Checkatrade How do rogue traders get past its checks?

The site says its tradespeople are 'guaranteed', but some customers say they have lost thousands after using it. Anna Tims reports

- Anna Tims reports

A woman claims she was conned by a convicted criminal, and another householder says he was threatened by a self-styled hitman after hiring traders through the recommendation website Checkatrade.

One of the UK's largest trader marketplaces, Checkatrade promises customers "guaranteed" traders, "rigorous checks", and "recommendations you can rely on".

However, householders are losing thousands of pounds to accredited members because of inadequate vetting procedures, according to some customers and employees.

One customer discovered that the workman who pocketed £5,000 for a botched roof repair had previously been jailed for violent assault and had an outstanding county court judgment against him.

"I was able to discover these things with a simple search using the business owner's name and address," said the woman, who preferred not to be named. "He had advertised his company as a family firm with 25 years' experience, but it turned out it had only been incorporated five months before and was one of a string of companies he's set up and dissolved. It was devastating to discover I'd let a violent criminal into my home."

Checkatrade initially paid her £1,000 under its guarantee scheme.

Its surveyor costed the repairs for the damage caused by poor workmanship at £5,900 and it later agreed to fund the full sum.

She claims that her negative feedback of her Checkatrade experience on the review website Trustpilot was removed after the platform reported it as fake.