Countless homeowners employ tradesmen such as builders and plumbers when engaging in improvements to their home or in other building projects each year. While many people do not encounter any trouble at all, those that do, are put into a tough position. Before employing these types of tradesmen, the consumer should do their research to avoid becoming the victim of unprofessional workmanship. By doing their research, consumers may be able to avoid conflict. Of course, if problems do occur, the consumer can seek the protection of the law, but this can be a very stressful situation. Best to avoid going that far by relying on personal recommendation or the approval of a trade organisation.

Ask friends and neighbours if they can recommend anyone. If possible, view the work that was done for them. Be wary of people ringing you up or knocking on your door, especially if they want you to sign up to a special deal on the spot.

Be equally cautious of advertising which comes through the door, particularly adverts which only have a telephone number. Anyone can claim to be a builder,decorator,etc.

To determine this, you could also ask the if they have a permanent business address. Established traders are less likely to disappear in the middle of a job.

This may give you some extra security as some associations have protection schemes or will help to resolve disputes. Ring the association to find out what protection it offers, and to check if the trader is indeed a member.

If you don't know anyone personally who has used the builder, this question will be pertinent.

This question is important because even if the builder is reputable and has done good work in the past, mistakes can happen. You don't want part of your house ruined by these mistakes, with you left to foot the bill, nor do you want to be left with a massive bill for any damage done to your neighbour's property should something go wrong.

If the guarantee is insurance-backed, then you will have protection should the builder's company, for some unfortunate reason, go out of business. If the guarantee is their own, you will not. See below for more information on that topic.

Guarantees are in addition to your legal rights, not instead of.

If the work is covered by a guarantee scheme, the name of the scheme and any registration number should be included in your written agreement. The two different types of guarantees are descibed below:

Traders' own guarantees - If they go out of business, the guarantee is worthless. But don't forget that you have rights whether or not you have a trader guarantee.

Insurance-backed guarantees - An insurance-backed scheme protects you if your trader goes out of business. It is underwritten by an insurance company. Insurance-backed schemes may well be tied in with a trade association and sometimes association members are vetted before they are able to participate.

• Ask at least three traders to quote on your work.
• Make sure they give you a quote for a fixed price and not an estimate (a guess which could go up later).
• Be specific about what you want when asking for quotes, so that the traders are giving a price for the same work.
• Check that all the things you asked for are covered in each quote.
• Choose the quote which offers best value for money, taking into account not only price but also reputation for quality and reliability.
• Don't be pressured into getting work done that you can't afford.

Don't let fast-talking cowboy builders who just happen to be 'in your area' talk you into a spur-of-the-moment decision that you later regret.

Never accept lifts to banks from salesmen for you to collect money for the deposit; they may disappear with your cash.

Never give your credit card details over the phone in response to a sales call.

If you are interested in the deal being offered:

• Ask for written information about it and any discounts on offer.
• Ask the questions listed above.
• Don't sign up to anything on the spot. Shop around to check whether it really is the best deal for you. If the seller says you can't have time to think about it, ask why not.

When you ask someone like a builder, plumber, electrician, or gas installer to carry out a service, you have entered into a legally binding contract with that tradesman. The tradesman's obligations when you enter that contract are defined as follows:

• The terms of the contract between you and the tradesman you appoint.
• The Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982.

This act adds a number of terms to the contract in order to protect all consumers. While this act does not apply in Scotland, Scottish common law provides similar protection. According to the act, if the contract does not specify prices and dates it must be completed in a reasonable time and for a reasonable price. In addition, the work must be done with reasonable skill and care and done with materials of satisfactory quality.

• The Defective Premises Act 1972.

If you employ professionals in the construction of a new house they are subject to the provisions of the Defective Premises Act 1972. This act imposes duties on builders, developers, architects and other professionals involved in the design or construction of new homes. This does not include minor works or home improvement type works. If at the end of job, the home is unfit for habitation because of poor workmanship, those builders are liable to put everything right. This act does not apply in Scotland.

Most complaints about tradesmen services arise because the terms of the contract have not been fully explained. Common complaints when dealing with moderate to large projects include:

• The price charged
• The standard of work
• The time it takes to complete a job

In order to avoid problems, these items should be agreed upon beforehand and written down. The time it takes to complete the job will be more complex if it is a bigger project. If this is the case, the contract may have to stipulate a number of stages that have to be finished before proceeding to completion.

