PPC115 | Member benefit

BPCA Servicing Members can now become TrustMark Registered Businesses. We asked Nicola Waller, Membership Director at TrustMark, to introduce the new member benefit and explain the scheme in detail.

“We work with third parties to identify and create new avenues for work opportunities across all our trades.”

We’d like to introduce you to TrustMark, the only UK Government-endorsed quality scheme for work carried out in and around the home. This new member benefit is another way to grow your business and give your customers peace of mind, knowing that you’re a reputable tradesperson.

At TrustMark, we’re passionate about quality and assurance, and what that means for homeowners and our Registered Businesses. Since we started in 2005, we have worked to drive up standards across the industry and improve the protection offered to homeowners when having work done.

We’re a not-for-profit business which means we can focus on our customers – tradespeople and homeowners – and not on shareholders. We continually reinvest into the scheme to enhance the support we provide to our Registered Businesses and consumer protection.

We help homeowners find a skilled, trained and competent tradesperson to carry out the work they need through our online search facility, ‘Find a Trader’.

If you’re a tradesperson looking to demonstrate your commitment to doing a great job with high levels of customer service, you can apply to join around 15,000 other TrustMark Registered Businesses.

Licence to operate

TrustMark is a not-for-profit social enterprise that operates under a Master Licence Agreement issued by the Government’s Department for Business and Trade. This Agreement sets out what we do and how we do it.

We licence and work with our network of Scheme Providers – of which BPCA is now a Provider – and they are all committed to meeting the requirements of our Quality Scheme. In turn, our Scheme Providers licence and work with their TrustMark Registered Businesses to ensure they commit to, and maintain, the required standards of technical competence, trading practices and customer service.

These practices provide assurance and confidence for homeowners when they use a TrustMark Registered Business and, for the trades, it demonstrates quality and professionalism.

Our Scheme Providers

TrustMark licenses and audits over 38 Scheme Providers with around 15,000 Registered Businesses, all of which are committed to maintaining the required standards of technical competence, trading practices and customer service. These encompass over 150 different service types and include everything you might expect, from plumbers, electricians and builders to carpet cleaners, landscape gardeners and leadwork specialists – and now pest professionals! BPCA is the only TrustMark Scheme Provider for pest management businesses.

Under TrustMark Framework Operating Requirements*, Scheme Providers are responsible for the conduct of their members and must help resolve disputes between businesses and customers. If the dispute is complex, the Scheme Provider may suggest using an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) provider to help.

Dealing with disputes can be stressful for the homeowner and the business. Our priority is to achieve fair, timely and cost-effective solutions. Our role is not to investigate specific consumer complaints, but we work closely with Scheme Providers, and their Registered Businesses to ensure that correct processes within the TrustMark quality scheme have been followed.

Who we work with 

We work closely with several partner organisations that share our mission to raise trading standards and improve consumer protection. Working together, we can enhance the work our Registered Businesses carry out, and offer advice and support, ranging from safety online to energy use.

Our partners span many sectors and range from finance, government, accommodation, and charities to consumer protection professionals and energy efficiency. They include Age UK, Airbnb, Chartered Trading Standards Institute, Citizens Advice Bureau, Department for Business and Trade, Energy Saving Trust and Grand Designs, to name just a few.

Exclusive offers and discounts

TrustMark has teamed up with several industry-leading organisations to offer Registered Businesses exclusive offers and discounts which will benefit them both in their working and personal lives.

They include the following:

• AA – business breakdown cover
• ARMD – protect tools with a unique new protection package
• Churchill Expert – 10% off business insurance
• EasyToolhire – 20% off on all hire tools and equipment
• Fuel Card Services – save up to 10p per litre on fuel
• Europcar – hire a car or van from 3,835 locations in over 140 countries worldwide
• Mellor Financial Training – 75% saving on finance training
• My Staff Shop – Employees can get savings on their food shopping, holidays, dining etc
• Octopus Electric Vehicles – cost-effective vehicle leasing options
• Vendigo – flexible financing options for their customers
• Wickes TradePro – 10% off every sale.

Helping your customers

TrustMark also produces guidance and help for its end-users - your customers. Helpful guides and articles can be found on the TrustMark website in the homeowner section. One of these tools is the TrustMark home improvement app.

Free to download, TrustMark’s unique ‘one-stop shop’ home improvement app is aimed at helping consumers to better understand the process, requirements and considerations around having home improvement work carried out on their property. The app guides consumers through the many steps and considerations involved in improving their home, assisting them to ask the right questions of tradespeople, particularly when this may be their first experience.

The content includes information a homeowner needs to consider when planning a project - from finding skilled and competent tradespeople to agreeing on a contract and what to expect, project timelines, example costs, planning permissions, building regulations and insurance requirements, health and safety considerations and much more. The next update will include pest control!

trustmark.org.uk/docs/default-source/scheme-documents/framework_operating_requirements-v2-6.pdf?sfvrsn=d749507_2

BENEFITS OF BEING REGISTERED

As a BPCA Servicing member, you’ll get access to the following TrustMark benefits:

Access to new work

• We work with third parties to identify and create new avenues for work opportunities across all our trades
• We provide access to exclusive finance and cashback options for your customers from leading financial institutions
• We are recommended by lenders, local authorities and well-known brands and services.

Build your business

• Customers can easily find you using TrustMark’s ‘Find a Trader’ online directory
• Your unique TrustMark profile, which you can link to your website, will let you manage customer enquiries, track progress, manage your business presence and build positive feedback
• Visible campaigns and marketing support – displaying the TrustMark logo on your letterheads, marketing material, website and vehicles will provide additional assurance to potential customers that you are a quality business
• Benefit from our marketing initiatives aimed at driving customers to the TrustMark website and gain more exposure for your business
• Trading Standards – as a TrustMark Registered Business, you will be eligible for our national Trading Standards Approved scheme (£90.00+VAT).

Making your life easier

• 24/7 access business portal - promote your business with a personalised profile page to showcase your work, collect reviews and build your reputation
• Quality management and continual improvement – access to advice, guidance and template contracts all based around the TrustMark Code of Conduct, providing clear legislative support in partnership with Trading Standards.

Protecting you and your customers 

• We provide guidance on managing and resolving customer complaints including access to the independent Dispute Resolution Ombudsman (DRO) service, giving businesses and customers the tools to handle complaints in a smooth and professional manner
• Protect your payments – using Trustmark’s low-cost payment protection (Escrow) service provides a protective financial arrangement when entering into a contract for both Registered Businesses and your customers
• Becoming a TrustMark business means that you may be able to access finance options and cashback offers provided by our partners, to help remove financial barriers for your customers.

*No additional cost for BPCA Servicing members.

Learn more
TrustMark Registration is included as part of BPCA Servicing membership.
For further information about TrustMark and what the quality mark can provide for your registered business, visit bpca.org.uk/TrustMark