THE largest trade organisation representing the building Industry, the Federation of Master Builders (FMB), has backed calls made at the Institute of Trading Standards Administration conference to make details of rogue traders, including builders, available to the public.

The proposal that the names of builders with prosecutions or warnings should be freely available to the consumer comes when the Government is formulating the forthcoming Consumer Bill.

It has also be suggested that a league table of complaints should be published.

Ian Davis, director general of the FMB, said "The FMB welcomes all initiatives that will tackle the real rogues, those who prey on the old and vulnerable and who give reputable builders a bad name."

However, he also struck a note of caution: "Listing complaints as well as convictions and warnings could be misleading. If a firm has one complaint but does a thousand good jobs should it be 'blackballed'?"

Mr Davis continued: "The FMB also believes that builders should be able to ask customers themselves if they have had a judgement made against them, for example for non-payment. Furthermore, reputable firms have to be protected against spurious complaints by those seeking to damage the firm's reputations or evade their own obligations to deal fairly with small businesses."

Assistance in finding a reputable builder is given on the Federation's website at www.fmb.org.uk.

Its Find a Builder service includes a fully searchable directory of FMB member companies and advice to consumers on how to those a builder. Alternatively, call their head office on Tel: 020 7242 7583.