TradeFind FAQ 3: About TradeReport

How can I see a free-to-view TradeReport?

Easy. Just complete an assessment of one of your tradesmen, submit it and you can access all the TradeReports which we have for Edinburgh and Lothians

How can I get a free printed TradeReport?

You need to have first submitted an assessment. Just print out the order form and send it with a stamped, addressed envelope to HousePartners.

What is the difference between TradeReport and FirmReport?

• TradeReport lets you see how different firms in the same trade compare.
• FirmReport gives you greater detail about a single firm's performance.

What benefits does TradeReport give me?

TradeReport reports on all the firms in the area providing the same trade service, e.g. joiners. It lists how each firm scores all customer ratings, for three important factors

• Satisfaction
• Customer orientation
• Value for Money

TradeReport gives you additional information to help you decide which firms to consider.

How do I get a TradeReport when I can't provide an assessment?

Each TradeReport without an assessment costs £10.00 (£1.00 of this is donated to charity). Go to the printable order form and follow the instructions there.

Does HousePartners guarantee that the firms performance will meet their reported star rating?

We'd like to - but we cannot guarantee their performance. Only the firm can do that!

If HousePartners do not guarantee that the firm's performance will meet their reported star rating, what use is TradeReport?

HousePartners believe that a firm's performance is best assessed by its customers. Consistent customer ratings provide one indication of how the firm might perform for you in the future.

Does HousePartners guarantee that all reported ratings are genuine and not falsified ?

We take reasonable precautions to screen out falsified or misleading assessments, but cannot guarantee that a malicious or illegal assessment could slip through. (We do take legal action against the perpetrator when this occurs).

How do I know that HousePartners don't fiddle or falsify the ratings in favour of some firms?

HousePartners have no undisclosed financial relationship with any tradesmen's firm or supplier, and so there is no advantage to HousePartners in falsifying ratings.

Why do HousePartners use a star rating system for TradeReport when customers assess on a different basis?

Customers told us that they didn't want to wade through complicated graphs or hard-to-follow percentages. We think our star rating converts customers' assessments in an intelligent, easy-to-follow and user-friendly way.

The star rating is based on the percentage of customers assessing a firm's performance as 'Excellent' or 'Good'. We believe that these are the levels of performance at which good firms aim.

Should I rely only on TradeReport to select a tradesman?

We would recommend that you seek additional information, mainly from the firms themselves, before making any selection decision.

Why does TradeReport show the number of assessments for each firm held in the TradeFind database?

The number of assessments can highlight two important areas:

• First, less than three assessments is unlikely to give any dependable indication of how a tradesman's customers rate the firm.
• Second, although we want all 'Excellent', 'Good', 'Adequate' and 'Poor' performances, customers tend to send us assessments only when they are very happy or very unhappy. A small number of assessments may over-emphasise 'Excellent' or 'Poor' at the expense of 'Adequate' or 'Good'.

Surely customers are not qualified to make an assessment of a firm's technical performance?

We agree, and that is why no assessment factors contain technical aspects. Customers do know good service performance, however, and that is what we are trying to highlight.

How can I get a rating of a firm's technical performance?

This aspect should form part of the questions which you should ask the firm when making your selection. See HousePartners FactSheet, ' How to engage a Tradesman'.