What we check before anyone comes to your door
Letting a stranger into your home takes trust. So we say exactly what we check, in plain words, instead of using a badge that just says “verified”.
The checks
Identity checked
Every tradesperson
We see government photo ID, such as a passport or driving licence, and check it belongs to the person we are sending.
Nobody is sent to a job until this check is done.
Basic DBS check seen
Every tradesperson
A basic DBS certificate shows any unspent criminal convictions. It is the level of check anyone can be asked for. In Scotland it comes from Disclosure Scotland, and in Northern Ireland from AccessNI.
A certificate is a record of one day, so we ask for a new one every year.
Public liability insurance checked
Every tradesperson
This insurance pays if a tradesperson damages your home or injures someone while working. We look at the certificate itself: the insurer, the amount of cover and the date it runs out.
When the cover runs out, that tradesperson is not sent to jobs until we have seen the renewal.
Gas Safe Register checked
Everyone doing gas, boiler or heating work
By law, anyone working on gas appliances or pipework must be on the Gas Safe Register. We look each engineer up on the register ourselves, and check the type of work their card covers.
Ask to see their Gas Safe ID card when they arrive. You can check the number yourself on the Gas Safe Register website or by calling 0800 408 5500.
Electrical scheme membership checked
Electricians doing work that has to be certified
Some electrical work, such as a new circuit or a new fuse box, must be certified under the Building Regulations. For that work we only send electricians registered with a government-approved scheme such as NICEIC or NAPIT, and we check the scheme's own public register.
Every check is done before a tradesperson's first job, again every year, and whenever a document runs out.
On the day
We tell you the name of the person coming before they arrive. When they arrive, ask to see their photo ID, and for gas work, their Gas Safe ID card.
If the person at the door is not the person we named, do not let them in. Call us.
If you smell gas
If you can smell gas, leave the building, do not use light switches or flames, and call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999. It is free, and open day and night.
If something goes wrong
Call us on 020 3000 0000, 8am to 8pm, 7 days a week. Tell us what happened. We will talk to the tradesperson, and if they did not meet these standards, they will not be sent to anyone again.