Minister for Economy, Silvio Schembri, visited the offices of checkyourtraders.com in Mellieha, on Wednesday morning to inaugurate the company and get a better idea of what the company does.

The director of the company, Lauren Emma Rampley, spoke to him about what the company does and how its vision is to change and improve the tradespeople industry.

The website checkyourtraders.com offers a service to customers who can search for their ideal tradesperson, whose profile will include verifications, ratings and comments from other customers. For tradespeople, it offers a verification subscription which ensures the customer that the tradesperson has been reviewed by the company and they are qualified to do their work.

Rampley explained to Schembri that the goal of the company is to change the industry for the better by offering a verification system which ensures more honest work.

“We’re here to build relationships between the customer, the tradesperson and the supplier,” she said.

Schembri expressed his liking for the company and said that now all it needs is more exposure. He also suggested that they get in contact with the Malta Development Association (MDA) and the Chamber of SMEs.

Schembri asked if there have been situations where their company refused to verify a tradesperson. Rampley made it clear that they have refused to verify tradespeople and companies in the past if they did not present the correct documentation.

On average she said one representative would meet 12 to 15 tradespeople and/or companies within a week. She said that out of those on average 4 will not have a VAT certificate and/or they will be working illegally, so they will not be verified.

That being said, she said that there have been companies and tradespeople who would return with all the proper documentation to become verified. She said that they offer free advice and support on how to attain the proper documentation to eventually become verified.

“As a company, we’re not only supporting good business practice within the island but we’re also providing a good free service for the public,” she said.

She explained how there are verification employees who go out and meet tradespeople on a daily basis to check their documents and make sure that they are applicable to be verified.

“Now we’re looking for support from the government and from industries to say that they agree with the progression of the industry,” she said.

The visit was concluded after Schembri had a short meeting with Rampley.