At the Association of Master Tradesmen all members agree to follow our code of conduct. We have a vetting process we follow and in turn expect a high standard of professionalism from all our members. We acknowledge that disputes can occur when building work is being undertaken and this often leads to a breakdown in communication between both parties. We take complaints against our members very seriously. If you have a dispute with a member and you wish to make a formal complaint, please follow our complaints procedure below.

Complaint Procedure

Before submitting a formal complaint, we ask that you first refer back to the guidance sheet sent to you at various points leading up to your build. If you feel that the builder in question has breached the terms of the contract, we advise you utilise their complaints procedure to try and agree a resolution.

If you would still like to make a formal complaint to us, please contact us to request a complaints form. All forms should be returned to us at info@mastertradesmen.co.uk addressed to our complaints team so that we can review and process it accordingly.

Our authority

We are a voluntary membership organisation and only have authority over members in relation to any work they have secured through us. We have no authority to issue fines and have no legal authority to prevent a member from trading. If we deem a member to have breached our code, we reserve the right to conduct an internal investigation and/or terminate membership at our discretion. This is an internal matter between the Association of Master Tradesmen and its member.

Where we cannot assist

The Association of Master Tradesmen is a consumer protection body and will help resolve a dispute with a member only if we have recommended them to you. Although we vet and check all builders before becoming a member, we cannot resolve any complaints about members if

• The company you have used was not recommended by us
• The company has ceased to be a member of the Association of Master Tradesmen
• The work in question was carried out more than three years ago
• Either party has involved a third party to resolve the dispute for example a Solicitor or Trading Standards, or if legal proceedings have commenced

Our process

We do our best to resolve any disputes between a customer and builder. All of our members have gone through a vetting process before becoming a member and they are expected to adhere to our code of conduct.  

When you use our service, you will have access to the support of an account manager who you can contact at any point leading up to the build and a service manager throughout the build if you need any advice or experience any issues. 

We try to mitigate any disputes from occurring by ensuring that customers are regularly sent our Essential Step Guide which includes advice on stage payment plans. We also have a contract template that we request is agreed and signed before any work commences.

Our terms

All complaints will be dealt with in line with the Association of Master Tradesmen’s complaints policy.

We are not responsible for paying any compensation.

You must have attempted to resolve the dispute directly with your builder before submitting a formal complaint to us.

Misrepresentation of Membership

We are aware that occasionally some building firms attempt to use our logos and name without being an active member. It goes against our policy to allow companies who are no longer members to continue to use our logo and make false claims of membership. We take these matters very seriously and will investigate all claims. Failure to remove the content and wording will result in us reporting the companies in question to our legal team or to the  local Trading Standards who are the statutory body and can escalate the matter.