Our checks, and their limits
How we check companies
On this page
1. Who we list
We list local companies that hold an active licence on the city or provincial register, whether or not they have joined Roomquoted.
We find companies through public business listings and city licence registers. A company does not have to join Roomquoted to be listed, and listing is free. A company that joins Roomquoted signs our agreement, gives us its insurance certificate and three references, and can share its price list so its prices show as verified.
A listed company can ask us to correct its details or take its listing down at any time.
2. What we check
For every company we list:
- Trade licence. Matched against the city or provincial licence register, for general contracting where the city or province licenses it, and for the trades that always need one, such as electrical, plumbing and gas. We list only companies whose licence is active.
For every company that joins Roomquoted, we also check:
- Business registration. Matched against the provincial or state business registry, under the name the company trades as.
- Liability insurance. A current certificate of general liability insurance, with the coverage amount and the expiry date on file.
- Workers' compensation coverage, where the province or state requires it. A clearance certificate on file.
- Three homeowner references. We call three homeowners from recent jobs and ask the same questions each time.
- A real address and a working phone. Confirmed by post or courier and by calling it.
A company that joins can also share its own price list, and sign that it is the rates it actually uses. That is what makes its prices show as verified prices. Sharing a price list is a price check, not a company check, and it never changes a company's place in the results.
"Where the province or state requires it" is doing real work in that list. Licensing rules differ by province, state and trade, and we will not imply a licence exists where none is issued.
3. How we check it
| Check | Who it covers | How | Evidence we keep |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trade licence | Every listed company | Matched against the register's public data, and re-matched when the register updates | Licence number, status, expiry, the date we matched it |
| Business registration | Joined companies | Matched against the provincial or state business registry | Registry name, number and the date we looked |
| Liability insurance | Joined companies | Certificate supplied by the company or its broker, reviewed by a person | Insurer, policy number, limit, expiry |
| Workers' compensation | Joined companies | Clearance certificate from the provincial or state board | Certificate and expiry |
| References | Joined companies | Phone call by a person on our team | Notes, and the date of each call |
| Address and phone | Joined companies | Mail or courier to the address, and a call to the number | Date confirmed |
| Price list | Joined companies that share one | Supplied by the company, with a signed accuracy statement | The file and the signature |
Licences are matched against public registers, partly by software, and a person on our team reviews anything that does not match cleanly. Insurance, workers' compensation and references are reviewed by a person every time.
4. How often we re-check
- Trade licence: re-matched whenever the register updates, and at expiry.
- Business registration: re-checked every 12 months.
- Insurance and workers' compensation: re-checked at expiry, and a joined company must tell us within 5 days if coverage lapses.
- References: not repeated. They describe jobs from a point in time and we date them.
Every company card shows which checks that company has passed, and each check carries the date it was last done. If a licence is no longer active, we stop listing the company until it is. If a joined company's insurance lapses, the insurance check comes off its card until it is current again.
5. What we do not check
This column is the point of the page.
| We do not check | What that means for you |
|---|---|
| Quality of workmanship | We have not inspected any finished job. A check on paperwork says nothing about tile work. |
| Whether the specific crew on your job is licensed | We check the business, not the individual who turns up. Ask who will be on site. |
| Subcontractors | Most companies use them. We do not check the subs or their insurance. |
| Criminal history of individual workers | We run no background checks on individuals, and no badge on this site implies one. |
| Whether a price is fair | We show a verified price from the company's own list, or our own estimate. We do not judge either. |
| Insurance and references for companies that have not joined | Their cards say so. Ask for the insurance certificate before anyone starts work. |
| Permits for your project | Getting permits is between you and the company. Agree in writing who pulls them. |
| Warranty performance | We do not track whether a company honours its own warranty. |
| Timeliness | We do not check that anyone shows up when they said they would. |
| Financial health | We run no credit check and cannot tell you whether a company is solvent. |
6. The limits, stated plainly
- A check on the business does not guarantee which individual attends your home. For a company with several workers or subcontractors, the person at your door may be someone we have never checked. Be comfortable with the person doing your work.
- A business registration is not a trade licence. Being registered to do business in a city or province does not authorise anyone to do any particular kind of work.
- "Insurance on file" means we hold a certificate with an expiry date. It does not mean a claim will be paid, and it says nothing about the coverage limits for your job.
- Our checks do not predict quality, and we do not stand behind anyone's work. We are not a party to your contract.
7. Check for yourself
Everything we check, you can check. Ask the company for its licence number, its insurance certificate and its business number, then look them up:
- Ontario: the Ontario Business Registry for registration, the Electrical Safety Authority contractor search for licensed electricians, and a WSIB clearance certificate for workers' compensation.
- Florida: Sunbiz for registration, and the DBPR licence search for licensed contractors.
- Anywhere else: search the province or state business registry, and the licensing board for the trade.
For insurance, ask for a certificate of insurance naming your address, and call the broker on it. A PDF forwarded by the company is not a confirmation.
8. Questions to ask before you hire
- Who will actually be on site, and are they your employees or subcontractors?
- Which parts of this job need a permit, and who is pulling them?
- What is not in your price that is likely to come up in a house like mine?
- What happens to the price if you open the wall and find something?
- What is your payment schedule, and what is the deposit for?
- What is your warranty, in writing, and what voids it?
- Can I see two jobs like mine that you finished in the last year?
- Who do I call when something goes wrong after you leave?
9. What gets a company removed
- A required licence is no longer active on the register.
- A joined company's insurance or workers' compensation lapses and is not restored.
- A price list that is not the rates the company actually uses.
- Contacting a homeowner who did not approve that company, or passing a homeowner's details to anyone else.
- Ignoring an opt-out, or contacting someone after they said stop.
- Asking for reviews in exchange for something, or asking for good ones only.
- A pattern of complaints we can substantiate, about safety, abandoned jobs or deposits.
- Misrepresenting a licence, an insurance certificate, or another company's work as its own.
Removal is not a punishment we advertise. When a company goes, it goes quietly, and any homeowner it was introduced to in the previous 30 days is told.
A company can also ask us to take its listing down at any time, and we do.
10. Report a company
Tell us and we will look into it. We acknowledge a report within one business day and tell you what we did within ten.
Contact us and pick "I want to report a company", or email info@humanik.io. For a dispute about work or money, see the complaints route.
Questions? Contact us
A real person answers. Email within one business day; phone 9am to 5pm Eastern, Monday to Friday.
- info@humanik.io
- +1 888-773-1329
- Humanik Technologies Inc., Florida, United States and Ontario, Canada