New calls to clamp down on cowboy builders

AS the nation’s fight against cowboy builders continues, Safe Local Trades today welcomes new calls to stamp out rogue traders.

The vast majority of builders and home owners in the UK want the Government to introduce a licensing scheme for the construction industry to stamp out the cowboys and fraudsters, according to new industry research.

Some 80 per cent of owners and those working in the home building industry believe that regulation is needed, says the independent study by Pye Tait for the Federation of Master Builders (FMB).

Highlighting the misery caused by rogue traders, and warning consumers against using doorstep traders is something which SLT has been actively promoting for the past 10 years.

We recognise the heartache caused by those who take advantage, both financially and psychologically, of the most vulnerable and often elderly members of our society.

Safe Local Trades has for the past decade been championing the consumer, through our award-winning service which only promotes recommended and trusted trades people.

This latest report details the benefits of introducing a licensing scheme for the whole construction industry and puts forward a proposal for how it could work.

Overall the research found that 77 per cent of small and medium-sized construction firms support the introduction of licensing to professionalise the industry, protect consumers and side line the cowboys.

Some 78 per cent of consumers also want to see a licensing scheme for construction introduced and nearly 90 per cent of home owners believe that the Government should criminalise rogue and incompetent builders.

It will be interesting to see how this idea progresses and is, hopefully, implemented in the future. In the meantime, organisations like our will continue to promote those trades who are safe, trusted, recommended and reliable.

Visit our website at www.safelocaltrades.com to find your preferred trade – everyone from aerial installers and carpenters to window cleaners. We now also have a host of service providers which can be found at www.safelocalservices.com