SafeContractor and other SSIP nonsense in general??

[Domino]

Can we all please tell these people to 'do one'. 

I have a long established commercial client that has signed up to an SSIP scheme to have all their contractors checked out and registered with this total non entity organisation that both offer and do absolutely nothing. 

It really is important to make a stand against all this type of self imposed red tape.  It only carries on because people don't stand up to it, and in turn makes everything more expensive and boring and wastes time. 

I'm sure there are those who disagree, but keep it to yourself. 

Thanks. 

[Mark Bolam]

Totally agree.

 

I recently got asked to join some scheme where I would be vetted by Kent Trading Standards.

 

I queried why they wanted money for this, they’re public servants!

 

They can f right off, along with Bark, Checkatrade, Leads.com and all the other parasites.

[Domino]

Ah, thank god, it's not just me this irritates then 😀 

[Domino]

Basically - Sally asks Rob (tree surgeon) to remove a tree, then Sally asks John (guy who appears on the internet that no one has ever met) to get Rob to tell tell John everything about himself and his business and how he intends to remove the tree, so that John can then relay that back to Sally.  

It's like a joke with no punchline. 

Edited November 13 by Domino

[Mark Bolam]

Or Sally asks John, who puts her in touch with Rob, and they give him money.

[GarethM]

But John goes, nah use my mate bill and Ben because they threw him a fee.

 

Sorry, service charge, backhander, brown envelope, protection racket. Or just anyone in waste management/ cured purveyors of meat.

[Mick Dempsey]

What annoys me is people leaving spiteful reviews cos the tradesman didn’t do extras or in some way didn’t meet their expectations.

 

I wouldn’t join anything like that.

[Mark Bolam]

What annoys me is everything about it.

These people should go and get real jobs.

[Steven P]

I can understand the logic behind them, have a system of reviews and perhaps targeted to a profession, then anyone can have a look and see who appears competent and who doesn't... but the whole system falls down when they ask for a payment to be listed. No Pay, no listing. Then the dodgiest of the dodgy can pay and get work. All the while a computer programmer... with no professional knowledge of the work but can use a computer... is raking it in.

 

For companies often contracts are let by a finance manager, sometimes at the advice of an technical person, sometimes to the lowest bidder, and their checks are often "did they get a good review".. and so the dodgy keep getting work if they also pay for the reviews.

[JLA1990]

On 13/11/2024 at 14:03, Domino said:

Can we all please tell these people to 'do one'. 

I have a long established commercial client that has signed up to an SSIP scheme to have all their contractors checked out and registered with this total non entity organisation that both offer and do absolutely nothing. 

It really is important to make a stand against all this type of self imposed red tape.  It only carries on because people don't stand up to it, and in turn makes everything more expensive and boring and wastes time. 

I'm sure there are those who disagree, but keep it to yourself. 

Thanks. 

Just have a chat with the client, suggest you can fulfil the criteria required and explain that you don’t need to pay a subscription service to do so. This approach has always worked with my commercial clients (multiple housing developers) and like yourself I refuse to pay for a service that ticks a box for me that I can tick myself. Of course it has stopped me bidding for large contracts but I don’t want that type of works as it’s crap.