Frequently asked questions

Yes. Posting a job and receiving expressions of interest from tradespeople is free for homeowners. We never charge a homeowner to use the platform.

For most trades and most NI towns, the first expression of interest arrives within a few hours of posting. We cap each job at three responses to keep things manageable for you and to keep tradespeople from being spammed.

No. Tradespeople see only the job description, town and timing. Your name, phone and email are revealed only when you choose to connect with a specific tradesperson by responding to their expression of interest.

Yes. From your dashboard you can close a job at any time — when you've hired, when the work is no longer needed, or for any other reason. Closing a job stops further notifications going to tradespeople.

Every tradesperson goes through application-stage checks only: government-issued photo ID, public liability insurance certificate (minimum £1m) confirmed in force on the date of our review, two contactable references nominated by the applicant, and any statutory or industry credentials claimed (Gas Safe, NICEIC, CSCS and similar) checked against the relevant public register on the day of application. Our checks are not ongoing — we do not run scheduled, periodic or real-time monitoring after a profile goes live. See the full methodology and limits on our How we vet tradespeople page.

No. The Verified badge confirms only that we received and reviewed the required documents at application stage on a specific date. It is not an endorsement, accreditation, certification or guarantee of competence, conduct, current status or work quality. Customers must always agree a written quote, verify identity, and ask the tradesperson directly for proof of current insurance and any statutory credentials before work begins and before any money is paid. Customer due diligence is essential — NI Trades is an introduction service only.

References are nominated by the tradesperson themselves. We contact each reference by email or phone only. We do not visit any site, do not inspect any completed or in-progress work, do not view photographs or other evidence of work, and we have no way of independently verifying the identity of the referee or the relationship they describe. The reference check is an indicative application-stage check. It is not a substitute for the customer's own due diligence on a specific job — if you want to rely on references for a particular hire, contact references directly yourself and request your own evidence.

We do not run ongoing or scheduled re-checks of insurance. A public liability policy can lapse, be cancelled, be refused renewal, or be revoked at any time after our application-stage check (for example through non-payment of premium by the tradesperson, mid-term cancellation by the insurer, or refusal of renewal) and we are not notified when this happens. Customers must always ask the tradesperson directly for proof of current insurance immediately before any work begins and before any money is paid — the responsibility to verify live cover at the point of hire sits with the customer, not with NI Trades.

Yours, as the customer. NI Trades is an introduction service. Our checks happen at the point of application only and reflect what we saw on a specific date. Before work begins and before any money changes hands you must satisfy yourself directly with the tradesperson as to current insurance cover, current statutory credentials (Gas Safe, NICEIC, etc. — verify the registration number on the relevant public register on the day of hire), identity, written quote and scope. NI Trades has no part in that decision and accepts no responsibility for it.

Only homeowners who posted a job through NI Trades and recorded a hire can leave a review for that tradesperson. We don't accept open public review submissions, which makes review-bombing or fake-positive review campaigns much harder to execute.

A tradesperson can flag any review as inaccurate or in breach of our terms. Our trust & safety team investigates and removes reviews that don't meet our standards (e.g. abusive language, content unrelated to the work, suspected non-customer authorship).

You can choose the Starter free trial — 3 months free, capped at 5 responses in total — or sign up directly on a paid plan. Listed membership is £30/month and Featured is £55/month, billed from the date your application is approved. There are no per-lead charges, no bidding wars and no contracts.

You receive notifications for open jobs that match your trade and the area you cover. You decide which jobs to express interest in. Each job is capped at three responding tradespeople so you aren't bidding against a long queue.

Use the Report concern button on the tradesperson's profile, or email us. We acknowledge reports within 2 working days and aim to conclude investigations within 10 working days. See our Complaints policy for the full process.

Substantiated complaints result in a formal warning. Three active warnings trigger automatic suspension pending senior review. In serious cases (safety, dishonesty, fraud) we suspend or remove a tradesperson immediately.