🚨 Spotting the Red Flags: Why Builder Verification Matters

Home BuildersLicence to Build Campaign
Written By Louise Tingley

As administrators of a local community group on Facebook, we regularly approve posts from local tradespeople advertising their services. Supporting small businesses is something we’re passionate about, but sometimes, things don’t quite add up. This time, we need to speak up about it!

Recently, we noticed one particular “company” appearing more and more frequently. Not just our group, but over most, locally. A closer look revealed some very concerning details:

🚩 Advertising as a Ltd company, but not actually registered at Companies House under the trading name being used.
🚩 Not registered under the individual’s own name.
🚩 Not registered under any immediate connections listed on their public profiles.

So, we reached out to the individual to verify their company details… only to be met with radio silence.

🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩

That’s a lot of red flags.

As active members of the Federation of Master Builders and proud supporters of the Licence to Build Campaign, we know how important it is to protect homeowners from rogue traders. According to recent figures, cowboy builders have cost British homeowners an estimated £14.3 billion in the past five years alone. This is NOT OKAY!!

We absolutely believe there should be:

  • Mandatory Licensing with Robust enforcement and tiered sanctions for those trading without a licence.

  • A publicly accessible online database of licensed traders, so homeowners can verify who they’re hiring.

When hiring a builder or tradesperson, you should absolutely do your own due diligence to check they are who they say they are.

You are within your rights to ASK your (potential) builder/tradesperson what association they belong to and verify it!! Call the association and ask if your tradesperson is an active member.

It is very possible they may have previously been a member; they may have neglected to meet their obligations (regular third party vetting processes), or they may have been struck off as not meeting industry standards or expectations!

It’s also important to note that many advertising directors that claim to “check” or vet “trade” members, don’t follow the same rigorous vetting processes in order to “approve” advertising placements.

We Invite You To Verify Our Credentials at Neways Group Ltd.

At Neways Group Ltd, we take our responsibilities seriously. We believe in transparency, accountability, and delivering the highest standard of work, every time. When we forward your projects proposal, we will include evidence of our insurance. Evidence of our Membership(s) as a Trading Standards Approved Company and active, Award Winning Members of the Federation of Master Builders.


When you choose Neways, you can be confident that we are:

✅ Fully insured, carrying Public Liability, Professional Indemnity & Employers’ Liability.
✅ We are annually third-party vetted which includes client(s) being interviewed by a third-party inspector who provides us with a written report.
✅ We are active Members of the Federation of Master Builders (you can verify our membership below).
✅ We are CITB Registered and up to date on our annual Levy documentation(s).
✅ We are Trading Standards Approved Members of the Norfolk & Suffolk County Councils’ Trusted Trader Scheme(s).

We welcome you to verify these details, and for ease, have provided links below. We invite you however, to call each of those organisations to verify those details independently.

We haven’t written this to shame anyone, we have intentionally not mentioned the ‘company’ or individuals by name in case they are legitimate. However, we do take this seriously, and we have raised our concerns with Trading Standards in the hopes that in the case where this ‘company’/individual is not who they say they are, we’re doing our part in preventing more rogue / cowboy builders from causing any further devastation to UK homeowners.

If you’re looking for a builder you can trust with your home, your investment, and your peace of mind, we’re here to help.

📞 Get in touch for a free, no-obligation chat about your next project.

Read more about the Licence to Build campaign:

https://hoa.org.uk/campaigns/licensing-builders/

Verify our credentials:

Louise Tingley

I help support small business owners through unique, music, aromatherapy and scent marketing techniques.


I started my first 6-figure business in the music industry in my teen years, before studying a BA in Music (Opera Performance) with a minor in Music Education. Over the course of the next 15 -20 years, I immersed myself into the world of Music Therapy, which further lead to my intrigue and fascination with Aroma Therapy, and in more recent years, the art of perfumery.  

I have been privileged enough throughout my career to have been able to work with Tony, Grammy, ARIA and BAFTA award winning writers, performers and producers. 

I have a track record of helping sole traders and micro-companies create 6 and 7 figure businesses working from home. 

http://www.legacyperfumes.com
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