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Advice when dealing with tradespeople

Age Action is Ireland’s leading organisation for older people. Its Care & Repair Service provides volunteers to do small DIY jobs free of charge. When people require jobs that are beyond what our volunteers can offer and they need to employ someone to do the work, our Trades Referral Service offers contact details for local tradespeople who can provide a quotation. 

Age Action operates the Trades Referral Service in good faith and we would like older people to have a positive experience with anybody they chose to employ. We aim to provide details for good quality tradespeople. The tradespeople on our list have been provided with a code of conduct outlining the behaviour we expect, and we ask clients for feedback about their work.   Please note however that the tradespeople are not Age Action employees. They have no contractual relationship with Age Action and Age Action does not accept any legal liability for their work.   A good tradesperson will want to do a good job at a fair price. We advise you to be polite and respectful in your dealings with tradespeople but to take the following precautions;  

  1. Ask for a written quotation for the work, including a description of work to be done and a price including labour, materials and VAT.
  2. For large jobs, get quotations from at least two tradespeople.
  3. If you are happy with the price and the person, go ahead with the job. However if there is anything you are not happy with or if you don’t want to do the work immediately, there is no obligation to proceed. 
  4. Do not pay for the work until the job is complete and always ask for a receipt when you make payment.
  5. Do not allow a tradesperson to start work unless the full price for completion of the work has been agreed. 
  6. Ask the tradesperson to make an appointment with you over the phone before calling so you know when he will be coming. Ask him to phone you in advance if he cannot call at the agreed time. 
  7. If a tradesman is rude or abusive to you or does not respect your property, ask him to stop work and advise him that you will call Age Action to discuss the situation. 
  8. If you have any problems or queries along the way, or if the tradesperson does not return your call, please contact Age Action and we will help in any way we can.