Alongside electricians, central heating engineers and plumbers are the people most likely to inspire confidence with UK consumers, according to new research from Which? Trusted Traders. The survey reveals that only 48% of householders would trust roofers and builders when employing them for the first time, by contrast, 80% would be prepared to trust an electrician, 75% would feel confident in employing a central heating engineer and 73% were equally happy that a plumber would do a good job.
The survey of 1461 Which? members also asked people about their biggest worries when hiring a tradesperson, revealing that the largest concern was that they would not turn up at the agreed time, which was cited by six in 10 (62%). Poor workmanship and being taken for a ride were other top concerns, with over half (55%) worrying that a trader would do a bad job and a similar number (46%) anxious that they would be ripped off.
Increased regulation leads to greater trust
Which? suggests that these results come as no surprise – lack of regulation in particular trades makes it hard for customers to trust businesses they haven’t encountered before.
According to Which?, there appears to be a direct link between the amount of regulation around particular industries and how trusted they are by the public. Safety concerns mean there’s a strong regulatory framework around working with gas, and central heating engineers involved in installing and maintaining gas boilers must be registered with Gas Safe, which checks engineers’ qualifications and requires them to pass an assessment.
While these measures aren’t foolproof, they go some way to explaining increased levels of trust among members of the public.
On the other side of the coin, anyone can set up a business as a builder or roofer, which makes it easier for rogue traders to operate.
