What to do if a tradesperson does not turn up

You took the morning off, cleared the kitchen and put the kettle on, and nobody came. A tradesperson not turning up is one of the most common frustrations with home repairs, and it is easy to feel stuck. You do have rights, and there is a simple order to do things in that keeps your options open and gives you the best chance of getting the job done or your money back.

This guide covers what to do on the day, how to put things in writing, when you can cancel, how to recover a deposit, and how to avoid it happening next time. It is general guidance for England, Wales and Scotland, not legal advice.

How common is it?

Common enough that most people have a story. In a Censuswide survey of 500 UK homeowners for Markel Direct, carried out in April 2026, 35 percent said tradespeople failing to turn up is a major inconvenience, and 25 percent named cancelling at short notice as a behaviour that leaves a bad impression. Reported no-shows were highest in Yorkshire and the Humber (31 percent) and the South East (29 percent).

Citizens Advice sees the same picture in its casework. Its consumer service received 36,534 complaints about home maintenance and improvements between July 2024 and June 2025, more than 700 a week. Of those, 2,546 were about a failure or delay in providing the service, and 5,230 were about scams or rogue traders, which includes people who paid and never saw the tradesperson again.

On the day: what to do first

Check before you chase

Look for a missed call, text, email or voicemail, including your spam folder. Small trades often run several jobs a day, and one emergency, such as a burst pipe or a boiler that will not restart, can push everything back by hours. Give it about an hour past the agreed time.

Contact them once, politely

Call or message once and ask whether they are still coming and, if not, when they can. Keep it calm. A short "Just checking you are still OK for this morning?" gets a better response than an angry voicemail, and you may need their goodwill to get the job finished. Write down the time you tried and what was said.

If it is urgent, deal with the risk first

If the no-show leaves you with a safety problem, do not wait. If you smell gas, open windows, do not use switches and call the National Gas Emergency number on 0800 111 999. For a leak, turn the water off at the stop tap. Our guides on what counts as a plumbing emergency and what to do when your boiler breaks down explain what can wait and what cannot, and you can post an urgent plumbing job to find someone else.

Put it in writing

If they do not reply, or they miss the visit a second time, move to writing. A text, WhatsApp message or email is fine, as long as you keep it. Say:

• what was agreed (the job, the price if one was quoted, and the date or dates they gave you),
• that they did not attend, and when you tried to contact them,
• a firm new date by which they must attend or start, and
• that if they cannot keep that date, you will cancel and ask someone else to do the work.

This matters because of how the law works. Citizens Advice says you usually need to give a trader a second chance to do the work before you take further action, unless you had already made clear that the work had to be done by a certain date. A clear written deadline is that second chance, and it gives you a record if things go further.

Your rights when a tradesperson is late or does not show

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 says that where a contract for a service does not fix a time, the trader must carry out the work within a reasonable time. The law does not define reasonable, because it depends on the job: a dripping tap is different from a loft conversion. A second quote from another business can help you judge what is reasonable.

If a date was agreed, it can be part of the contract. Under section 50 of the same Act, things the trader said or wrote that you took into account when deciding to go ahead can become terms of the contract. A start date in a quote or a message is the kind of thing that counts, which is another reason to keep every message.

A missed first visit is rarely enough on its own to cancel a contract and claim. A pattern of missed dates, or a missed written deadline, usually is.

When you can cancel

There are two routes, and it helps to know which one you are on.

Within 14 days of agreeing at home, online or by phone

If you agreed the job at your home, online or over the phone, the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 generally let you cancel within 14 days for any reason. If you asked them to start within that time and some work was done, you may have to pay for that part. Citizens Advice explains how to cancel building or decorating work step by step.

After a missed deadline

Outside the 14 days, if the trader misses the firm date you set in writing, you can usually tell them in writing that you are ending the contract because the work was not done in a reasonable time. Citizens Advice says you should pay for work done so far, though you can ask for a discount, and if little or no work was done you may not need to pay anything.

Getting a deposit back

Ask first. Write to the trader asking for the deposit back by a set date, usually 7 to 14 days, saying the work was not done. If they bought materials specifically for your job, it is fair for them to keep that cost if they hand the materials over or show you the receipts.

If they refuse or go quiet, use how you paid:

• Credit card. Under section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act, the card provider is jointly responsible with the trader when the cash price is over £100 and up to £30,000, according to the Financial Ombudsman Service. It counts even if only part was paid on the card.
• Debit card. Ask your bank for a chargeback. It is a card scheme process rather than a legal right, and it usually has to be raised within about 120 days. MoneyHelper explains both routes.
• Bank transfer or cash. There is no card protection, so your options are the trader, any trade body they belong to, and the courts.

If your card provider turns you down, or has not resolved it after eight weeks, you can take the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service for free.

Making a small claim

As a last resort you can make a court claim for money in England and Wales, online or by post. Most claims for the cost of a household job are dealt with as small claims, and the court may offer free mediation. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own processes, linked from the same GOV.UK page. Send a final letter giving the trader a last chance to pay before you claim, and keep copies of everything.

Is it a no-show or a rogue trader?

Most no-shows are down to overrunning jobs, illness or poor organisation, not dishonesty. It is a warning sign when someone asked for a large deposit up front, cannot be reached on any number, gave no address, and has no company or register details you can check. If you think you paid someone who never meant to do the work, contact the Citizens Advice consumer service on 0808 223 1133. It can refer the case to Trading Standards.

How to avoid it next time

• Check the business before you book. Our guide on how to check a tradesperson is genuine covers Gas Safe, NICEIC, Companies House and insurance.
• Get the date in writing with the quote, and if the date matters, say so in writing before you agree.
• Keep the deposit small and pay in stages against finished work.
• Pay by credit card where you can, for the section 75 protection.
• Confirm the day before with a short message. It catches double bookings early.
• Know what a fair price looks like. Our guide to what a plumber charges per hour explains call-out fees and day rates.

Find a tradesperson who answers

If you have given up on the first one, post your job free with what needs doing, your postcode and when you need it, and hear back from a local tradesperson. The business that takes the job can see what you need before they come, you pay them directly, and you can run every check in this guide first. For specific trades, post a plumbing job, an electrical job or a building job.

Or browse local businesses: plumbers in Birmingham, electricians in Wolverhampton, handymen in Coventry or builders in Walsall. You can also browse all our home advice.