Homeowners FAQ - find good tradespeople

Homeowners FAQ's

Welcome to the Homeowners FAQ's. If you don't find your answer here then please contact us.

Types of work

What kind of jobs can I post on Builderscrack.co.nz?

If you need a tradesman to help you build, renovate or fix any part of your house, then you can post your job on Builderscrack.co.nz. If you would like guidance as to the types of jobs people have done, please browse our current available jobs. Builderscrack.co.nz has thousands of tradespeople to help you with your building, plumbing, electrical, roofing, painting, gardening, landscaping, decking work.

We have helped people find tradesmen to do everything from new home builds, to installing a cat door, from rewiring a house, to fixing a fuse or installing a heatpump, from unblocking a toilet, to fixing a leaking pipe, from painting and wallpapering a house, to putting a roof on a dog house, from large landscaping projects, to helping out with the weeding and lawn mowing. Whatever your job, if it is to do with your house, we can help you find a tradesman. While we don't specialise in mechanical vehicle work, we have also helped people find carpenters and electricians to fix up their boats, and even customise a motor scooter for pizza delivery!

Choosing a tradesperson

How should I select between tradespeople who bid for my work?

Once you have posted your job and received responses, you will need to select which tradespeople you want to quote on your job. We recommend two initial steps: 1) Read the tradies profile on Builderscrack - this is what they have written about themselves. 2) Check out whether the tradesperson has been rated previously by homeowners that have used Builderscrack. Read the comments as they can help you understand what to expect. If the tradesperson doesn't have a rating it doesn't mean they are not good, they are probably just new to Builderscrack.

After you have decided who you want to quote, make sure to ask the tradespeople lots of questions! For instance, how long have you been in business? Do you have insurance which covers damage to property? Is your work guaranteed? Are you a member of the relevant professional association (e.g. Master Builders, Master Painters etc). Make sure to ask the tradespeople for a written quote, including what they will do for you, what they won't do, how long they will take, when they will start, and the agreed price.

How can I be sure the tradespeople are qualified and insured?

The tradesmen provide you with information about themselves through their profile, sometimes including photos of work they have done, You can also view previous customer ratings of jobs they have done through Builderscrack.co.nz. Tradespeople who have valid qualifications, memberships, and insurance should have proof of this, which you could ask to see. All of this information can help you decide the things that are important to you and who you wish to contract to do your job. Ultimately you should be aware that any information provided on their profiles needs to be verified by yourself prior to hiring.

Ratings

How do I know that Builderscrack.co.nz ratings are genuine?

We only invite people who have found a tradesman through Builderscrack.co.nz to write a review of that tradesman. Thus, unlike other sites that allow customer ratings, you know that the ratings are genuine (and not posted by the friends or competitors of tradespeople!)

I've found a tradesman through Builderscrack and I want to leave feedback. How do I do this?

Great! Leaving feedback is an important part of our process. All you need to do is log in to your account, go to the job you wish to leave feedback about, and click review for the tradesperson you wish to leave feedback for. Just answer the questions and place your review - It's as simple as that!

How do I rate a tradesperson on Builderscrack.co.nz?

When you have completed a job through Builderscrack.co.nz, we will send you an email with a link, inviting you to rate the tradesperson. If you have completed a job, and would like to rate the tradesperson, please contact us.

Work has not been carried out. Can I still leave feedback?

You can only rate a tradesman when work has been carried out, a contract is signed, or money has changed hands. This is to ensure that any feedback left through the website is genuine and in keeping with our policies.

You can leave feedback about tradespeople failing to quote.

I used Builderscrack to find a tradesperson but have been let down - what can I do?

Rate their work! Of course our goal is to help people find great tradesmen, but home renovations and repair projects can be complex and sometimes lead to disappoint two one or other or both parties. However, we encourage you to rate the tradesperson and leave comments, thereby achieving a level of accountability that doesn't exist through more traditional routes to finding a tradesperson.<\p>

Location

Which areas does Builderscrack.co.nz cover?

Builderscrack.co.nz has tradespeople all over New Zealand, from Kaitaia to Bluff. We have a large network of tradespeople in the main centres (Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin) and active smaller groups of tradespeople in regional centres such as Whangarei, Rotorua/Taupo, Napier/Hastings, Palmerston North, Wanganui, New Plymouth, Kapiti Coast, Nelson/Marlborough, Timaru, Queenstown and Invercargill.

