Terms

The rules for using Trades Vetted, whether you're looking for a trade or listed as one.

Last updated 29 September 2026

1. Who we are

Trades Vetted is run by GC Software Systems, Office 4, 25 High Street, Rainham, Gillingham, Kent, ME8 7HX. "We" and "us" means GC Software Systems. You can reach us through our contact form.

2. What vetting means, and what it doesn't

Before a trade goes live, a real person checks their public liability insurance, their scheme membership where their trade has one, and, for limited companies, their Companies House record. We keep checking: when insurance expires, the listing comes down until we've seen the new certificate.

Vetting tells you a trade was insured and accredited when we checked. It does not mean we have inspected their work, and it is not a guarantee of quality, price or conduct. We don't take part in any job. Your contract for any work is with the trade, not with us.

Always get a written quote, ask questions, and check anything that matters to you before work starts.

3. For customers

• Using the site is free.
• Use the enquiry form to contact trades about genuine jobs only. No spam, selling or abuse. We'll block anyone who misuses it.
• If you think a listed trade isn't what we say they are, for example their insurance has lapsed, please tell us. We'll look into it.

4. For trades: your listing

• A listing is free. Vetting can never be bought, and paying for a sponsored spot never affects our checks.
• Everything you tell us and upload must be true, current and yours. Sending false or altered documents gets your listing removed for good.
• We decide who we list. We can ask for more information, decline an application, or suspend or remove a listing, for example when insurance lapses, a scheme membership ends, or we receive a complaint we believe is justified.
• Keep your insurance current. We remind you before it expires, and we hide your listing as soon as it has expired, until we've approved your new certificate.
• You can change your description, phone number, photos and the towns you cover at any time. Adding or removing a trade, or changing your website, is checked by us before it shows. Your business name, company and address are what we vetted, so they are locked: if they change, contact us so we can check them again.
• You are responsible for replying to the enquiries you receive and for handling customers' details lawfully once you have them.
• You can close your account at any time from your account page. That removes your listing and your documents straight away.

5. For trades: the Trades Vetted badge

While your listing is live, you may show the Trades Vetted badge on your website, linking to your listing. You may not change it, use it anywhere else, or keep using it once your listing is suspended or removed. If your listing is not live, the badge stops showing.

6. For trades: sponsored listings

• A sponsored spot puts your listing at the top of the page for one trade in one town, clearly labelled "Sponsored". There are a limited number of spots per page, shown in a random order. It buys visibility, never vetting.
• It's a monthly subscription, paid in advance through PayPal, at the price shown when you sign up. Each page you sponsor is a separate subscription.
• You can cancel at any time. No more payments are taken, and your spot stays until the end of the month you've paid for. We don't refund part months.
• If we raise the price, it applies to new sponsors only. Founding Members keep their price for as long as they stay subscribed without a break.
• If a payment fails and PayPal can't collect it after its retries, the sponsorship ends and your listing goes back to a free listing.
• While your listing is suspended, your sponsored spot is hidden but the subscription continues, so fix what's needed quickly or cancel. If we remove your listing for breaking these terms, we cancel your sponsorship and no refund is due.
• A trade or town you sponsor has to stay on your listing while the sponsorship runs.

7. Our responsibility to you

We work hard to keep the site accurate and available, but we can't promise it will always be available or free of errors.

We are not responsible for work carried out by any trade listed on the site, or for any loss arising from dealings between customers and trades. For sponsored listings, our total liability to you is limited to the amount you've paid us in the 12 months before the claim.

Nothing in these terms limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud, or for anything else the law doesn't allow us to exclude. If you're using the site as a consumer, your statutory rights are not affected.

8. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms. We'll change the date at the top, and we'll email listed trades before any significant change takes effect.

9. The law

These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have jurisdiction. If you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland, you can also bring proceedings in your local courts.

Questions? Contact us. How we use personal data is covered in our privacy policy.