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Our standard

How we vet installers

We are finalising our vetting standard before we accept any installer, and we would rather say that than publish a list of checks we are not yet running. No enquiry will be passed to anyone until the standard below is agreed and applied.

Our name makes a claim, so this page exists to be held to. If anything here is not true of an installer we matched you with, tell us and we will stop sending them enquiries.

Issue status

FOR COMMENT

Not yet in force

Installers passed
0
Enquiries passed on
None

A drawing is issued for comment before it is issued for construction. This is the comment issue.

The six checks below are the standard we are putting in place. Until it is in force we do not pass an enquiry to anyone, so there is no gap between what this page says and what happens to your details.

Until then
No installer is listed, and the enquiry form takes no details for a town without one.
When it goes live
This stamp reads In force, the page carries the date, and the checks are applied to every installer before their first enquiry.

Schedule of checks

The standard we are putting in place

6 checks

  1. 01

    Registered company, checked at Companies House

    We confirm the company exists, who the directors are, how long it has traded, and that it is not in liquidation or subject to a strike-off notice.

    Proposed
  2. 02

    Public liability insurance, seen and in date

    We ask for the certificate, check the cover level and the expiry date, and ask again when it lapses. An installer whose cover has expired stops receiving enquiries.

    Proposed
  3. 03

    FENSA, CERTASS or Assure registration

    Replacement windows and doors in England and Wales must comply with building regulations. A registered installer can self-certify that work and issue you a certificate. We verify the registration number against the scheme.

    Proposed
  4. 04

    An insurance-backed guarantee

    A written guarantee is only as good as the company standing behind it. An insurance-backed guarantee means the cover survives if the installer does not, which is the protection that matters most.

    Proposed
  5. 05

    Previous customers, contacted

    We ask for recent customers and we speak to them. Not a reference letter, an actual conversation about how the job went and what happened when something needed putting right.

    Proposed
  6. 06

    Reviewed on an ongoing basis

    Vetting at sign-up is not vetting. We follow up on the enquiries we pass over, and an installer who stops answering them, or who generates complaints, stops receiving them.

    Proposed

The line

What vetting is not

We are being specific about this because the word gets used loosely. Vetting an installer is not the same as guaranteeing their work, and we are not in a position to do the second one.

  • We do not inspect the job or sign it off. Your installer’s competent person scheme does that.
  • We do not hold your money, and no payment should ever come to us.
  • We are not party to your contract, so a dispute is between you and the installer. We will still want to hear about it.
  • We do not have reviews or ratings, because the service is new and we are not going to invent them.

Ten minutes, well spent

Checks worth doing yourself

Whoever quotes you, and however they reached you, these take ten minutes and are worth it on a job costing thousands.

  1. 01 Look the company up at Companies House. Check how long it has traded and whether there is a strike-off notice.
  2. 02 Check the FENSA or CERTASS number on the scheme’s own website, not just on the quote.
  3. 03 Ask for the public liability certificate and look at the expiry date.
  4. 04 Ask what happens to your deposit if they go under, and get the answer in writing.
  5. 05 Pay any deposit by credit card where you can. Section 75 protection on a card is worth having.

Questions

Asked about the checks

What does FENSA or CERTASS registration actually mean?
They are competent person schemes. A registered installer can self-certify that your replacement windows comply with building regulations and issue you a certificate, instead of you having to make a building control application yourself.
What is an insurance-backed guarantee?
A written guarantee from an installer is worthless if the installer goes out of business. An insurance-backed guarantee is underwritten separately, so the cover survives the company. It is the single most useful protection on a job of this size.
Do you take money from installers?
Yes. Installers pay us for the introduction, which is how the service is free to you. It does not change what they quote, and it does not buy anyone a place on the list: an installer who fails the checks does not get enquiries at any price.

TrustedGlazing is an introducer, not an installer, and holds no FENSA, CERTASS or Assure registration of its own. Those registrations belong to the installer.