Our network of quality tradespeople is growing daily, so please post your job wherever you are in New Zealand, and we will do our best to find you a good tradesman. Please note that it may take a little longer to get quotes in smaller towns, but we will do our very best to get you a rapid response.

Time to respond

How long will it take for tradespeople to respond to my job?

In Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, most jobs receive responses within a few hours. Our most rapid response to date was on an Auckland job that had five tradespeople chasing within 12 minutes. In smaller towns it may take a day or two to get responses, although this time is getting shorter every week, and in many small towns responses will now also be received within hours.

Posting & removing jobs

Should I post my job if I only want a quote at this stage and am not sure I want the work done?

Yes - you are welcome to post a job if you are only looking for a quote. Please state this in the text when posting your job though, so the tradesperson knows you may take longer to decide. You can also use the estimator to get a good idea of how much your job may cost (please note that many factors including the city you are in, material cost fluctuations, and the market supply and demand at a given time determine what a job will cost, so these costs should only be used to help set a high level budget)

Does it cost me to post a job?

No, it's completely free to use Builderscrack. We charge a small fee to tradespeople, but don't worry, this doesn't get passed on. See “Your service is free, but if you charge the tradespeople don't I end up paying?”

General

Your service is free, but if you charge the tradespeople don't I end up paying?

No. Builderscrack quotes are usually much more competitive than tradespeople found through other sources. There are a few reasons for this, but the big one is that the tradespeople compete on the website to win the work. This encourages competitive quoting. In the vast majority of cases they also do high quality work because they know you will rate them later! Another important point to keep in mind is that for tradespeople, using Builderscrack is much cheaper than the traditional ways in which they advertise, and they get a guaranteed return on investment (they only pay Builderscrack when they win work). This means they are happy to pay the modest fees that Builderscrack charges.

You should agree how you will pay for the job up front, but consider following a few simple guidelines

Never pay the whole amount in advance and avoid paying large deposits up front.

On longer jobs, agree a schedule of payments and make sure that your payment at each stage reflects the progress made.

Always retain a proportion of the total payment until the job is fully completed. However, be fair on completion and pay promptly when the work is finished to your satisfaction.

Pro

What does Pro mean next to a tradesman?

Builderscrack Pro tradespeople want to show home owners more information about themselves. They have paid a fee to do so, so are serious about winning your work.

Privacy

Is my personal information safe?

Yes, completely safe. All communication takes place securely through the website where you are in control of choosing who you respond to, and who you want to work with. We do not sell your personal information to third parties.

We also provide secure HTTP login and account updates. It's not obvious, but all sensitive information such as passwords is sent via secure HTTP

Is it safe to give you my email address?

Yes. We will not give or sell your email address to anyone else. Ever. We only use to it contact you about any jobs you may post, and to send you our quarterly newsletter which we hope you will find informative.

Disputes process

The vast majority of customers that use Builderscrack.co.nz to source tradespeople are happy with the tradespeople that they find. Tradespeople know they will be rated on the website, and so generally perform well accordingly. Customers also have the benefit of being able to read profiles and previous customer ratings before selecting tradespeople that they want to quote. However, from time to time disputes do occur. Our policy on dealing with disputes is outlined below.

In the first instance we highly recommend that the customer and the tradesperson attempt to resolve the process. This is generally the least complicated and most expedient route. Builderscrack.co.nz provides a record of all communications that have been made online during the quoting process. This information is visible by both parties and if well used might constitute a valuable historical record.
Both parties should make sure they have a clear understanding of consumer rights. In particular, review what is required in terms of service quality under the Consumer Guarantees Act. Useful sources of information can be accessed at the following links (consumer.org.nz): http://www.consumerbuild.org.nz/publish/legal/legal-other-pimsconsumer.php and http://www.consumer.org.nz/reports/consumer-guarantees-act/putting-it-right
In the event that the dispute cannot be internally resolved, we recommend the use of an independent arbitrator or mediator. We recommend that you use http://www.aminz.org.nz/ and search the professional directory on that site to find a professional that can help you to work through the issue.
Ultimately disputes (usually less than $15,000) can be resolved at the Disputes Tribunal. Information on this process can be found at this link: http://www.justice.govt.nz/tribunals/disputes-tribunal.