Trust is a more important factor than price for householders hiring a tradesperson, a new Energy Saving Trust survey has revealed.

Half of householders surveyed said that a clearly displayed certification mark from a trusted organisation presented by a tradesperson was now MORE important than how much they charged when deciding who would do work in their home, with almost six in ten (58 per cent) saying they would take on a trusted local business to install energy efficiency measures in their home.

Following recent reports that cold callers were posing as Green Deal assessors while charging “administration fees” for agreeing to work under the Government scheme, the Energy Saving Trust’s advice to households looking to install energy saving improvements under the Green Deal is to make sure that the installer is certified. Tradespeople cannot install an energy efficiency measure through the Green Deal without being certified by one of 16 organisations, including the Energy Saving Trust.

Tom Lock, certification manager at the Energy Saving Trust, said: “These findings make it clear that while money is tight for many, being able to trust the tradesperson doing the work on their home is still more important to people than the pounds in their pocket.”