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Volume 6
Broad features of a trusted trader framework: views from working group
1.22. The working group agreed on a set of broad features any trusted trader framework should have . The framework should :
- Remove the various barriers homeowners face when trying to access reliable tradesmen;
- Be accessible by anyone in Scotland;
- Have national level branding and standards to ensure traders and end users know what to expect wherever they are; but
- Operate at a local level with central administrative support;
- Have a minimum level of accreditation no matter the delivery vehicle;
- Have the buy-in of the construction industry as well as trading standards in local authorities;
- Take account of the needs of the owner and the construction industry equally to help towards the sustainability of the framework;
- Promote healthy competition and enterprise in the economy e.g. by building in open and comparative pricing between traders.
For a homeowner a trusted trader framework should:
- Be accessible;
- Include traders of all sizes;
- Be designed to root out rogue traders;
- Include a customer feedback element;
- Gauge the quality and cost of the trader's work;
- Include website access;
- Have a clear route to redress if something goes wrong;
- Be simple and reduce confusion;
- Increase transparency and fairness for the homeowner; and
- Move away from oral contracts.
For the construction industry a trusted trader framework should:
- Be part of a warranty scheme, with minimum standards of contract and warranty;
- Share best practice;
- Include an element which deals with the 'rogue customer';
- Be a positive incentive scheme for good traders;
- Include a business benefit - a return on investment;
- Offer the trader enhanced exposure to new potential business;
- Recognise that traders work across local authority borders; and
- Recognise the differences between industries and their needs.
Key features of any framework
- Common branding;
- Universal access;
- A recognised trust 'badge' or 'mark' every trader and scheme could use;
- National minimum standards for every trader in a framework;
- Access to one web portal, and phone / postal access; and
- The ability for any national framework to recognise and work with differences at local level.
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