Warning About Companies Charging for Jobs

[Lou]

It seems really clear to me not to pay such a company but I thought I'd make it clear in a post. Let's not name names because of solicitors letters, do that in a thread in the Plumbers Arms or Plumbers Cafe. But I've just found out about another company that sounds similar to BeeGeeAre Plumbing. They seem to have a BeeGeeAre Locksmiths and Window fitters and Christ knows what else. They have a page on their website for every area in the UK. They're actually based down south and have no plumbers. They're an office who advertise in Yell and Thompson Local where the areas are all old ladies, and now online in Google Ads (their websites don't rank well in search engines thankfully).

Looks like they use Skype to get local numbers (you can pick an area code on Skype when you buy a line with them) to make it look like you're calling a local plumber, or electrician, or locksmith, or window fitter etc etc when in fact you're not even ringing a plumbing firm.

They then charge a plumber a fee to get the work.

Or they will charge you a monthly fee to get any inquiries and they will be miles away from each other and always rubbish work.

Let it be known that the only person making money in this scenario is the one person who is running the company.

Be warned people.

 

[Chuck]

All good advice.

Something that UKPF will need to be careful about is that it will be a prime target for Google Ads from this type of company.

A downside to the 'subscribe to remove ads' model is that many of the very people who will be able to spot and report the dodgy Google Ads will never see them.

 

[Dan]

The problem is, they're in-keeping with Googles terms. They're not doing anything wrong on their part. It's a legit business. It's just one that's ripping off the plumber.

 

[oz-plumber]

We've had the over here for a few years now.

You either subscribe to get all leads in a certain area(s) or you pay a fee to get a lead after you've read the job description.
With the second option you have to pay an annual fee to get their leads.

Where they make their money is they sell the leads to 10 or so plumbers and the plumbers then get the customer contact details.

They take no responsibility for the work performed, because they say all contractors have their own insurance.

Customers can put a job on their site and expect almost immediate contact from trades.
It costs the customer nothing.

The way it works,
Customer wants a new kitchen tap - advertises on their site.
10 plumbers pay 10£ for the lead.
Company makes 100£
Customer gets ten quotes from 10 plumbers- for a tap

Who makes the most out of the job?

 

[Stu-B]

Isn’t that what all these “checkatrade/ratedpeople” type companies do, maybe not directly but still gotta cough up to be on their database
I’ve swerved all of these bloodsuckers and fully intend to keep doing so.

I do occasional work for a nationally advertised emergency call out company, but I don’t pay them anything to be on the list.

 

[rpm]

We've had the over here for a few years now.

You either subscribe to get all leads in a certain area(s) or you pay a fee to get a lead after you've read the job description.
With the second option you have to pay an annual fee to get their leads.

Where they make their money is they sell the leads to 10 or so plumbers and the plumbers then get the customer contact details.

They take no responsibility for the work performed, because they say all contractors have their own insurance.

Customers can put a job on their site and expect almost immediate contact from trades.
It costs the customer nothing.

The way it works,
Customer wants a new kitchen tap - advertises on their site.
10 plumbers pay 10£ for the lead.
Company makes 100£
Customer gets ten quotes from 10 plumbers- for a tap

Who makes the most out of the job?

The parasites make the money as always.

 

[SimonG]

It's not new news. All industries are flooded with the same sort of "business"

 

[Millsy 82]

Isn’t that what all these “checkatrade/ratedpeople” type companies do, maybe not directly but still gotta cough up to be on their database
I’ve swerved all of these bloodsuckers and fully intend to keep doing so.

I do occasional work for a nationally advertised emergency call out company, but I don’t pay them anything to be on the list.

Checkatrade isn't a lead buying site. It is no different to the likes of yell.

I went on rated people when I first started but found that to be extremely expensive and people use them to get the cheapest quote or to confirm that their usual plumber isn't ripping them off.