Erica A.

I'm afraid the website is not very helpful: most times the results to my searches are traders who don't cover our area, even if I sort them by distance (and just to clarify I am in London, not in a remote area).

When doing a search, you have to enter where you are: Which? should ask each company what areas they cover, and not show them in the results unless you're in their catchment area.

A separate issue is when you search for a category and get in your results traders for other categories: for example, search "pest control" and the first result is an electrician that doesn't have "pest control" written anywhere in their profile.

Finally, you also get in your results traders whose last review is from years ago (2021, 2018): what have they been doing since then? Which? should actively collect recent reviews to show that these traders are still up to standards.

With things being like this, the service is very hit and miss: it could be improved, I hope it will.

Dianne S.

Horsford Windows Norwich. As usual fantastic service. I had a problem with a couple of units steaming up. Within a short time new ones were ordered and replaced . I have used the company for 15 years and always had excellent results.

Lesley F.

I believed that Which? Trusted Traders' members were required to follow the Code of Conduct set out on Which? Trusted Traders' website, and therefore I could be assured of receiving a good level of service. However, there are no consequences for traders who provide a dreadful service and don't comply with the WTT Code of Conduct, so in reality Which? Trusted Traders don't seem provide much for consumers at all. A very disappointing experience all round, and I won't be hiring anyone endorsed by Which? Trusted Traders again.

Robert M.

I had an extremely poor experience with a Trader who Which? endorse. I unfortunatley hired what can only be described as a cowboy builder. Fiddling invoices, extremly shoddy work and outright dishonesty. The trader's work was extremely poor, they left our roof in a worse state than it was before they started working on it. They cemented a gutter to the masonry, left a (bright) red roof membrane exposed to the elements - effectively drawing moisture into the roof!,and instead of using a new membrane, they used off cuts out the van. The trader also made an attempt to fix a defective stretch of lead flashing - by painting it!

It took us 9 months to get our money back from this trader. Which? have a trader code of conduct that traders are required to follow, but from my experience it is not put into practice. I am inclined to think that there are no ongoing QA checks once a trader has been endorsed. We thought we were hiring a proffesional roofer, but it seems that we hired odd-job men - with ladders! Unfortunatley I have lost all respect for the Which? organisation. The only positive i found was that Which? offer surveys to consumers who find themselves in a dispute with a trader.

UPDATE: I downgraded my review to one star based on their response. Bunch of truth twisters. Pathetic. They are completely aware that the trader fraudulently altered invoices in an attempt to reduce the refund amount - yet Which continue to endorse the trader.

Jan I.

I left a review for a removal firm who failed to turn up to a removal, leaving a bunch of elderly volunteers, giving their free time to a registered charity, in the lurch at 8.30 am on a Sunday morning.

My review was removed, despite my providing proof of the booking. On my queries as to why this had happened, the reply was that businesses are not allowed to leave reviews.

Since when was a registered charity, making a loss rather than a profit, and depending on voluntary help, a business? Why should a bunch of people not expect as reliable service as an individual? Don’t rely on reviews on here as less favourable ones aren’t welcome. Maybe because the businesses are paying for their endorsement?

BRIAN B.

OCTOPUS ENERGY ARE RUBBISH
ROBBED OF MONEY SAYING I USED OVER £400 OF ENERGY OVER TWO MONTHS
RIP OFF COMPANY AND SAY ON RADIO THAT THEY ARE A GOOD COMPANY I DISAGREE WITH THAT

Ken Q.

Work Smart Roofing and Building Ltd.
We recently employed a company to remove spray foam from our attic. This firm cold called and we used them! They are Home Guard UK and they completed the work but unfortunately damaged some of our roofing felt' causing a bad rain water leak into our front hall. They then became uncontactable and in despair we employed Work Smart to re felt our roof. They completed this work in 8 days with a team, led by Carl Morris. All their workers were superb, putting in long hours, being very respectful to us and our property. The site was cleaned every evening and we even had two of them decorating the damage in our hall ceiling.
We cannot praise this company more highly, they have completely cured the leak and given us a roof that is guaranteed for 25 years.