In short
- Complain to us any way you like: the contact form, email or a job chat. It's free.
- We acknowledge a complaint within 1 business day and give you a final answer within 30 days. We aim to answer within 10 business days.
- Anything with money on hold is looked at within the hour during business hours.
- If you're not satisfied, you can go to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (for the payment service) or your state's consumer affairs or fair trading office.
- A disagreement about the work itself is between the client and the tradie. Trustrade keeps the money held and the record straight, and you keep every right you have at your state's building dispute service, tribunal or court.
This summary is here to help. The full text below is what applies.
1. Making a complaint
You can complain about Trustrade, a payment, a fee, how we handled your information, or how we treated you.
- Use the contact form and choose Complaint.
- Email support@trustrade.co.
- Or message us in any job chat.
Tell us what happened, what you would like us to do, and the job it is about, if any. You don't have to use any special words for it to count as a complaint: if you're unhappy with us and want a response, it's a complaint. You can ask someone to complain for you.
2. Our response times
| Step | Our commitment |
|---|---|
| Acknowledge your complaint | within 1 business day |
| Anything with money on hold | looked at within the hour, during business hours |
| A full answer | we aim for 10 business days |
| A final answer, at the latest | within 30 calendar days, in writing, with our reasons and where else you can go |
| If it's complex and we need longer | we tell you why before the 30 days are up, and where you can go meanwhile |
We are open business days, 9am to 5pm Melbourne time. We keep a register of every complaint so we can fix what causes them.
3. How we handle it
A person who wasn't involved in the original problem looks at it, reads the job record, and contacts you if they need more. Our answer says what we found, what we will do, and why. If we got something wrong we will say so and put it right.
4. If you're not satisfied
- Complaints about the payment service (money held, paid or refunded through Zai): tell us first, and we raise it with Zai Australia Pty Ltd. If you're not satisfied after 30 days, or with the final answer, you can complain to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA), a free, independent service: afca.org.au, 1800 931 678.
- Consumer complaints: Consumer Affairs Victoria (consumer.vic.gov.au) or the fair trading office in your state.
- Privacy complaints: email privacy@trustrade.co, then the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (oaic.gov.au).
5. Disagreements between a client and a tradie
When the client isn't happy with a stage, they put it on hold. Then:
- The client raises the issue on the stage and says why.
- The tradie responds within 3 business days.
- You both discuss it in the job chat, which is kept as the record. Add photos and documents there.
- You may agree to an independent inspection, at your own cost.
- The tradie can fix the problem and mark it Rectified; the client confirms it is resolved.
- You can agree to release, refund or split the stage in the app.
Trustrade does not decide who is right about the work and cannot move held money on one party's say-so. The money stays held until you agree, or until a court or tribunal decides, or you both sign a settlement. You can go to Domestic Building Dispute Resolution Victoria (DBDRV), VCAT, or your own state's building dispute service or tribunal at any time, and you don't need to finish the steps above first.
6. Escalating within Trustrade
If you're not happy with how a complaint was handled, ask for it to go to a director, who will review it within 5 business days.
Versions
First draft: how to complain to Trustrade, our response times, where else you can go, and what happens when a client and a tradie disagree about the work.