FAQ’s
How much does it cost to use your website?
It’s free for all customers (both householders and businesses) to search our database for local traders and service providers..
How do I contact the trades person or the service provider?
You can either contact them via phone on any of the numbers you see on their profile, or alternatively you can contact them free via email through this site (you will need to sign in to do this). You are able to email up to a maximum of 10 traders with one email at any one time.
Why do I need to sign up or sign in?
You need to sign in to utilise some of the functionality of this site, specifically leaving feedback for trades people and emailing a member through the site. If you are signed in and send a message from your account on this site, the trades person will receive your email in their email stored on this site. When a trades person replies, their reply will be sent to your email inbox on this site, and we will send you a reminder email that you have had a response to your registered email address. At no time do our members have access to your personal email address, unless you choose to give the email address to them.
Why do you need my phone numbers, email addresses and address?
Depending on how you use this site it might be necessary for us to contact you either by phone, email or post, to confirm any feedback you may have left for a trades person (either with a feedback post card or online). Compare A Trader Limited is registered with the UK Information Commissioners Office (Registration Number: Z197767X) and any personal information we hold about you will not be made available to any third parties (including our members – except legal proceedings).
Which trades people are available on your search engine?
We advertise a wide variety of trades people and service providers and we are continually adding to this list. The categories we offer at this time can be seen in the drop down box of the search box. Once a category is selected you will see another drop down box which will detail all the services our members offer inside that category.
Why do you need my postcode to conduct a search?
All our members have specified their own territory they wish to advertise inside. These territories are unique to every trades person and as such 2 identical searches from 2 nearby roads could generate subtlety different results.
Why are you asking me whether it is residential or commercial trades people I am looking for?
This is simply because in some categories, traders require different licenses, qualifications, equipment or insurance in which to operate legally in these work environments.
What is an Urgent trades person search?
By conducting an urgent trades person search your search results will display local trades people, who have chosen to advertise themselves in your area, and are equipped to carry out work quickly, wether that be outside of normal hours of business or 24 hours a day is up to the individual trades person, please see their profile page for further details. All trades people can list their business under the urgent trades person search, however they don’t have to, as such if your search produces no results, please conduct a normal search.
What is a trades person who is listed under the Urgent traders search?
An urgent trades person is a business you can call on when your job cannot wait, either because it is dangerous to leave it, or you need it done sooner rather than later. Any additional fee will be displayed on the trades persons profile, however please confirm with the trades person prior to employing them what the additional fee will be (if any). A trades person from any of the categories and services we offer can choose to advertise their business as an Urgent trader.
In the opening hours what does 00:00 to 00:00 mean? Likewise if there is a blank space next to the day?
If the space next to the day is blank it means the trades person does not work on this day. If a tradesperson has enetered 00:00 to 00:00 as their opening hours it means that they are available all 24 hours of that day. We would urge all customers to ask the tradesperson prior to employing them if a callout fee applies, especially if it is out of office hours.
How do I leave feedback for a trades person from this website?
You can leave feedback for any trades person on this site by clicking the “Rate a Trader” tab above (you will need their 6 digit membership number & you will need to sign in or sign up), or alternatively you can post in the feedback card your trades person left with you when they finished.
Who is Mr P of CAT, as the name appears on a lot of feedback?
All postal feedback we receive will be appear to have been left by Mr P of CAT (your trades person should have a supply of these), it stands for Postal and Compare A Trader. Any postal feedback displayed on this site has been subjected to the same approval process as an online submission. It would not be practical for us to open a new account for every person submitting feedback by post.
I have seen a piece of feedback left by anonymous, who is this and can i be anonymous?
If you see a piece of feedback left by anonymous, what has happened is that a user has left some feedback, which has been approved for publication and at some later time their Compare A Trader account has been closed. Accounts are closed if a user breaches our "Terms of Use". Anonymous is used only when this occurs, and is there to safeguard the trades person feedback. Only in these circumstances will feedback appear as anonymous, however rest assured we never publish our users full names, we only publish the first letter of the surname you supplied and your postcode.
How do I win £100 for leaving feedback for a trades person?
Simply complete the feedback card your trades person left you or leave feedback for them online and you will be entered into our free monthly prize draw for £100 in Marks & Spencers vouchers. Only customers who have completed either the postal card or the form online can be entered into the draw, upon being successfully vetted by the trader as a customer of theirs. Please review the full terms and conditions of this draw by following the terms and conditions tab at the bottom of the home page.
I don’t want to sign up, but want to contact trades people by email?
Unfortunately for security reasons you will need to sign up or sign in to email a trades person through this site. By sending mail through this site your email address will not be seen by the trades person, and any replies will be displayed to you on this site in your members area. We will send you an email to your personal email, informing you that we have email to collect.
Why are there no search results displayed when I search for local trades people or service providers?
Unfortunately, this means that at this time we currently have no trades people in your area offering those services.
I have a complaint regarding a trades person I found on this website?
As per our terms and conditions we do not warrant a trades person’s ability to carry out any work, and as such any complaint should be directed towards the trades person or service provider concerned. We would ask that you keep us informed of any ongoing disputes you might have with one of our members by emailing us at info@compareatrader.com detailing the problems and the member concerned.
How do I check a trades person membership of professional bodies?
We automatically check to ensure that only members who are entitled to display a membership, do display that membership. However we would always urge customers for their own peace of mind, to check these for themselves, prior to employing or consulting any trades person. Most professional bodies can be found online with instructions on how to confirm a trades persons membership
Are all the trader people on this site properly insured for the services they offer?
Where as we take every care to vet all our members, we have NOT checked any insurance details for any members. We would urge ALL customers to check any trades persons insurance prior to employing them, if you have any questions about a trades persons insurance, namely what is and what isn’t covered, please contact the trades person insurance company, details of how to do this are usually at the top of or on the reverse of any insurance documents
What are the terms of use for a trader?
Terms of use can be found on the following link - Compare A Trader Limited - Standard Terms & Conditions of Business
If you have any further questions, comments, suggestions or any problems please email us on: