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About us The Federation of Master Builders is the largest trade association for the UK construction industry and a not-for-profit organisation that is run by members for members.
Our mission We support small and medium-sized construction companies to grow and manage their business by providing a wide range of support services such as contract templates, unlimited expert advice, online training, and access to a community of fellow professional builders.
Our members must pass an independent inspection and strict vetting process before they join the FMB to ensure they meet the high standards expected of a Master Builder company.
We also connect clients with professional, local builders they can trust through our free Find a Builder service. Our series of ultimate guides for home renovation projects helps clients to understand what to expect during a building project.
Reviews 641
Nats
Feb 23,2021FMB – helpless and waste of time? I have appointed Architect, issued tender and employed a builder registered with FMB, completed construction of side extension spent around £230,000 in August 2018, but still initial snags have not completed and also requested builder to provide documents to get completion certificate from the local city council. But builders are not responding us after being contacted by many emails and phone calls. So I initiated a FMG dispute process and FMB referred it to CEDR, after waiting for more than 3 months now I have received an email from the Conciliator that Builder did not engage in the conciliation process so Conciliator has asked CEDR to close off the complaint, so at this stage CEDR can only suggest seeking independent legal advice. I am not sure if independent legal advice means need to appoint a solicitor and proceed court case. If this had been made clear at the beginning of the process it would have saved a lot of time and effort. Still I am sinking in the same boat, I have no reason why to choose FMB builder. Could anyone please help me how to get the below documents to submit to the council to get the completion certificate and resolve other major issues? 1. Clarify how steel work has been fire protected and provide certification if intumescent paint used (as we do not know which company provided the steelwork) 2. Submit copy of Benchmark certificate for boiler installation 3. Submit certification for unvented hot water Thanks in advance This is my case reference- CAS-03350-S9R8
t johnson
Feb 10,2021My son has had the misfortune of using a company registered with the Master Building Federation . the works have have gone from 1 disaster to another from September last year, works were due to be completed by 20th Nov 2020.and as of today the house is still not livable thanks to this company. This work was being carried out under a Disability facility Grant. with a child involved whom has a life threatening condition. its just not right and we wouldnt want anyone else to go through this.
Ernest Clegthorpe
Dec 28,2020I'm writing this as a consumer, not as a tradesman. I had dealings with the FMB after a local builder, who we had used for previous jobs and got via recommendation, did such an appalling job on a kitchen extension that we ended up wrong him and won. We then needed builders to out right what he had done wrong. Having been burned once I thought I'd contact the professional bodies for the trade and started with the FMB. I researched s bit online then rang them up to ask what support and assurance they offered to the consumer, they assured me that they took references from the builders that joined and checked on work done to ensure the builders met with their standards. They also said they ran an arbitration service to help settle disputes between builders and their customers. This sounded a little too good to be true, so I called back as as builder wanting to join their organization. When I asked what they could do for me as a builder they said I would get the prestige of their logo to put on my vehicles and headed paper, I would get the benefit of their insurance scheme and Ann arbitration service to help me with disputes. I then asked about the joining criteria and was told I would get to send in a couple of references from customers, I could choose then, and i wound need a city and guilds or similar. I asked whether they dolled up references or whether I would need to provide referencesin the future to confirm the quality of my work and was told no. I asked what my customers would get out of my joining them, assurances of quality and so on and was told"we work for the builders, not the customers". I felt this really told me all I needed to know about this cynical organisation and have generally dismissed companies showing their logo unless there is another reason to use their services.The FMB displays all the cliches of the dodgy cowboy builder. The untrustworthy , unreliable and crooked side of the building trade and in so song perpetuates it. I wouldn't trust the FMB as far as I could throw the Albert Hall and certainly wouldn't use them as a guide to getting a good and reliable builder. There really ought to be some regulation of the building trade, as three is for gas and electricians, leaving it up too self serving bodies like this is worse than pointless.
London London
Dec 15,2020The FMB are all about promoting themselves! As a Builder or building company, there is absolutely no point in joining them, they will take your money, but as soon as you have an issue, with a customer or project, they will try to expel you and try to ruin your company by posting a list of expelled members online on their website Are they working for their own members? No not at all. As a FMB member, you won't receive support from them if you had a rogue customer? Which I am sure every builder who reads this has had from time to time No support at all will be coming from the FMB! They will try to make an example of you, so they look powerful & strong in the eyes of the public The standards committee they run is like a kangaroo court like judgement, it's a closed shop group of favoured members, who predetermined cases in front of them without listening to any evidence They are only interested in looking like the builder police, bigging up their badge But get one customer who has an issue, then you're in for a bumpy ride with the FMB. I strongly suggest, to keep away from this self-serving organization & paying their fees, so that directors (who don't care), can have fat salaries, maybe at cost & destruction of your company name if they have their way Just look at the reviews and the rating this so-called authority have!! Wow It seems to me.... that they have a few special builders who are part of their committee group, who can't do anything wrong. But (Trustpilot ), is so full of poor reviews from customers who have had bad experiences with the builders who the FMB allowed to join, taken their subscription fee, not supported & then probably expelled them. They offer no support whatsoever for builders or customers alike! So, there really is no point in joining them!
Tim Schrauwers
Nov 17,2020Blue Rose Builders. Superb service. We had a fantastic garden office put in place by Steve and his team. Simply put we are very happy customers and should we do any more work, Steve will be the first person that I call. He does what he says, when he says it. As you would expect with his background his project management is fantastic, it is all about communication and I was kept up to date all the time. We had not used builders before and being a data orientated person, I asked him a lot of questions. He fielded each one with (firstly unending patience) clear answers and provided support for contractual items in writing. The building area was left clean at night and all the gents we had working at our house were fantastic with our boys… imagine a four year old in a Bob the Builder outfit trying to help with his wooden hammer!
Jimrobo
Oct 28,2020I was looking to have my drive renewed and extended. Contacted 4 driveway builders via the FMB website with details of my requirements and requested a quote. I was expecting the traders to contact me to arrange a viewing to enable the provision of a quote. Of the 4 only 1 responded but did not turn up to view. Having read all the negative customer reviews, I feel like I have got off lightly so will go back to finding a trader on checkatrade or trustatrader where I have been happy with in the past. Seems to me that having FMB accreditation means nothing from the customers perspective and is simply an organisation financed by and supportive of the traders at the expense of the customer. As a footnote I note that the vast majority of positive reviews are from FMB members. This tells a story of its own.
Margot James
Oct 24,2020I used a builder recommended by the site. A cowboy builder who ripped me off for tens of thousands. He is on here as a listed specialist. The builder in question was in my flat for 1 year, a 1 bed flat. He said he had applied for all the listed building consent he hadn't. The electrics failed part p. The boiler was installed incorrectly and failed certification. I am currently in huge trouble with the council over unauthorised works my flat is a mess. This builder then fabricated another 40k invoices on top of the 112k he already had. The company has done nothing. The builder in question is still available to con and lie to people.
Dale Beardsall
Oct 17,2020I found the FMB to be useless. We had shoddy building works done by a FMB member which left us with numerous problems with rainwater coming through the roof into the kitchen extension, through the extractor unit, external doors fitted incorrectly, electrics, heating and other issues. The builder told the FMB that they hadn’t been paid in full and unfortunately that was enough reason for the FMB to close the case, despite me having and providing proof otherwise that the payment had been made. All an offending builder has to do is say that they haven’t been paid in full and the FMB won’t look into it any further. Useless really.
Steve
Oct 01,2020A terrible company in it for the money. I am still waiting for my court case with my builder. My property has been failed by building control once my build was complete. I have had quotes for £9,000 to rectify these issues. My builder who was a contractor turned up occasionally on site and didn't stay 5 minutes as was to busy chasing the paper and going to quote other jobs. When I stared questioning things after the build my builder got defensive and boarder line aggressive. One of his guys told me to hold back some money as he wont rectify the issues. Unfortunately i didn't hold enough back. After months of nothing I logged a complaint to the FMB. I spoke with I believe Lauren who was the only person I had faith in within the FMB. I was allocated another case handler who was useless. They told me that once they log the issue with the builder he has I think 2 weeks to reply. So 3 months later the builder had come back with a few bits but clearly delaying the issue. After about 4 months the case handler told me that from his experience the builder is not going to play ball and I should close the case and go further, which I did. The manager refused that he would have said this but when i referred her back to their recorded calls, guess what!! they don't record their calls. I am still waiting for court dates as mentioned. I spoke with the manager lady at the FMB who I found rather aggressive. She in the end agreed they would send a surveyor out to look at the work. When he turned up he agreed the issues were appalling. Leaking roof outlets, holes in ceiling from leaks, roof not insulated properly, patio falling apart, extractor fans going into ceiling and not vented externally, laminate flooring falling apart due to bad instillation. He fed this back to the FBM. I receive a letter a while after this to say they have stood the builder in front of the committee and they will be taking no action. This is because he offered to come back and look at the issues. After 4 months he offered to come back and replace a basin outlet and every date i agreed with him to come to he couldn't achieve. I note the FMB would have a much lower rating too if they didn't let heir own members review the FMB. that is laughable. I have much more to say but await their message pretending they will rectify issues. I hope the Courts see through the builder. An update to this is that I have just been through court which has taken a number of years. An expert witness wrote a 60 page report on the defective work and the court has agreed with me and has ordered the builder to pay nearly £9,500. Next is to see if he pays. Apparently though this is acceptable to the FMB. Please take note that the only reviews on here which are positive are from members masking the real truth. Trading Standards should shut down the FMB
Susan K
Aug 26,2020The Federation of Master Builders (FMB) have No "Code of Conduct" of Authority above them to complain to. They are above the law. FMB sat on my complaint with change over of their Staff and sacking. It took them over a year to review my complaint putting me in to grave difficulty. Had the termerity to state we have to follow the process. By then it was too late for me. And FMB did nothing about the Bad Builder, doing sub-standard work, which had to be re-done, necessary doc's on completion were not given. They do not protect the poor consumer. My advice don't use them! I need to see a list of their Board Members. Someone answered saying they were on the Board? Help can the reviewers help and advise me.
Lawrence Clark
Jul 17,2020I employed a local building firm to fit a new kitchen. The owner of the firm proudly provided a Federation of Master Builders (FMB) leaflet and explained the high level of workmanship and ethics a firm needs to have and maintain an FMB membership. He also confirmed that all work they completed was undertaken within the FMB framework, and all work would be undertaken by them within the FMB guidelines. The installation could not have been worse! I was consistently lied to by the builder, he was never at my property doing or overseeing the work. Unknown to me he sublet the majority of the work to cheap,unskilled, inexperienced tradespeople. When I questioned the poor level of workmanship and the large amount of additional time the job was taking, the builder became very aggressive and wanted full payment before the work was completed. I also received threats to my young family and myself when I refused to pay in full before all the work was complete. The work was eventually completed and the minute the work had finished the remaining final instalment was demanded that evening, before I had a chance to inspect the work. Because of constant threatening behaviour by the builder, I paid in full. In the following weeks, I understood why the builder was in such a hurry to be paid, he knew the work he had sublet to cheap tradesman was very poor. Within weeks cabinets started coming away from walls and the kitchen extractor started falling apart from its fixings with plaster and plastic falling onto the stove whenever you used it. I contacted the builder several times in writing but had no answer. I then contacted FMB on three separate occasions reporting the builder with explanations and photographs showing unacceptable and poor workmanship. I received dismissive responses each time and advised that I should consider taking legal action against the builder myself and it was nothing to do with FMB. This is contrary to the FMB’s pledges and assurances on their website and literature. I started legal proceedings against the builder as I received no response to any of my communication. At this point, the builder very quickly liquidated his Limited Company so I had no further recourse. A Companies House search shows the Company was liquidated owing over £50,000 to other customers and suppliers. I was then told by FMB that because the builders membership had ceased, there was nothing more they would do! I am now left with a newly fitted kitchen that is falling aport and will have to spend thousands of pounds to repair all the problems and fit another new kitchen! Within weeks the cowboy builder stated to new building Company under a new Limited Company name and carried on trading! I am sure there are some great builders out there, but it appears the Federation of Master Builders do not carry out member checks as they claim they do and they do not keep to their pledges. They are not interested in consumers and only interested in collecting membership fees from anyone! Please do not trust them as they are happy to give cowboy builders membership and allow them to charge a premium for extremely poor work!
