Read this first — what this process is, and what it is not
This complaints process exists for one reason: to help us decide whether a tradesperson should remain listed on NI Trades. It is a platform-management tool — nothing more. The only possible outcomes are no action, a recorded warning, suspension, or removal of the listing.
We will not mediate, negotiate, intervene in or resolve any dispute between you and a tradesperson; we will not recover money, refund deposits, order remedial work or attempt to enforce work; we will not assist with, support, fund, attend, give evidence in, or otherwise become involved in any legal, regulatory or insurance proceeding; and we will not share with you the tradesperson's response, our internal notes, evidence we receive, or any of the tradesperson's personal data, save where compelled by a court order, regulator, or properly served data-protection request.
If you have suffered loss, want money back, want work completed or remedied, or want to take action against a tradesperson, that is a matter directly between you and them — and, where appropriate, for the courts, an insurer or independent legal advice. NI Trades has no role in it.
Our internal review process
- Stage 1
Submit a report
Use the Report concern button on the tradesperson's profile, or email us. Include the tradesperson's name, the job (date and town), and a brief description of what happened. We use this information solely to decide whether to keep the tradesperson on the platform — not to mediate, intervene in or resolve any dispute between you and them.
- Stage 2
Acknowledgement
We aim to confirm receipt within 2 working days. Acknowledgement of receipt is not an acceptance, finding or admission of any kind, and does not commit us to take any specific action.
- Stage 3
Internal review
We may contact the tradesperson and ask for their account of events. We will not act as an advocate or representative for the customer, and we will not pursue, negotiate or correspond on the customer's behalf. Any communication with the tradesperson is for the sole purpose of deciding whether their listing should remain on the platform.
- Stage 4
Listing-only outcome
The only possible outcomes are listing-side: no action, a recorded warning against the tradesperson's NI Trades account, suspension of the listing, or permanent removal from the platform. We do not award compensation, order remedial work, recover money, enforce attendance or impose any other sanction. We retain absolute discretion over the outcome.
- Stage 5
Closure
We will confirm in general terms whether the listing has been kept, warned, suspended or removed. We will not share investigation correspondence, evidence supplied by either party, internal notes, or the tradesperson's personal data. The case is then closed.
What we look at when deciding on a listing
These are the kinds of report that may cause us to review whether a tradesperson should stay on the platform. They are not problems we resolve for the customer.
- Poor quality or unfinished work
- Failure to attend after agreeing a date
- Took payment and disappeared
- Aggressive, threatening or abusive behaviour
- Carrying out work outside their qualifications (e.g. gas work without Gas Safe registration)
- Insurance cover has lapsed
- Misleading credentials, false reviews or impersonation
What we will not do
- Mediating, negotiating or facilitating any contact between you and the tradesperson on your behalf.
- Recovering money paid to a tradesperson, refunding deposits, paying remedial costs, or making any award of any kind.
- Ordering, requiring or enforcing the tradesperson to return, complete, remedy or guarantee any work.
- Inspecting, surveying or certifying any work — we do not visit sites and do not view photographs or evidence of work.
- Confirming a tradesperson's current insurance, current Gas Safe / NICEIC / OFTEC status, or current trading status. That is your responsibility at the point of hire.
- Pricing disagreements where a written quote was agreed and the work was completed as quoted, or disputes about taste or finish that don't meet a defined standard.
Scope and limits of this process
- NI Trades is a directory and introduction service. We are not a regulator, ombudsman, court, insurer, indemnity scheme or trade body. We have no statutory enforcement power and no authority to bind a tradesperson.
- This process is a tool we use to manage who appears on our platform — nothing more. The only possible outcomes are no action, a warning, a suspension, or removal of the listing. We will not award compensation, recover money, enforce work, attend court, give evidence or take any other step on a customer's behalf.
- We will not act as your advocate, agent or representative in any dispute, complaint, claim, mediation, arbitration, regulatory process or legal proceeding. We will not write to the tradesperson on your behalf, will not draft demand letters, will not pursue refunds, and will not chase work to be completed.
- We will not share with you the tradesperson's response, our internal notes, evidence supplied by either party, the contents of our correspondence, or the tradesperson's personal data — save where compelled by a court order, statutory regulator request, or a properly served subject access request from a data subject under UK data protection law. Any such disclosure is made only to the party legally entitled to receive it.
- Lodging a report with us is not a substitute for, and does not extend, pause, toll or replace, your own legal rights, contractual rights or limitation periods. If you believe you have a contractual, consumer or other claim against a tradesperson, you should take independent legal advice promptly.
- Customer due diligence at the point of hire (verifying current insurance, current registrations, written quotes, payment terms, and never paying the full amount upfront) is mandatory and is the customer's responsibility — see our terms. This process is not a safety net for due diligence that wasn't done.
- Nothing in this policy creates any contractual obligation on NI Trades to investigate, intervene, mediate, adjudicate, communicate, share information, take any specific action or reach any specific outcome on any report. We retain absolute discretion over whether and how to act, and over what to disclose.
How to submit a report
Email hello@nitrades.co.uk or use the Report concern button on the tradesperson's profile. By submitting a report you acknowledge that this process is for platform-management purposes only and that NI Trades will not mediate, recover money, enforce work, share investigation details, or assist with any legal proceedings.
For our application-stage checks, see How we vet tradespeople. For your due-diligence obligations before any work or payment, see our Terms.