A new research report from TrustMark “Consumer Protection in home improvements: Building a consumer centric approach” reveals the lack of consumers’ knowledge and understanding about the protections that should be in place before they have home improvement work done.

It underlines not only the serious need for changes to consumer protection when home improvements are carried out, but also where improvements can be made for consumers along the whole project journey.

  • Two-thirds of homeowners didn’t receive a contract before work starts
  • Only 24% homeowners expect to get information about how to complain from their tradespeople
  • Nearly a quarter of homeowners having work done experienced a serious problem

TrustMark’s research, carried out with over 1,500 homeowners, also shows a worryingly low expectation of receiving information that should be provided at the start of a job. The top three pieces of information that homeowners expected to receive were price (82%), a full job specification (71%) and payment terms (68%).  Information about how to complain and what redress they had sat towards the bottom of their expectations with less than a quarter (24%) expecting to get this information.

Overall, less than 6 in 10 households (58%) reported getting all of the information they expected.

Charlotte Carter, TrustMark’s chief operating office, remarks:

“Given the cost of home improvements along with the pressures on general cost of living increases, it’s not surprising homeowners have such a focus on how much work is going to cost and how they pay for it. But any improvement work in our homes is an investment – financially and emotionally and it’s vital that people know how they’re protected, who by and where to go if something goes wrong.”

This is further borne out by the finding that consumer knowledge of protections in home improvements significantly lags behind other ‘big ticket’ transactions such as new car purchases, holidays and financial services. Only 18% of homeowners interviewed rated their knowledge of protections as high compared to those other sectors. This rose to just 25% when asked of homeowners with recent experience of work being done.

Carter continues:

“There has been a huge amount of change and consumer education in sectors such as financial services, car purchase and holidays over recent years. Items like holidays and financial products such as credit cards are also more likely to be purchased more frequently than a new kitchen or a heat pump so it’s understandable that people feel better informed in these areas. However, this reinforces the need for better, consistent and accurate information to be provided across home improvements.”

Responses to the research indicated that some types of improvement projects are more susceptible to having problems. The top three were:

  • 42% of homeowners reported having serious problems with low carbon projects including heat pumps and solar panels
  • 41% had serious problems with extensions including loft extensions
  • 38% had serious problems with insulation measures

Some of this may be attributable to low carbon technologies being less well-understood which underlines the need for better information and technical advice to be provided in advance.

And when something does go wrong, 73% felt that if they have a problem with a tradesperson, they wouldn’t know where to go for redress.

But homeowners have very clear views on what they thought would improve things for them:

  • 87% of homeowners wanted one place to go for information that is accurate and can be trusted
  • 78% wanted a single ‘kitemark’ quality standard for all tradespeople to give them confidence

These two asks also topped the rankings amongst the six suggestions for improving their awareness and decision making. The remaining four were: an easy to access and understand complaints system, simple quality standards, clear financial security and free technical advice.

The research report points to seven key changes to improve consumer outcomes. The report is being shared across the Repair, Maintenance and Improvement (RMI) sector, with consumer organisations and government departments to enable further discussion and alignment on how change can be brought about and to support the Government’s current consultation on Consumer Protection Reform.

The key changes are:

  • Delivery of a trusted, easily accessible source of information
  • Independent technical advice
  • Access to information on skills, accreditation levels and competence of installers
  • Requirement for a standardised home improvement contract
  • Requirement for remediation for faulty product and/or workmanship with specific financial protection
  • A unified complaints systems with a single-entry point
  • Mandatory financial protection that is affordable for tradespeople

In summary, Carter says;

“What came through loud and clear in our research is that consumers want simplification, clarity and surety when they invest in having work done in their home. These three things across all areas provide the basis for helping people to be better informed, make better decisions and achieve better results.

“Tradespeople have their part to play too by providing clear, comprehensive information up front and at the end of a job, and ensuring the right financial protections and guarantees are in place. In fact, the NHIC report on financial protection recommends moving to a minimum six-years’ cover period to improve consistency of protections offered. Add to these a single point of help for consumers to turn to when something does go wrong, and we have a much stronger system of consumer protection.”