TrustMark Collaboration to Help Deliver Greater Protection for Businesses

TrustMark, the UK’s government-endorsed quality scheme for home improvements, has today announced a new collaboration to help deliver greater protection for consumers and businesses.

The collaboration with Trusted Payments, a consumer-protection, app-based service, will help TrustMark Registered Businesses give their customers an easy, secure and transparent way to manage home improvements, from quote to completion.

The announcement follows the government’s package of measures unveiled on Friday 28 August to protect consumers from cowboy builders and rogue bailiffs, which named Trusted Payments among the schemes helping to raise standards across the home improvement sector.

TrustMark Collaboration

For TrustMark Registered Businesses, Trusted Payments is a service designed to make it straightforward to agree scope, pricing and milestones with a customer at the start of a home improvement project. Features include automatic contracts, project payment plans, and automatic invoice chasing, plus access to the Dispute Resolution Ombudsman for unresolved issues, including non-payment, snagging and the handover process.

From October 2026, it will also automatically raise invoices into QuickBooks or Xero. Businesses can manage the whole process by WhatsApp, email or website.

For consumers, Trusted Payments offers peace of mind throughout the project journey, and they will be supported by project and post-completion warranties. They will also have the ability to manage their project, agree and amend payments as work progresses, access advice, and follow a guided snagging and handover process, all without having to pay for project fees, transaction fees, Ombudsman fees or warranty costs.

Greater Protection

Simon Ayers MBE, Chief Executive Officer of TrustMark, said: “Last Friday’s move by government was a welcome and clear signal of intent – to protect consumers, champion reputable traders, and help people spend their money with real confidence and security.

“Aftercare and resolution when something goes wrong matters, but just as important, and often less visible, is what happens when everything goes right and it’s simply time to pay. That’s where a huge amount of consumer and trade anxiety sits.

“Consumers pay up front with no security in place or warranty protection, and tradespeople doing good work are having to chase payment.

“The best form of consumer protection is getting the job right the first time. Giving businesses a payment system that’s simple to use, backed by proper dispute management and workmanship guarantees, means they can focus on what they do best — quality technical installations.

“Protecting consumers and supporting them through the complaints process in the context of poor installations in their homes is vital to the delivery of trust in the sector.

“We’re proud to be playing our part alongside Trusted Payments in making that happen.”

John Herriman of the Chartered Trading Standards Institute added: “We back Trusted Payments to help both installers and homeowners to achieve better outcomes. Trusted Payments helps better business to succeed and drive-up standards within the market.”

The Trusted Payments app is available to download now on the App Store and Google Play.

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