Trusted Trader marks 10th birthday

A SCHEME launched by Derbyshire County Council to help households find trustworthy tradespeople is celebrating its 10th birthday.

Trusted Trader was established in 2008 to give customers more confidence in choosing a reliable tradesperson who commits to doing a good job for a fair price.

Trusted Trader has become the largest single authority scheme of its kind in the country, with more than 1,000 members representing more than 80 different trade sectors. Derbyshire County council’s cabinet member for Health and Communities Carol Hart said: “The fact that Trusted Trader is hitting such an important milestone shows how valuable the local community, as well as local businesses, find the scheme.

“It helps to put consumers’ minds at ease and allows them to feel much more secure and protected when choosing a trader. “We all hate the feeling of being taken for a ride – so the fact that traders are vetted beforehand and you can see feedback from other customers who use the scheme is priceless.”

Anyone who has dealt with a Trusted Trader is encouraged to go online and leave feedback on their experience, which is looked at by the council’s trading standards team. Genuine, relevant and lawful comments are published on the Trusted Trader website so that other consumers can make a reasonable judgement on the trader they would like to use.

Residents can find out more about the scheme and search the online directory of traders at www.derbyshire.gov.uk/ tt

Businesses that would like to sign up can find out about the benefits of the scheme and information about how to apply at www.derbyshire.gov.uk/ ttmembers