TrustMark Blog

As Britain basks (or languishes) in a fairly powerful heatwave, recent findings suggest that very hot, dry summers could become the norm for the foreseeable future. Traditionally a nation of radiators rather than air conditioners, when it comes to cooling down most British homes lack more than an electric fan (currently selling out at an impressive rate), contrasting sharply with the US where 100 million homes are thought to be air conditioned.

TrustMark would naturally advise all members of the public to look out for the TrustMark logo when selecting a tradesperson to carry out work on their home. This logo indicates the tradesperson has been thoroughly vetted and has had their work independently inspected by experts, ensuring they can deliver the level of competence and quality consumers should be able to rely on. The potential danger is that, while rare, there are businesses that claim to be TrustMark members (or to have other memberships and accreditations), which may not be the case.

At TrustMark we completely understand that a personal recommendation from a previously satisfied customer can be the best thing for a business. As such it is no surprise that websites allowing customers to provide reviews of work carried out by tradespeople in their homes have been tremendously popular with both businesses and consumers.

The 2018 National Energy Efficiency Awards takes place in Birmingham in September. This annual event celebrates the excellent work done by the Energy Efficiency sector, encouraging best practice within the Energy Industry as it works towards improving the UK housing stock.

June is now upon us and with the summer comes Scam Awareness Month, 2018. This annual event is geared to boosting awareness, educating businesses and consumers alike about the everyday risks they are exposed to, with the aim of empowering them to better protect themselves.

Given the abundance of information, debate and advice that has proliferated the upcoming GDPR regulations, no one that uses the Internet can have escaped hearing about this issue in recent months. In spite (or perhaps because) of this information overload – while many people are clear that GDPR will affect them, exactly how may remain more of a mystery. The mass of information available may not be clear to the less technically-inclined, and some of it seems to be contradictory.

UK spring bank holidays are so synonymous with DIY, that retailers use store performance on these days as sales indicators for the rest of the spring and summer period. If the weather is fine, Britain heads to the garden or beach beaches with barbeques, pools and even some sun tan lotion; if it rains, as it invariably does, home improvement becomes the alternative activity for the weekend.

As we near the middle of Spring, while the weather may continue to disappoint – at least we can be cheered by lighter mornings and longer evenings. Unfortunately, there is a darker side of summer to be aware of as yearly statistics show longer daylight hours can also bring thieves out of hibernation, with opportunistic burglary rising sharply after the clocks have gone forward.

Always a challenge to any business, fuelled by concerns over Brexit and the fluctuating pound the problem of delayed or late payments is reaching epidemic proportions – and is potentially fatal for the smaller business. Indeed, it is estimated that 50,000 businesses close each year due to late payments, costing the economy £2.5bn.

We are seeing more and more news concerning scammers targeting homes. While this is nothing new in itself, these scammers are increasingly creative in how they go about their murky business.