For many finding the right plumber, electrician or builder can be extremely difficult, at the best of times, but now according to a new report many have been jeopardising there home insurance policies by unwittingly hiring under qualified or cowboy tradesmen.

According to the new poll carried out by Lloyds TSB for the Times newspaper, certain traders have been causing significant amounts of damage to people's homes and in some of the worst cases people have had to claim on their home insurance policies pushing up their own premiums. The poll had discovered that over 4.6 million inadequate repair jobs had been carried out by tradesman within the last year in the UK.

Unlicenced handymen reeking havoc

The poll had also discovered that due to substandard work being carried out by tradesman one in 10 Brits have had to claim on their insurance policies to correct damage to roofs and conservatries, this works out as a 16 per cent rise from last year. In some cases, it costs up to £1,250 to rectify the damage done and the main culprits for poor repair work were found to be unregistered plumbers and builders.

With so many tradesman to choose from it is hard to know where to go to find that right man or woman for the job. The best and most obvious way to get the right person for the job is to get a recommendation from a friend; many tradesmen will tell you that more often than not most of their business comes from word of mouth recommendations rather than advertising.

Failing that there are other ways to find a tradesman rather than picking one out of a hat, there are plenty of registered organisations which allow tradesman to join as long as they are deemed to be reputable. Having the accreditation can put many customers' minds at rest but it is important to remember that not all of them may be genuine.

Things aren't always as they seem

The average man or woman on the street sees that a plumber is a member of the plumber's guild they may think that it's a reputable tradesman, but the average person on the street doesn't know if the plumbers guild is true or not. The thing to remember is not to take it as face value, always do your research into the organisations tradesmen claim to be a member of.

There is another way to find the right tradesman which combines elements of the two previous ways of finding the right person for the job. Checkatrade is a website that tradesmen sign up to allowing their customers to write a review on the quality and service of the job they have carried out. Much like many hotel review websites people looking for a tradesman can read reviews and judge for themselves if they wish to hire them.

Finding the right person for the job can be hard at the best of times and without a trusted tradesman to call on it can be risky, and hiring the wrong person can lead to your home being damaged and having to claim on your home insurance policy. The best advice for many is to carry out research and to get more than just one quote, many tradesmen will carry out a good job but there are a few bad eggs that will look to cut corners and causing even more damage to your home.