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SafeToPay vs Checkatrade: the register vs the reviews
Checkatrade tells you what previous customers thought of a tradesperson’s work; SafeToPay tells you what the public record says about the company you would be paying. They answer different questions, and neither answers the other’s. If you are choosing between quotes, read the reviews. If you are about to hand over a deposit, read the register — and use both when the amount is large.
Key facts
- Checkatrade is a directory of trades who pay to be members; it checks members’ identity, address, insurance and relevant qualifications on joining, and collects reviews from their customers.
- SafeToPay is not a directory: it checks any company from its website address, whether or not the business knows about it, and is not paid by the businesses it reports on.
- Reviews describe the quality of finished work; the register describes whether the company is active, solvent and filing — the things that decide whether a deposit comes back if the job does not happen.
- A tradesperson can have hundreds of genuine reviews and a company with overdue accounts or a strike-off notice; the two facts do not contradict each other, and only one of them is about your money.
- Neither service inspects the work: Checkatrade relies on customer reports and complaint handling; SafeToPay relies on public registers and states what it cannot see.
Side by side
| Checkatrade | SafeToPay | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Directory of vetted, paying member trades with customer reviews | Public-record report on the company behind any website |
| Who is covered | Members only — a firm not on it is simply not a member | Any UK business with a website, member of nothing |
| Paid by | Trades (membership fees); free for consumers | Consumers (£14.99 full report; preliminary free; red always free); never by the business reported on |
| Vetting | Identity, address, insurance and qualification documents at joining; ongoing complaint monitoring | Companies House, HMRC, FCA and domain registries read live at each check |
| Reviews | Collected from customers, with verification steps; the core of the service | Reads Google review counts and dates; does not collect or host reviews |
| Quality of work | Reviews and complaint outcomes | Not covered — stated plainly |
| Company status, accounts, directors, strike-off, insolvency | Not shown | Read from the register and applied to a verdict |
| Website claims vs register | Not covered | Years, staff, workshop, VAT, finance — each compared |
| Deposit guidance | General advice | Normal deposit for the trade, staged schedule for your quote, Section 75 route |
| Dispute route | Complaints process; a guarantee on members’ work subject to its terms and cap | None — it is a report, not a marketplace |
| Right of reply | Members respond to reviews | Businesses request corrections with evidence; verified businesses can publish a response |
Where Checkatrade is better
It knows how the work turned out
Nothing on Companies House tells you whether a kitchen was fitted well or a roof leaked. Hundreds of reviews over years, with the trader’s responses, do — imperfectly, but far better than the register. SafeToPay does not have this and does not pretend to.
It has a complaints route
A member who lets a customer down answers to the platform, which can mediate, mark the profile or remove the member. Our report has no leverage over anyone; it can only tell you what to ask before you pay.
It is where the trades are
If you do not yet have a tradesperson, a directory finds one. We start from a website you already have.
What SafeToPay adds
The company, not the tradesperson
A review is about a person and a job. A deposit is paid to a limited company — and which company that is, whether it is the same one the reviews were about, and whether it is still active and solvent, are questions a directory listing does not ask. The most common gap we see: a tradesperson with a long review history whose current company is eight months old, because the previous one was dissolved. The reviews are real; the phoenix pattern is also real.
What the register says right now
Vetting happens when a member joins; the register changes every day. A strike-off notice, overdue accounts, a winding-up petition or a director’s disqualification can all appear after joining and none of them appears on a profile. We read them at the moment you check.
Whether the website is telling the truth
“Established 1996”, “team of 25”, “our own workshop”, a VAT number, “finance available”: we put each next to Companies House, the accounts, HMRC and the FCA register and say whether it matches, is worth asking about, or does not.
How to pay
The normal deposit for the trade, a payment schedule in pounds for your quote, and the Section 75 route — because whether a deposit survives is decided by how it is paid, not by how good the reviews were.
The same company, both ways
On a review platform: a strong profile — well over a hundred reviews, high average, years of history. Nothing to give a customer pause.
In the report: the same review history, credited in the score — and the latest accounts showing net liabilities of about £111,000. That does not mean the work is poor or that the firm will fail; it means a deposit paid by bank transfer would be an unsecured loan to a company that already owes more than it owns. Verdict amber, with the guidance to pay by card, in stages, and to ask what the company’s plan for the balance sheet is. Both pictures are true. Only one is about your money.
Enter a website address, e.g. example-lofts.co.uk
Who should use which
- Use a review platform to find and shortlist tradespeople, to see how their work turned out, and for a complaints route if you use a member.
- Use SafeToPay once you have a quote and a website: to see which company you would pay, whether it is active and solvent, whether its story matches the register, and how much to pay up front. Especially when the business is not on any directory — most are not.
- Use both for any deposit above a few hundred pounds. Reviews for the work; the register for the money. They take a few minutes together and they disagree more often than people expect.
Frequently asked questions
Is SafeToPay a Checkatrade alternative?
Not really — it does a different job. Checkatrade finds vetted tradespeople and hosts their reviews. SafeToPay checks the company behind any website against Companies House, HMRC, the FCA register and the domain registry, and gives a verdict and deposit guidance. Use Checkatrade to choose; use SafeToPay before you pay.
If a tradesperson has good Checkatrade reviews, do I still need to check the company?
Yes, if you are paying a deposit. Reviews are about the person and past jobs; the deposit goes to a company, which may be new, may not be the one the reviews were earned under, and may have overdue accounts or a strike-off notice that no profile shows. The check takes a minute.
Does Checkatrade check Companies House?
Its vetting covers identity, address, insurance and qualifications at the point of joining. It does not publish company status, accounts, directors’ histories or Gazette notices, and it does not re-read the register at the moment you look. That is what SafeToPay reads.
Does SafeToPay show reviews?
It reads the count, rating and dates of Google reviews and credits an established review history in the score. It does not collect, host or moderate reviews, and it does not judge the quality of work. That remains the review platforms’ job.
Can a business pay to improve its SafeToPay report?
No. Businesses never pay SafeToPay for anything. They can request corrections with evidence, verify their listing for a free badge, and — once verified — publish a response alongside the facts. A verdict cannot be bought, and a report cannot be removed for being unfavourable.
Sources
- Checkatrade — membership, vetting and guarantee terms as published on its website.
- Companies House.
- SafeToPay methodology v1.2 — sources, comparisons, verdict rules and the rules for businesses.
Reviews for the work. The register for the money.
Free, no sign-up, about a minute.
Enter a website address, e.g. example-lofts.co.uk