Trusted Trader Code of Practice
Traders shall agree to trade fairly and within the spirit of the law and good business practice. Members will:
Provide Trading Standards with full details of ownership, trading names, premises, staffing levels and trade activities.
Inform, in writing or by electronic means, Trading Standards of any significant changes to the above within 14 working days of the change.
Ensure that all employees and subcontractors are made aware of the scheme and agree to act in accordance with the members obligations under the Scheme.
Agree to use the Referenceline system and collect feedback by offering questionnaires (including electronic versions) to all customers and actively encourage their use. Members without feedback in the previous six months will be contacted and advised appropriately. A further period of three months without feedback will result in membership termination.
Agree to abide by the terms and conditions of the scheme. Failure to do so will invoke the membership review procedure, (see appendix 2).
Pay their annual membership fee within 28 days of the due date (Except for members who pay by Direct Debit), otherwise membership will be revoked.
Adequately train their staff for the work they carry out, and keep appropriate training records. These should be available for officers to view on request.
Maintain and publicise any registration which is required by law (e.g Gas Safe Register).
Deal with complaints promptly, effectively and in accordance with the dispute resolution process, (see section 7).
If a business is a member of a trade association which has its own code of practice, the terms of that code should be followed at all times.
Provide customers, where appropriate, with a written schedule of works and a written quotation before any work commences. Any change made to this schedule shall be communicated to the consumer before any further work is carried out. Any call out charges must be notified in advance to the consumer.
Give customers an invoice or receipt, as soon as practicable after work has been completed, and before payment is sought (excluding any deposit), showing full details of the work carried out, itemising where parts have been supplied, materials used, and labour and other costs.
Any deposit or monies sought from customers before work has commenced should not exceed 80% of the contract price.
Where appropriate, parts replaced must be left for consumer inspection upon request.
Not use second hand or reconditioned parts unless agreed by the consumer prior to the work commencing.
Include VAT in all prices including advertised prices, and where surcharges apply, comply with The Consumer Protection (Payment Surcharges) Regulations 2012.
Comply with all relevant consumer protection legislation.
Not seek customers by cold calling in person at their homes.
Adhere to Telephone Preference Service requirements when cold calling prospective customers by telephone.
Have and maintain adequate public liability insurance.
Co-operate fully with Trading Standards during the course of their activities, and make business records available to Trading Standards for inspection.