Rated People is structurally different from Checkatrade and Which? Trusted Traders. It is a lead-generation marketplace: customers post jobs, tradespeople pay credits to bid, and the customer chooses from the bidders. Reviews are part of the proposition, but the commercial engine is the lead, not the badge.
A consumer posts a job (description, postcode, a few details). Rated People matches it to nearby tradespeople in the relevant trade. Tradespeople use credits — purchased from the platform — to view the lead and submit a quote. The customer picks a tradesperson; after the job, the customer is invited to review.
Profiles include reviews, ratings, and the trades the member operates in. Vetting includes identity and insurance checks; trade-specific regulators are flagged where relevant.
Tradespeople pay a membership fee plus per-lead credit costs. The platform's incentive is to generate as many leads as possible; the tradesperson's incentive is to win the job at a margin that justifies the cost of the credit. The economics shape the type of jobs that get strong bidder competition.
Rated People is the platform that has discovered the precise emotional state that lies between "I urgently need someone to fix this" and "I have no idea who any of these people are". Eight quotes will arrive within an hour. Six of them will be plausible. Two of them will involve a phone number where the voicemail is permanently full. There is a real service in here, but consumers should know they are buying it inside a marketplace that is, by design, an auction.
Rated People can be useful for smaller, well-defined jobs, where the lead competition gets you a fast quote at a competitive price. For bigger or higher-risk jobs, treat it as a starting point: shortlist three bidders, then verify trade-specific regulators (Gas Safe, NICEIC, FENSA where relevant), call references and check reviews on more than one platform.
They pay credits to view and bid on a lead, plus a membership fee. The exact economics depend on the tier and trade.
Reviews are tied to jobs booked through the platform, which is a stronger verification model than open posting.
Checkatrade is primarily a directory with reviews. Rated People is primarily a lead-generation marketplace — the commercial engine is different.
Standard identity and insurance checks at sign-up, with trade-specific regulator status flagged where relevant.
Yes. The marketplace is designed for it, and comparing quotes is the right consumer instinct on any larger job.