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<\/p>\nAndy Burnham has launched a crackdown on “cowboy builders” ripping off Britons with shoddy work and disappearing before jobs are finished.<\/p>\n
The Prime Minister has vowed to put rogue traders “out of business” as ministers introduce new protections for households undertaking home improvements.<\/p>\n
More than one in four adults have experienced problems with their most recent home renovation project, according to Citizens Advice.<\/p>\n
Complaints include poor-quality work and builders disappearing before completing jobs, with home renovations now among the organisation’s biggest sources of complaints.<\/p>\n
Under the crackdown, homeowners will be given the option of having their money held safely rather than handing large sums directly to tradespeople upfront.<\/p>\n
A new payment system available from next week will allow payments to be released gradually as agreed stages of a project are completed.<\/p>\n
Mr Burnham said: \u201cCowboy builders don\u2019t just rip people off. They leave families with months of stress, the disruption of unfinished work, and that horrible feeling of being taken advantage of. <\/p>\n
“Not only that, but they give the vast majority of decent, hardworking tradespeople a bad name.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we\u2019re putting the cowboys out of business. These changes mean you\u2019ll now have the option to make sure your money is held safely and released bit by bit as the work gets done.<\/p>\n
More than one in four adults have experienced problems with their a recent home renovation project, according to Citizens Advice<\/p>\n
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GETTY<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the latest in our series of everyday fixes to give people room to breathe and make Britain fairer. We\u2019ve taken on subscription traps, fake discounts, and now we\u2019re coming for the cowboy builders. Enough is enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
A separate Government-backed scheme being rolled out from September will help households identify traders who meet approved standards.<\/p>\n
Businesses will be able to sign up to a code covering customer service, transparency and the handling of disputes.<\/p>\n
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the changes would \u201cprotect consumers, support reputable traders\u201d and help families avoid home improvements \u201cturning into a nightmare\u201d.<\/p>\n
However, the Tories warned that legitimate businesses could be burdened with added bureaucracy.<\/p>\n
ANDY BURNHAM – READ THE LATEST:<\/p>\n
![\"Andy](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1787959570_551_andy-burnham.jpg\")
Andy Burnham has vowed to put ‘the cowboys out of business’ <\/p>\n
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Shadow Business Secretary Andrew Griffith said: \u201cWe all want to see action to stop rogue traders, but this announcement looks like the sort of government initiative that risks the unintended consequence of piling more paperwork onto the majority of businesses who already do the right thing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Government would do far better to beef up law enforcement and have tougher sentences for the minority who fraudulently rip off customers, but they have cut police numbers and are letting criminals out of jail early.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose who break the rules will keep breaking them regardless of whether there is an app in the way. Only the Conservatives will bring back consequences for lawbreakers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ministers are separately tightening rules governing private bailiffs operating in England and Wales.<\/p>\n
The reforms follow concerns that some enforcement agents have pressured people struggling with debt into repayment arrangements which leave them unable to afford everyday essentials.<\/p>\n
![\"Jonathan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/jonathan-reynolds.jpg\")
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the changes would ‘protect consumers’ and ‘support reputable traders’<\/p>\n
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Private bailiffs will be required to be accredited by the Enforcement Conduct Board, or work for an accredited firm, to obtain the certificate needed to operate.<\/p>\n
The Government says the mandatory independent oversight will ensure enforcement agents meet consistent professional standards.<\/p>\n
Courts Minister Sarah Sackman said: \u201cBailiffs have an important job to do, but with that responsibility must come high standards. <\/p>\n
“When someone is already struggling with debt, the last thing they should face is intimidating behaviour, unfair treatment or being pushed into excessive repayment arrangements they cannot afford.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s why we\u2019re strengthening the rules. All private bailiffs will have to meet proper, professional standards and will be subject to independent oversight – giving people greater protection and somewhere to turn when things go wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Andy Burnham has launched a crackdown on “cowboy builders” ripping off Britons with shoddy work and disappearing before…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":752984,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[19306,84,59,229,56,44208,54,55],"class_list":["post-752983","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-andy-burnham","tag-business","tag-gb","tag-politics","tag-uk","tag-uk-politics","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/752983","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=752983"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/752983\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/752984"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=752983"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=752983"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=752983"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}