Finding Artisans / tradesmen on the Internet

[vickybear]

I obtained the names of two 'artisans' from a very flashy website through a Google search. The website states that all their recommended tradesmen in France are 'prescreened professionals'. Indeed, the website looks very professional and would lead you to believe that all is as it seems.

Of the two tradesmen who called to quote, neither was registered to work in France. Neither had SIRET numbers ( although one gave me a number which I swear was  a Halifax bank account number! ) and I subsequently found out one had no previous building experience in the UK despite quoting us on plumbing and building work. The tradesmen can post references to support their work. I have found the exact same reference posted by 3 tradesmen for the exact same work on the exact same property! Unlikely I would have thought? The joys of 'cut and paste' eh?

I have emailed the website 3 times to ask how they pre-screen their tradesmen and to point out the reference issue.  The emails were sent through their 'contact us and we will get back to you' link.  Did they get back to me? Nope!

Just to warn those of you still looking for tradesmen to beware. We have found that when you are lucky enough to get one genuine tradesman he will invariably know others in different fields. Or, of course just ask your neighbours....

Please PM for the website name. If you want to check a SIRET number, the artisan'anglais site has some links to follow for easy checks. One of them actually tells you what the tradesmen are registered for to do.

[pjm]

If anyone needs to check a Siret number then go to www.infobilan.fr it gives all the registration details.  Some so called "companies" are in actual fact one man bands, so you may need to search the name of the actual tradesman to find his Siret and registration details, as the "company" is not registered in it's own right.

That said, you still need to ask your tradesman for a copy of his decennale insurace, to ensure he is covered for the all trades he is performing.  No "find a builder" type sites check insurace details as far as I know?

Patrick J Martin

PJM Renovation eurl