The problem in one paragraph
When you pay a deposit, you are not paying "Aurelia Kitchens". You are paying a limited company with a number, a registered address, directors and a set of accounts — and that company may have been incorporated eleven months ago, may be registered for installation rather than manufacturing, and may share its address with four hundred other firms. None of that is on the website. All of it is on the public register, for free, if you know where to look and have an hour to spare.
What "checking" actually means
A SafeToPay check does four things, in this order.
- 1
Finds the legal entity
We work out which company sits behind the brand name on the website — using the company number if they publish one, otherwise the VAT number, the address, the directors' names and the domain registration. If we can't find one, that is the first thing you need to know.
- 2
Reads the official record
Companies House filings, HMRC VAT status, the domain's registration history, the Internet Archive, the trade registers (Gas Safe, NICEIC, FENSA, the FCA where finance is offered), the advertiser registers and the review platforms.
- 3
Compares it with the website
Every claim we can test — years trading, "family-run since", own workshop, staff numbers, accreditations, guarantees — is put next to the fact from the register. Where they disagree, we show you both.
- 4
Tells you what to do about it
A verdict, deposit guidance for this trade and this company, the safest way to pay, and three questions that a genuine firm answers in a sentence and a doubtful one avoids.
What it is — and what it is not
We are careful about this, because the difference is the whole point. A report never calls anyone a scam. It shows what the website claims, what the register records, and where the two disagree. You draw the conclusion.
A report is
- Facts from public registers, each with its source
- A comparison between those facts and the website's claims
- A deposit figure derived from the company's filed accounts
- The questions to ask, and what a good answer looks like
- Shareable with a partner or parent, no account needed
A report is not
- A scam list or a blacklist
- A rating, a score or a review
- A guarantee that a green firm will finish the job
- Legal or financial advice
- A reason to skip a written contract
Why most reports come back amber
Amber is not a warning that something is wrong. It is a note that something doesn't line up yet: a company younger than its website implies, a one-person firm describing a factory, an address that is a mailbox, no reviews anywhere. Every one of those has an innocent explanation — and a genuine business gives it in a sentence. The full report tells you which sentence to ask for.
This is why the three questions matter more than the colour. "Which legal entity will the contract and invoice be in?" is a question a real firm has answered a hundred times. A firm that changes the subject has told you something.
How the deposit guidance works
A big deposit is not in itself a warning sign. For bespoke staircases, kitchens or windows, 30–50% up front is normal, because materials and workshop time are committed before anything is delivered. For building work it is the opposite: 5–20%, with the rest paid in stages against progress. The report tells you what is normal for the trade you are dealing with, so you know whether the figure you have been asked for is ordinary or unusual.
Then it tells you what the company's own accounts say. Most small trade businesses have tiny balance sheets — profits are drawn out, machines are written down — which is not a mark against them, but it means a deposit paid by bank transfer would be unsecured if the firm failed. So the protection has to come from how you pay: at least £100 on a credit card (Section 75 then covers the whole purchase between £100 and £30,000), a staged schedule tied to things you can see, and a contract in the legal entity's name. The full report sets out the schedule to propose.
Who it's for
Homeowners
Kitchens, staircases, extensions, windows, driveways — anything with a deposit and a lead time.
Buying a car
Dealers and brokers whose forecourt is a website. The register shows who actually holds the stock.
Adult children
Checking a quote a parent was sent. The free check shares with one link and any red flag is in the first line.
Why it is free to check and £14.99 to know what to do
The legal entity, and any serious warning sign, are free because everyone should have them before sending money — and a free check is easy to share with the person about to pay. The full report completes the verification: the green-or-amber verdict, every website claim against the register, the directors' history, the accounts, deposit guidance and the three questions. It costs less than a tenth of a typical deposit. If our sources are down and we can't complete a check, you are not charged.
If you run a genuine business
A report is your best advertisement. It shows your real company number, your years on the register, your filed accounts and your reviews — exactly what a copied website can't show. If anything in a report about your business is wrong, tell us and we correct it within 48 hours.