We take all complaints seriously and aim to address your concerns thoroughly, promptly, and politely.

The NABC’s legal authority 

The NABC is a voluntary membership body, not a government regulator. As such we only have authority over our members in relation to their membership with us. We have no authority to issue fines, compel a member to start or to complete a project or prevent a member from trading.

Making a complaint about an NABC Trade Member

Please contact us using the contact details below, detailing the nature of your complaint, your contact details and your preferred method of communication i.e telephone or email. It is preferred that formal complaints are made in writing.

info@nabc.org.uk 

or

01752 936 733

Often, we will be able to give you a response straight away. When the matter is more complicated, we will provide an initial response within 10 working days.

We aim to resolve all customer complaints as quickly as possible. The length of time will depend on the issues involved. If it is not possible to reach a prompt conclusion, we will contact you with an explanation, and set out
expected timescales for when matters should be resolved.

We aim to resolve all of our customer complaints internally. If, however, you are not satisfied with the outcome of our complaint’s procedure, you can escalate your complaint to an independent alternative dispute resolution service.

We take complaints against members of our scheme very seriously. We will listen to your complaint, record the details and act where appropriate.

Please notify us of complaints as soon as practically possible and no later than 12 months from the incident.

We can only deal with complaints about members National Association of Building Contractors.

If you would like us to, we can contact the business on your behalf to find out what has happened and what the business intends to do given the situation.

What we will do

·    Listen to both parties.

·    Aim to maintain impartiality and fairness in view of the dispute.

·    Aim to empower both parties to resolve their dispute.

·    Attempt to bring both parties together.

·    Consider membership status for businesses who refuse to deal with customer complaints fairly.

What we cannot do

·    Resolve disputes or make decisions for or on behalf of individuals or businesses.

·    Make judgements or awards for compensation on any individual or business.

·    Prevent a member from trading.

·    We are unable to assist if the company has ceased to be a member of NABC.

·    We are not responsible for paying compensation or making a financial award.

·    We cannot become involved if either party has commenced legal proceedings or employed/involved a third party to resolve the dispute for example a Solicitor, Trading Standards or another trade body.

·    Complaints need to be submitted by those in the contractual relationship with our member (the consumer), or by the member themselves.

·    Where the work in question has been carried out more than two years ago

If a dispute cannot be resolved, we would advise the following:

Write to the business setting out what has happened, and the remedy sought. This should be concise and include only matters relevant to the complaint.

Hopefully this will open a dialogue where both parties can respond setting out their summary of what has happened and proposed remedies.

It is important for both parties to try and negotiate to reach a satisfactory and workable solution.

If a solution cannot be found, after everyone has set out their position, or if one party refuses to engage, you will need to escalate your complaint.

Additional options:

If you need legal advice and help with your complaint, please contact the Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 03454 04 05 06.

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/

or 

Start a claim in the County Court, details can be found at https://www.gov.uk/make-court-claim-for-money

Please note: National Association of Building Contractors is a platform to assist in finding local builders, we do not take responsibility for work carried out or undertaken by our members.

Hiring Checklist – What to do before hiring

We try our hardest to examine every business before allowing them to use our service.

References or Reviews.

Any previous customers that have hired the builder may have left a review. We check the review to see how their experience went. We may also may check references via phone or email that the builder will have supplied upon joining. 

Public Liability insurance.

We strongly advise that our builders have public liability insurance however not all have uploaded proof of cover.

 

Where we have not checked public liability we will make clear when you request this information via our help
desk info@nabc.org.uk

Important 

 

Can you see work they have done in the past?

 

Have you looked online for other 3rd party reviews for this trade?

 

If it is a large job have you checked other details like their LTD company status?

 

Have you checked their up to date public liability insurance?