This may not be necessary when dealing with relatively minor refurbishment work, which consumers most frequently use. In these cases, the consumer should have a number of tradesmen provide them an estimate for doing the work. It is important to remember that estimates are only rough guides and not legally binding.

Once a particular tradesman is chosen, he/she must be asked to provide a full written quotation or an estimate. You can do this using our Request an estimate or quotation for building work document. A quotation is a fixed price and cannot be changed later by either party; whilst an estimate is an educated guess on what the work might cost. You may find that the builder is more likely to give you an estimate than a quotation.

You should find out if the tradesman is going to use subcontractors to do parts of the job. If so, you should indicate that you will hold him responsible for any defects in the work of the subcontractor.

Before allowing a tradesman to start working, a contract should be drawn up. If you want to draw up your own contract for minor household work you can use our small-scale building contract. This document provides an agreement for a contractor to carry out small works to premises. There is provision to allow a change to the work to be carried out. However, there must be a signed memorandum setting out the changes that have been agreed and the extra cost involved.

A building contract should include at least the following terms:

• Your name and the name of the tradesman
• The technical details, plans and materials that will be used
• The date work will start
• The date work will end. A certain amount of flexibility should be allowed for external work, which might depend on the weather. However it might be appropriate to include a penalty clause where the builder will have to pay a sum for every day's delay in completion
• The fact recorded in writing that 'time is of the essence', if it is important to you that the work is completed by a certain time
• The name of the person who has to obtain any necessary planning permission
• The name of the tradesman's insurer
• Provision for the tradesman to put right any defective work and pay for any damage to the property
• A term stating that the site will be left in a tidy state at the end of every day and at the end of the job
• If possible, a provision that part of the fee will not be paid until the work has been inspected and any defects corrected
• Provision for either you or the builder to end the contract
• The total cost of the job and how it will be paid. If the cost based on the number of hours worked, the maximum number of hours it will take

If you are presented with a contract that has already been written, you should not sign it until you have read it. If you disagree with any of the terms you should ask the tradesman to remove them or come to an agreement about alternative terms.

Always check for unfair terms in the small print in any contract you sign. A term which is weighted in favour of the trader may be unfair. Sometimes traders try to use standard terms in their contracts to avoid responsibility if things go wrong. You are not bound by terms which are unfair.

Common types of unfair term are those which:

• Allow the trader to vary the terms of the contract, for example by putting up the price, without giving you the right to cancel.
• Stop you holding back part of the payment if the work turns out to be faulty.
• Make you lose prepayments if the trader cancels the contract.

You have the right to be told, in plain language, all standard contract terms before you sign the contract. For further information, refer to this article.

Whether you have cancellation rights depends on how you ordered the work you want done.

You have cancellation rights for some home improvements services (such as double glazing) which you buy from a door-to-door salesperson who has called at your home uninvited, or who has called at a time they arranged with you during an unsolicited phonecall. But these rights only apply to home repairs and improvements and not to major building work such as a house extension.

If you do have cancellation rights, you must be given a cancellation notice in writing when you agree to buy the service. If the trader does not give you one, they cannot enforce the contract. You must tell the trader in writing within seven days of signing the contract that you want to cancel.

If you buy this way, as long as there are no face-to-face meetings (not even a site visit) before you buy, you may also have cancellation rights. You must tell the trader in writing within seven working days if you want to cancel. You may lose your right to cancel if the work has started before the seven days are up, you were warned about this before you agreed to buy and you have agreed to the work starting.

If you pay for home improvements work through a credit arrangement in which a contractor lends you money or arranges for you to borrow money from a creditor, you might have cancellation rights or time to change your mind. You can change your mind if you or the creditor haven't yet signed the credit agreement. Also, you will normally have a right to cancel the credit agreement if you have signed it at home, in which case there should be a cancellation box on your copy of the agreement telling you what to do. But there are tight time limits, so act quickly. If you cancel the credit, the agreement with the trader for the work will also be cancelled. Confirm this in writing with the trader.