goodfence vs Checkatrade for Fencing — Which Is Better for a London Estimate?
An honest look at when a directory like Checkatrade serves you well, when it doesn't, and how goodfence differs in practice.
If you've Googled "fencer near me" in London you've already met the playbook — request an estimate on a directory like Checkatrade, MyBuilder, Rated People or Bark, and within an hour your phone has five missed calls. Some of them aren't even fencers. Here's the honest version of what's happening, where directories genuinely help, and how goodfence — a London fencing company founder-led — is set up differently.
How a directory actually works
Sites like Checkatrade are lead-generation businesses, not fencing companies. When you submit a job:
- Your details are packaged as a "lead".
- The lead is sold to several local traders — typically 3 to 5.
- Each trader pays per lead (usually £15–£40) whether or not they win the job.
- They call you fast because the first caller usually wins.
- Whoever you don't pick has to absorb that lead cost into their next job.
This isn't a scam — it's a real model that works for some trades. But it has predictable side effects.
What that means for you as the homeowner
Phone goes nuclear. Five traders calling within an hour. Some withhold their number. Some call again the next day. Some keep calling for two weeks.
Pricing pressure pushes quality down. A trader who paid £30 to talk to you is incentivised to win the job at almost any margin — which means corners get cut on materials (timber posts instead of concrete, no gravel board, no removal).
Reviews on the directory are real but selective. A fencer with 200 jobs and 3 bad reviews can quietly ask the directory to remove the bad ones via a dispute process. Not all directories do this — Checkatrade is one of the stricter ones — but the average review score across directories runs higher than reality.
No real accountability after the job. If something goes wrong in year 2, the directory's job is done. They sold you a lead, not a relationship.
Where directories genuinely help
Three real scenarios:
- Trades where you actually want competing bids — e.g. a bathroom refit where spec varies wildly and three estimates is useful.
- You're confident handling phone pressure and want to negotiate hard.
- Niche work (Victorian iron railings, hardwood pergolas) where most local fencers will pass and a directory surfaces a specialist.
For standard residential fencing in London — panels, posts, gates, replacements — directories usually add stress without adding value. The job is well-defined enough that competing bids don't tell you much, and the phone storm makes the experience worse.
How goodfence is set up differently
We're a London fencing company, not a directory. One team, one point of contact, end to end:
- One number, one team. No phone storm. You hear from us — the founder or someone on our team — not from a queue of traders who paid for your number.
- Email-first. You send photos and a postcode; we reply with a free indicative estimate — same day in working hours, next morning if it's evening. You read it when you've got 30 seconds, not when a stranger rings during lunch.
- A paid on-site visit (from £50) before any fixed price. We confirm spec, posts and access ourselves. That's how we can hold the price — no "found extra work on the day" surprises.
- Same team quotes and fits. Whoever turns up to your visit is part of GoodFence and the fence gets fitted by our team in GoodFence kit. If we bring in a second pair of hands, they work under our insurance and our shirt — your contract is with us throughout.
- Reviews stay on Google. We can't quietly remove the bad ones.
Trade-off: we don't have national coverage. If your fence is in Manchester or Bristol, a directory IS your best bet because we can't help. For London and the Home Counties — Croydon, Bromley, Beckenham, Sutton, Wimbledon, Wandsworth, Greenwich, Sidcup, Orpington and the wider M25 — we can.
"What about MyBuilder, Rated People, Bark, Trustatrader?"
All variations of the same model, with different review systems and different lead pricing.
- MyBuilder — you post a job, traders apply, you pick one. Less phone-storm than Checkatrade because traders apply via text first.
- Rated People — closer to the Checkatrade model. Multiple call-outs per lead.
- Bark — the most aggressive on lead resale; you'll get the most calls.
- Trustatrader — similar to Checkatrade with a paid badge system.
The same logic applies: useful when you want competing bids, painful when you just want a price.
So what should you do?
If you're not sure what you want yet — get three estimates, one from a directory and two from local installers (Google "fencing [your area]" and look for ones with their own website and Google reviews). Compare not just the number, but how the number is presented. A fair estimate breaks down materials, post type, gravel boards, and removal — not just one figure.
If you already know what you want — panel replacement, post upgrade, gate fitted — go straight to a single-team fencing company. Send goodfence a photo and your postcode and you'll have an indicative number back the same day, with no phone storm, no commitment.
