The Financial Protection Panel (FPP) was formed to make sure there were no gaps in consumer protection provision when using a TrustMark Registered Business. The FPP consists of two layers – the Finance Protection Oversight Panel supported by the Industry Assessment Panel.
The TrustMark Finance Protection Oversight Panel is comprised of independent, senior representatives from the legal, finance, insurance and regulatory sectors. They are responsible for assessing and endorsing the finance protection mechanisms submitted by finance protection providers looking to receive an ‘approved’ status for the use of their financial protection mechanism within the TrustMark scheme.
It is a mandatory requirement for the business to provide an ‘approved’ finance protection mechanism for all ECO installations. Non-ECO works must still include a minimum of a two-year finance protection mechanism for workmanship and product which meets the TrustMark finance protection requirements.
The Industry Assessment Panel is a representation of TrustMark Scheme Providers, all experts within their respective industry, who review each of the financial provider policies to ensure they are all offering a robust and impartial method of financial protection which is compliant with all industry-specific requirements.
This can vary between businesses but as a minimum must cover:
All work completed by a TrustMark Registered Business comes with a minimum two-year guarantee.
Minimum 25-year guarantees are mandatory for certain Energy Efficiency Measures under ECO. These include:
As part of the Customer Charter and the Code of Conduct, every TrustMark Registered Business must have a clear, fair and transparent complaints process. Businesses are monitored by their Scheme Provider and their work and practices are checked to make sure they are maintaining the high standards required, but occasionally things can go wrong. Most things can be resolved quickly and easily with the business directly but if this is not possible, our Disputes Resolution Process can take you through the steps to resolving an issue.
TrustMark offers a national ‘Trading Standards Approved’ option of a membership for its Registered Businesses as an additional level of customer confidence delivered through its primary authority partner, Buckinghamshire & Surrey Trading Standards. TrustMark actively works with Buckinghamshire and Surrey Trading Standards to ensure that our vetting criteria for businesses through our Scheme Providers and the operation of the TrustMark Quality scheme meets and exceeds their minimum standards.
Escrow is a legal arrangement in which a third party temporarily holds sums of money until a particular condition has been met, for example, completion of an agreed percentage of the works. TrustMark has partnered with Transpact (Europe’s leading escrow service) to provide this optional service for homeowners and businesses as an added level of protection.
It is a very low-cost, straightforward process. A contract is negotiated between the Registered Business and their customer, covering the works to be carried out, associated costings and what would trigger payments back to the consumer. These details and a schedule of payments and dates are agreed by both parties. Once the escrow proposal has been agreed upon and the monies transferred, both parties are protected.
The customer knows their money is completely safe, right up to the point that they are totally satisfied with the completed work, at which point it is released to the tradesperson. You can be sure you will only pay what was agreed, at the appropriate time and only when you are happy with the work that has been carried out.