Dizzy zahavi
Jul 09,2020FMB refers to my experience with a former member. News to me or perhaps he decided he didn't want to be a member of an organisation that would have him as a member. Bottom line is that FMB's unethical behaviour and support of an unscrupulous builder is beyond dispute. Anyone with similar experience of FMB is welcome to contact me to help further highlight this behaviour by an organisation with a Government Trust Mark (!!!). One individual has already made contact. Shame review doesn't allow zero (or sub-zero) ratings.
Paul Grove
Jun 06,2020During lockdown I was prompted to remember probably the worst experience of my life when I employed a roofing company who was a member of the Federation of Master Builders. The roofing company was contracted to repair/replace the roof of my Victorian semi-detached house. It emerged that the roofing 'company' did not have any out of office contracted employees but relied on casual and sub-contracted labour. After one sub-contractor pulled out, the second sub-contractor entered into a dispute with the roofing company. The outcome was that I returned from a week's holiday to find that, instead of my roof being completed, no works had been carried out. The front of the roof was not properly covered and rain penetrated from the first floor to the cellar. Only repaired following months of pursuing an insurance claim against the sub contractor. When I complained to the Federation of Master Builders they contacted the roofing company. After that response (which I was not permitted to see or question) they ruled in favour of their member. In my experience the Federation of Master Builders is a a totally useless unprofessional organisation that has no claim to any credentials in vetting its members or protecting the public.
Rockbottom
Apr 02,2020Having a builder who is a ‘master builder’ sounds good however the reality is it’s just another membership scheme That does little to help or improve quality and conduct . Dispute resolution process pointless . Unfortunately until the domestic industry is properly regulated anyone can call themselves a ‘master builder’ in the uk with minimal effort and cost .
Westcountry Works
Mar 17,2020West Country Works take pride in what we do and being a member of the Federation of Master Builders is gives our potential customers the confidence to pick up the phone and call a local builder who can do the job and where knowledge and professionalism is on hand to assist in every aspect of what the customer requires. We acknowledge our fellow members and welcome new companies in equal measures. We believe increasing the numbers of local companies who have passed the entry process into The Federation of Master Builders will generate more quality workmanship and the demand from customers will increase.
customer
Mar 16,2020Have already paid for my membership through discounts in my insurance - have helped us out when we've had legal & HR issues - definitely worth signing up.
Joe Kingdon
Mar 14,2020Really happy with my FMB membership their knowledge, connections and dedication they have to the industry really feels like it gives my company the edge over others that are not members, and the certification it gives me puts my customers minds at ease and makes my job alot easier. One thing I will criticise them on is the lack of publicity. I have had countless calls from potential clients that have been ripped off by builder and only through that process have they found out about the federation. They need to do more to advertise to the general public in turn bring more work to its members
emyr hughes
Mar 12,2020I am glad to be part of a proper federation which the general consumer does recognise, knowing the support is there for both myself and my clients.
JeffriesJ
Feb 19,2020FMB what an absolute joke. Found a builder on the FMB website, checked their reviews as well as from other sources online. Went to look at previous work, did all the homework a normal home owner can do. Builder went into liquidation. I lost a sum of money. To my surprise they re-appeared on the FMB website with their original reviews but under a new name! Contacted FMB support and they saw nothing wrong with this! Speechless. ------------------ Update: FMB can see that this Builder has liquidated (April 2019) and simply updated the name on their profile. However they will not look into it unless I fill in a form.
Client
Mar 16,2021I contacted your Dispute Resolution Team on 01/12/2020 and I am still waiting for your respond. This advice online really makes you look better, like if you care: "...we would encourage you to contact the Dispute Resolution Team, to enable them to look further into your concerns and advise accordingly. " Don't use FMB members. They use words 'quality', 'confidence' etc. on internet site but this is misleading - you will find same builders as anywhere else. FMB builder used lead solder on my water supply. Note, FMB won't do anything if you discover issues and builder is not a member anymore.