A Bit Intimidated, Shy, or Just Not Sure What to Ask? New Phone App Helps You Talk to Your Tradesman

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• Publié par: trustmark
• Nombre de lectures: 21
• Langue: English

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A Bit Intimidated, Shy, or Just Not Sure What to

Ask? New Phone App Helps You Talk to Your

Tradesman

PR Newswire

LONDON, June 19, 2012

LONDON

,

June 19, 2012

/PRNewswire/ --

It's no wonder so many people end up with problems with their builders,

plumbers, electricians and other tradesmen.

Over half of British homeowners admit that they forget to ask the right

questions when they invite tradesmen into their homes to quote for a job, and

almost one in five of us forgets to ask a really important question. Too often

we are handing over the repair, maintenance or improvement of our most

prized possession - our home - after only the briefest of conversations.

Younger homeowners are particularly vulnerable and lacking in confidence,

with almost half turning to their parents for help when it comes to employing a

tradesman.

But smartphone technology is coming to the rescue.

TrustMark, the Government endorsed quality mark to help people find

reputable tradesmen, today launches a new phone app to help us ask all the

right questions and to have more confident conversations with a tradesman

before we accept a quote for work to be done in or around our home.

Liz Male, Chairman of TrustMark, says:

"Trying to remember all the questions you really should ask, or actually having

the confidence to ask all those questions when you've got a tradesman in your

home, is not that easy, even for the most experienced of customers. And how

many of us remember the detail of what we discussed the moment that

tradesman walks out the door?

"The TrustMark app helps to solve that problem. In 11 easy steps, the app

creates an instant record of the conversation. It prompts questions and

provides advice at every stage telling you what to look out for and your

consumer rights. You can record what is agreed using text, photos and record

a brief audio note, and then email a copy to yourself and the tradesman. You

can compare notes on the firms you see. And if you're not intending to draw

up a proper contract when the job goes ahead, this is probably the next best

thing."

The TrustMark app is being launched today by Vince Cable, Secretary of State

for Business, Innovation and Skills, at a reception in Westminster attended by

trade bodies and consumer protection groups.

He says:

"The majority of work carried out by our trades is done to a very high standard.

TrustMark has been successfully providing consumers with an impartial

assessment of the standards of local tradespeople, to help them make

informed decisions when hiring contractors to improve their homes.

"The new application being launched today provides another useful tool to

consumers by

bringing TrustMark's expert guidance directly to householders

through the latest innovative channels."

The TrustMark app is free and available for iPhones from today, with additional

versions for other smartphones coming later this year. To download the app,

follow the link from http://www.trustmark.org.uk/apps or go to the iTunes app

store. A paper copy of the questions and guidance is also available to download

from http://www.trustmark.org.uk/apps/print/.

For further information about TrustMark:

http://www.trustmark.org.uk/latest-news/press-releases/trustmark-latest-key-

facts/

Watch the video at:

http://www.youtube.com/user/trustmarkuk/videos