Google reviews, star ratings, testimonials on the contractor's website: this is usually the first thing people check before choosing a tradesperson. It is understandable. And it is not enough.
A serious reputation analysis does not stop at reviews visible on the current company. It covers the director's full track record - including what they were doing before creating the company quoting you today.
Why online reviews are not sufficient
Online reviews only cover the structure under which they were submitted. A contractor who has operated under three different names over the past ten years can have an impeccable Google profile for their current structure - created eighteen months ago - and a significant history on their previous structures that you will not find by searching their current trading name.
The visible reputation is the one the contractor chooses to show you. The real reputation includes what they have no interest in putting forward.
The four sources of a structured reputation analysis
Official registries: full history of structures linked to the director, dissolutions, insolvency proceedings, frequent changes of status or company name.
Court databases: publicly available court decisions involving the director or their companies, whether in civil disputes with clients, supplier litigation or criminal proceedings.
Consumer reporting platforms: national consumer protection portals, specialist forums, sector-specific reporting databases. These platforms contain information that victims have not necessarily published on Google.
Regional and trade press: articles mentioning complaints, abandoned projects or allegations constitute significant reputational signals that never appear in a Google profile.
What a repeated pattern reveals
The value of a reputation analysis lies not in an isolated signal, but in the consistency of a pattern. A contractor who has led four companies over eight years, three of which were dissolved within a short period of creation, with client reports on at least two of them, presents a high-risk profile - even if their current structure looks impeccable on paper.
This type of cross-reading is what a structured analysis produces, and what a simple review search will never deliver.
What we do
At YMV & Co., we carry out reputation analyses on contractors and tradespeople for private individuals. Our method combines official sources, court databases, consumer reporting platforms and press monitoring - and produces a documented report with sources, not simply an aggregation of reviews.