trustmark accredited
Serving Edinburgh, Southern & Central Scotland
What Does Trustmark Accreditation Mean?
TrustMark is the Government-Endorsed Quality Scheme covering work that consumers choose to have carried out in or around their home.
To gain TrustMark accreditation, Thomson Trees had to prove they are a reputable business, with the appropriate competencies and consumer protection measures in place. Not only is the company’s work covered by TrustMark, but its employees are too.What is the Trust in trustmark?
You can have confidence a TrustMark business will:
- Comply with the Customer Charter and work to the operational requirements set out in the Code of Conduct (business behaviours) and the Codes of Practice (technical standards) relevant to the work completed
- Provide accurate performance claims for any home heating, insulation, energy-saving or energy-generation installations, and supply products and services that perform as promised
- Carry out a proper testing and handover process, so you understand how things work and how they should be maintained
- Follow processes correctly, attend appointments as agreed, and work the hours they say they will
- Be responsive, approachable, and treat you fairly and with respect
- Communicate clearly and in good time so you always know what is happening — for example, if they are running late for an appointment or if anything changes
- Be mindful of vulnerable customers
- Respect the sanctity of your home and agree any access requirements with you in advance
- Keep their work area safe, with a minimum of disruption, ensuring it is tidy at the close of each day
- Protect your personal information in compliance with data protection regulations
- Take time to understand your circumstances so that any advice given is suitable and takes account of your needs
- Supply goods and services in line with your consumer rights
- Be open about who they are and what they do, and ensure the same transparency for any subcontractors or third parties acting on their behalf
- Follow fair marketing practices, including avoiding misleading advertising
- Observe ‘no cold calling’ zones and stickers, avoid high-pressure selling techniques, and ensure any third parties acting on their behalf do the same
- Explain the benefits of the TrustMark scheme and signpost you to the Information Hub
- Provide clear, accurate and easy-to-understand information about products and services
- Inform you if any additional legal or technical consents are required for the planned work
- Explain what will happen next, and when, keeping you updated on progress before, during and after the point of sale
- Provide a clear, detailed and itemised written quotation, along with understandable terms and conditions
- Signpost you to independent advice before you sign a contract
- Explain your cancellation rights, where appropriate
- Offer fair pricing and contracts with no hidden costs or penalties
- Provide a free initial complaints process and ensure there are no barriers to contacting them with queries, requests, concerns or complaints
- Take responsibility for any issues where they may be at fault and seek to resolve them with minimal disruption
- Signpost you to their Alternative Dispute Resolution service and the TrustMark complaints process
- Use customer feedback to improve how they operate
What are my responsibilities as a customer?
- Check that the business you wish to work with is TrustMark registered for the relevant trade(s)
- Provide the necessary access to your property and make clear any special requirements that could affect the work — for example, parking, toilet facilities, pets, children, neighbours, materials storage, home security, boundaries or party wall agreements
- Ensure you have the correct Building Regulations, planning and environmental permissions in place for the work on your home
- Make sure you have a signed contract before work starts. This should cover:
- the correct Building Regulations, planning and environmental permissions
- delegation of Health & Safety (CDM) responsibilities
- how variations to the contract will be recorded
- Take independent advice where necessary and make use of the resources available on the Information Hub to help guide your decisions
- Raise any concerns with the TrustMark business as early as possible so they can be discussed and resolved promptly
- Be on time for appointments and treat the business’s staff, tradespeople and subcontractors with respect
- Pay on time and in accordance with the terms of the agreed contract
- If you do have a complaint, follow the TrustMark process outlined at https://www.trustmark.org.uk/consumers/if-things-go-wrong
Look no further. Thomson Trees is a TrustMark-accredited tree surgery company and ARB Approved Contractor based just outside Edinburgh. We offer a full range of tree services, all backed by government-endorsed accreditation, giving you complete peace of mind that you are employing a trusted and professional contractor.