Problems with a trader

Small wooden cube placed on table with cartoon face drawn on one of its sides showing sad/ angry emotion
Rogue trading encompasses a range of activity where the rogue trader is acting outside of the Law and to the detriment of the consumer. Activities usually relate to delivering substandard services, being unscrupulous and misleading. Providing products that do not meeting the required weights and measures (e.g. underweight goods, such as bulk fuel or short measures at your pub) and activities such as providing substandard even dangerous roofing and building work and solutions that are illegal.

To reduce the chance of using a rogue trader we recommend you select a trader from our Isle of Wight Trader Approval Scheme (TAS) or one of the National schemes available such as Buy With Confidence and Check a Trade. For further advice read our helpful guidance on engaging a trader.

Our Advice 

We have put together some advice to help you manage a situation if you find yourself dealing with rogue trading. Take steps to manage the working relationship with your trader until the good or services you have requested have been delivered to the standard you expect.

Talk to your trader 

Under the Consumer Rights Act, consumers who enter into a contract for goods and services can expect these to be supplied with reasonable care and skill.  

  • This applies to all traders, including builders, plumbers, decorators and electricians.  
  • It includes materials, too. They should be of satisfactory quality, as described and fit for purpose. 
  • Whatever your situation is, if you can communicate with the trader or company, then do so. 

If a problem occurs communicate with your trader,

  • explain the problem to your trader
  •  ask how they can resolve it or share with them how you would like it resolved
  • give them a realistic timescale within which to do it

Keep a record 

  • If you talk to the trader or installer face-to-face or on the phone about a problem with their service or what has been delivered, get it in writing.
  • Make sure you write it down and get what is agreed, the cost and the timescales in writing from them.  
  • Take Photographs of the issues (you may need this if you need to go to court) 
  • But don’t talk about a dispute via text or WhatsApp - use email so you have an official record of the dispute. 

Set a final deadline date 

  • Agree a date by which they need to complete the work or deliver the services.  
  • If they don't turn up for that, contact them again to agree a final date by which all the work needs to be done.  
  • Make it clear that if they fail to meet that deadline, you'll ask someone else to do it and you'll be claiming back the costs from them. 
  • Remember that when a trader only guarantees their work for a set period of time, that guarantee does not affect your legal right to have the work done with reasonable care and skill. 
  • A trader cannot claim that you can't get a repair on work after your guarantee period is over, if you've discovered that the work was not done to a reasonable standard. 

Get estimates from other traders 

  • When you're requesting that a trader fixes their work, include estimates from other traders for the job.  
  • This gives the trader a clear indication of how much you will claim from them if they don't put the problem right.  
  • If they're not cooperative, warn the trader that you'll take them to court if necessary. 
  • You should also find out whether the trader or company has an official complaints procedure you should follow.  

Check your home insurance 

  • Look at your home insurance policy to see whether it covers you for legal expenses for issues with traders or builders.  
  • Look carefully at what is included and also what is excluded. 

Complaints

Major renovation complaints 

Major renovations can be more complex. Especially if architects, project managers and subcontractors are all working a project together.  

If you're complaining about work done during a major renovation, you should make your complaint to the main contractor. 

Start a formal complaints procedure 

If resolving things amicably hasn't worked, ask for the trader or company's complaints procedure. 

If they have a complaints procedure, you'll need to prove that you've used it and have come to a deadlock situation  

If they don't have one, find out whether they are a member of a trade association. There may be a dispute resolution scheme that you can use provided by the trade association.  To use any resolution scheme, you’ll need to show that you’ve tried to resolve the issue with the trader first. 

You can obtain practical advice from Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) by:

Try to recover the costs

There are a few ways in which you can try to recover any money you have lost.

Section 75 - Consumer Credit Act

  • If you used a credit card, it’s worth looking at whether you could recover the money using Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act.
  • If the job cost more than £100 and less than £30,000, your credit card company is jointly liable if something goes wrong.

Chargeback

  • If you paid on a debit or prepaid card, or the cost was outside the limits for Section 75, making a chargeback claim is another option.
  • It isn’t a legal obligation, so banks have to agree liability, but it's worth looking into. There is a 120-day time limit from noticing the issue to making a claim.

Financial Ombudsman Service

If you made a payment using PayPal or a finance agreement, you might be able to complain and get your money back through the Financial Ombudsman Service.

Contact Trading Standards 

You can report your problem and get advice on how to get a resolution from Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB).

  • National Trading Standards collates data from local branches across the UK. It works with the police and Action Fraud to help spot and deal with emerging threats. 
  • Reporting a dispute to Trading standards doesn't automatically guarantee we will follow up. Trader disputes are looked at in among other crimes, so depending on its severity and available resources, your dispute may just be logged for reference. For more information on Consumer Advice 

Court, collect evidence and claim costs 

If none of this works, it may be time to seek a resolution through legal action. 

  • Think about the evidence you will need to prove your claim if you go to court. This may include photographs of the poor workmanship. 
  • You may need to get an independent report on the work.  
  • If a new trader has completed the work, write to the original trader claiming back the money you've had to spend and detailing exactly what work was done. 

Small claims court 

If they don't pay up, you'll have to start court proceedings to claim the money back.  

If the amount involved is less than the limit of £10,000 in England and Wales. Or £5,000 in Scotland and Northern Ireland, you'll be able to use the small claims court. 

The small claims court is a quick and simple way of using the courts to settle disputes. You don’t need a solicitor, and the hearing itself is fairly informal. But it should only be used as a last resort. 

If you do decide to go to small claims court, you’ll be asked if you want to use the Small Claims Mediation Service first.  

This is free and will be provided by the court. If it doesn’t work, the case will be put forward for a hearing in court. 

Using a Trusted Trader 

As mentioned earlier it is far safer and easier to engage a trusted trader in the first place. This is to hopefully avoid having to go through such a stressful and time consuming experience with a rogue trader. 

Use a trader recommended by family or friends, look at their work before engaging with them and make sure that you are happy with what you see. 

Use a Trusted Trader scheme, these are National schemes and our own trusted IW trader scheme have been through rigorous checks. The traders who take part in these schemes sign up to work within the law and respond to issues that arise. Whilst we cannot guarantee that you wont have any problems they should be dealt with effectively. If not Trading Standards can mediate between you and the trader. 

In this section