Special event at Ipswich Town FC to tackle the problem of `rogue traders’

Checkatrade and Suffolk Trading Standards recently joined forces to host an Open Day where local tradespeople discussed how the partnership will help their businesses.

Alongside this, the day was a celebration on how far Checkatrade has come in protecting customers in the local community against rogue traders.

Hosted at Ipswich Football Club, councillor Sarah Stamp from Suffolk County Council welcomed everyone t with Checkatrade founder Kevin Byrne taking to the stage to discuss the company’s partnership with Suffolk Trading Standards. Checkatrade have formed eight partnerships with Trading Standards Authorities across the country to aid consumers with finding reputable tradespeople.

Local consumer Champions, Age UK Suffolk, Suffolk Police, Adult & Community Services, Lowestoft Neighbourhood Association, Suffolk Careline, Marilyn Baldwin from the Th!nk Jessica campaign, Senior Trading Standards Officer Tony Doorley, Homeshield, and local resident Val Shadford who was a victim of a rogue trader, along with Checkatrade ambassador and celebrity DIY expert Craig Phillips were also present.

Today the Checkatrade website sees over 1.3 million from consumers searching for the right tradesperson for them.

These tradespeople have to go through 18 considerations, 14 of these being checks before they are able to join Checkatrade. If the member is in one of their partnered Trading Standards areas these can increase up to a total of 25 considerations.

Kevin Byrne, founder and CEO was delighted to be presented with a Public Protection Award in recognition of the partnership which has been in place for three years.

Kevin Byrne said: “Our members are subject to rigorous background checks by Trading Standards, including information that is freely available to the public as well as confidential and restricted information that is supplied by external organisations such as other public authorities and the police.

“It is pretty unprecedented for a commercial company to put so much power in the hands of civil servants, but it is all part of our mission to give consumers peace of mind. We’ve currently got partnerships with 25 more Local Authorities in the pipeline and it is our goal to cover the whole of the UK.”

Suffolk County Council Trading Standards was the first to partner with Checkatrade four years ago.