Sponsor us to complete the Yorkshire 3 Peaks and get a printed copy of the DFG Guidance
TrustMark is the ONLY safe-trader scheme with government-endorsed standards.
TrustMark operates at the forefront of consumer protection, and a number of HIAs have taken advantage of this opportunity to become Trustmark registered, thereby gaining exposure on the TrustMark website, driving revenue from able-to-pay customers.
However, TrustMark is evolving, with greater links to Trading Standards and has also become the administrator of GasSafe registrations and ECO installers. This expansion of interest has now presented even more opportunity for HIAs to get involved with the TrustMark scheme, and offer Trustmark registration to its contractors, or to utilise TrustMark as the method by which your contractors are vetted.
So, how can a HIA or Local Authority use TrustMark?
There are a number of ways in which your HIA or Local Authority can utilise TrustMark. The scheme can provide a simple mechanism of registering your handyperson service on the scheme through a Framework Provider, or a HIA could become a TrustMark scheme operator themselves, where they can accredit internal staff and external contractors on the scheme. There’s even the opportunity for a HIA to provide TrustMark registration services over a wide area!
What’s your preferred route?
Scenario 1:
We are a HIA or Local Authority operating a handyperson service. We’d like our handypersons to be registered with TrustMark, as a means of driving in able-to-pay business, and giving our customers added quality assurance?
Solution
Register your handyperson service with Diversity Management, who act as Foundations TrustMark Framework Provider for the handyperson trade sector.
Scenario 2:
We are a HIA or Local Authority and we’d like to register our contractors undertaking major disabled adaptations on the Trustmark scheme, and use TrustMark as our criteria for our approved contractor list?
Option 1
Register your contractors with Diversity Management, who act as Foundations TrustMark Framework Provider for the Disabled Adaptations trade sector.
Option 2
Register your contractors with a regional TrustMark Framework Provider in your area (also see option 3 below)
Option 3
Become a TrustMark Framework Provider yourself!
TrustMark offers many advantages, for HIAs/LAs, contractors and customers:
- The HIA acting as a TrustMark Framework Provider can recruit Registered Businesses (contractors) onto their list from a wide catchment area.
- This means that contractors operating over a wide area, all work to common, and accepted TrustMark Standards.
- This helps remove disparity of contractor quality over a wide area, and allows contractors to work across local authority boundaries, mitigating any perceptions of a “postcode lottery”.
- TrustMark membership gives contractors credibility that they work at the forefront of consumer protection, and opens up further commercial opportunities via a listing on the TrustMark web site
- As a TrustMark Framework provider, the HIA can set their own rates for registering contractors onto their lists, thereby making it great value for contractors operating on a sole-trader basis.
- TrustMark registration gives assurance to the end customer that they will be safeguarded should something go wrong.
Also, although not official policy, in the DFG Review of 2018 (opens a new window), Foundations recommended that Trustmark standards aligned to the DFG Quality Standard could act as a mechanism for ensuring consistency of DFG delivery across the country.
