UK Home Insurance News

Saturday, May 14, 2005

 

£529 million to repair bodge jobs on British homes

According to new research from Direct Line Home Insurance, Britons are paying out an extra £529 million to fix bodged jobs by untrustworthy tradespeople.

Just in the past year alone, more than half a million Britons - one in 50 of those who have had work carried out - were forced to employ a second tradesperson to repair recently completed but botched jobs. These unlucky Britons have each shelled out an extra £955, on average, in the process. 36% of those surveyed needed the original tradesperson back to correct their own work, while 26% have had to live with the damage for some time before they could afford to fix it.

The tradesmen who have carried out substandard work for these dissatisfied Britons are carpenters (11%), builders (8%), plasterers (8%) and electricians (7%). From unsafe electrics to leaking roofs, this substandard work has added significantly to the £33 billion already spent on home repairs in the UK in the past two years. Four in 10 (37%) dissatisfied customers suffered substandard work as the jobs were delegated by busy tradespeople to unqualified or inexperienced workers while one in 10 reported that tradespeople caused more damage than they had repaired. More than one in four Britons (26%) delayed repair work as they were unsure of whom to trust.

Andrew Lowe, Head of Home Insurance, Direct Line, comments: "Our research confirms that poor workmanship and few guarantees are causing unnecessary expense and inconvenience for many homeowners, and even worse still, may result in making their homes unsafe."

"Tradespeople should be as accountable for the standard of their work as anyone else. Direct Line always strives to give our customers the best possible service, over the telephone and when providing tradespeople and managing home repair claims on their behalf."

In the event of a building claim, Direct Line will arrange for the property to be inspected and tradespeople to carry out the necessary work, which is guaranteed for 12 months. Most insurers require homeowners to obtain three quotes, manage the repairs and pay for the work themselves and then forward the bills to their insurer.

Direct Line recommends the following steps to safeguard against untrustworthy tradespeople:
1. Contact your insurer for a tradesperson recommendation
2. Get recommendations of reliable tradespeople from friends or family
3. Ensure any tradesperson you employ is a member of a reputable trade association
4. Ask the tradesperson for client references before agreeing to any work
5. Get an estimate before work commences
6. Only make a part payment in advance of work commencing, with final payment made on completion
7. Get written guarantee from the tradesperson before starting any work

If you're unhappy with a tradesperson's services, Direct Line recommends the following:
1. Advise the tradesperson of your concerns immediately
2. If this does not work, put your complaint in writing
3. If there are still problems, consult the Citizens Advice Bureau, Trading Standards or the relevant Trade Association.

posted by UK Insurance Index  @ 5:59 PM

News items are intended for information only and should not be relied upon when making insurance decisions. Due to their nature some of the information in these news stories may no longer be current.