Trades & Labour
285 sources in the library on trades & labour. Each one says what the document covers and what it is good for. Name a source to see which document it is and where to read it. One at a time. Page 8 of 8.
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Citizens Advice
Citizens Advice guidance for England on cancellation rights for building, decorating and landscaping work. States that the right to cancel and get money back depends on where and how the arrangements were made, whether work has started, and whether the products are made to measure or standard. Where the arrangement was made on the business's own premises, the right to cancel depends on whether work has started and on whether a contract has been formed; the page explains that a contract is formed when an offer is accepted and will usually exist even without writing where the homeowner has signed an agreement, agreed to a quote verbally, fixed a starting date, paid a deposit or verbally told the trader to go ahead. Cancelling after that is a breach unless cancellation conditions were agreed or the business has not honoured its own obligations. The stronger 14 day statutory right applies to off-premises and distance arrangements.
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Citizens Advice
The mechanics of getting a builder complaint in front of Trading Standards, which a homeowner cannot do directly. The Citizens Advice consumer service is the gateway: advisers give practical and impartial advice, explain the law that applies, and pass information about complaints on to Trading Standards, a referral the consumer cannot make themselves. They cannot make the complaint for you or take legal action on your behalf. The helpline is 0808 223 1133, Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm and closed on bank holidays, with a Welsh-language line on 0808 223 1144; calls are free from mobiles and landlines and Relay UK is supported. Online chat is available as an alternative. Note that this service covers England and Wales; Northern Ireland is served by Consumerline and Scotland by Advice Direct Scotland.
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Electrical Safety First
Electrical Safety First is the UK charity for electrical safety, and this page is the clearest single list of which registration schemes are actually government-approved, by nation. England and Wales: NICEIC, NAPIT and BFC. Scotland: NICEIC, NAPIT and SELECT. Northern Ireland: NICEIC and NAPIT. A registered electrician works to the national safety standard BS 7671, is regulated by the UK and/or Scottish Governments, is reassessed regularly, carries insurance and issues a safety certificate confirming the installation has been designed, inspected and tested to that standard and to the building regulations. Part P compliance is described as a legal requirement for certain electrical work. Use this page to check whether a trader's scheme logo is one of the approved schemes rather than a self-styled membership badge.
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Furniture & Home Improvement Ombudsman
An independent, not-for-profit, government-approved Alternative Dispute Resolution body operating since 1992 and accredited by the Ombudsman Association. It is the ADR route attached to a large part of the home improvement sector: disputes involving furniture and home improvement businesses and manufacturers, landscape contractors through BALI membership, removals through the British Association of Removers, and home improvement contractors registered with TrustMark, MCS and other schemes. Decisions are binding on its member businesses, so the practical test for a homeowner is whether the trader is a member; if it is, the Ombudsman is a free-to-consumer alternative to a court claim. The site gives 0333 241 3209 as its contact number and directs readers to the Rules of Full Membership for the detail of remedies and any award limits, which are not stated on the front page.
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Scottish Water
SCOTLAND. Plumbing and water fittings in Scotland are governed by the Water Byelaws enforced by Scottish Water, not by the Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999 that apply in England and Wales, so an England-based note on notifiable plumbing work, backflow protection or fittings approval names the wrong instrument for a Scottish job. The page is Scottish Water's entry point for the Water Byelaws that protect water quality and for the separate trade effluent consent system covering waste water discharged to the public sewer by a business.