Bearded Bros holds Checkatrade approval alongside seven other independently verified accreditations, including BAR membership (verified bar.co.uk, August 2026) and Move Assured. If you have seen the Checkatrade badge on a removals company's website and wondered what it actually confirms, this post walks through the vetting process, how reviews are collected and checked, and what to look for when comparing companies in Brighton, Hove and across Sussex.
Checkatrade does not issue a badge to anyone who applies and pays. Before a company is listed, Checkatrade carries out a series of checks that must pass before the profile goes live.
Identity is confirmed first. The business name, trading address, and the identity of the people running it are all verified. For removals companies, this typically includes confirming the company exists at Companies House and that the people named on the application are who they say they are.
Insurance is checked next. A removals company handling your furniture and belongings on a public road is legally required to hold goods-in-transit insurance and public liability cover. Checkatrade verifies that current, valid policies are in place before approval. This is not a one-off check at sign-up; cover is re-confirmed at renewal.
References from previous customers are gathered as part of the vetting stage. These are contacted independently rather than supplied entirely by the trade, which separates the process from a simple self-declaration.
Ongoing monitoring covers the review record after approval. A company cannot simply pass vetting once and then let standards slip. Checkatrade monitors the pattern of reviews over time and can remove a trade if the quality of feedback deteriorates or if the business fails to respond to complaints within the platform.
This is where Checkatrade differs most clearly from an open review platform.
On a platform like Google or Trustpilot, anyone with an account can leave a review. There is no requirement to have used the business, and while both platforms have fraud-detection systems, fake or malicious reviews do appear. The business can report them, but the barrier to posting is low.
Checkatrade operates a closed review system. A review can only be submitted by a customer whose job has been registered with Checkatrade. The trade logs the job on the platform and the customer receives an invitation to review. This means every review is tied to an actual completed piece of work rather than being submitted anonymously.
Reviews are then displayed on the profile with a score out of ten across several categories, typically tidiness, reliability, courtesy, and quality of work. The aggregate score is calculated from verified reviews only.
For removals specifically, this matters. A moving job involves a crew in your home for several hours, handling furniture and belongings that often have both monetary and personal value. Knowing that every review on a Checkatrade profile came from a real customer who booked and completed a job is a meaningful signal, not just a comfort measure.
| Review platform | Who can review | Job verification | Score calculated from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anyone with a Google account | No | All submitted reviews | |
| Trustpilot | Anyone with an email address | No (invite option exists) | All submitted reviews |
| Checkatrade | Registered job customers only | Yes | Verified jobs only |
Checkatrade approval confirms three things: the business is real and properly identified, it holds the required insurance, and its review record has been gathered from verified customers. That is a more robust baseline than a badge from a directory that does not vet applicants.
It does not confirm specialist accreditation for the removals industry specifically. The British Association of Removers (BAR), the body that governs professional standards for removal companies in the UK, runs a separate and more detailed approval process that includes an audit of operational procedures, staff training records, and financial standing. BAR membership also carries the BAR Advance Payment Guarantee, which protects deposits if a company fails before your move day.
A company can hold Checkatrade approval without BAR membership. A company can also hold BAR membership without Checkatrade approval. The two schemes measure different things. Checkatrade is a consumer-facing verification of identity, insurance and review authenticity. BAR is an industry-facing audit of operational competence.
Bearded Bros holds both, alongside Move Assured, the Furniture and Home Improvement Ombudsman (FHIO), a Trading Standards approved Code of Practice (CTSI), the BAR Advance Payment Guarantee, the Brighton and Hove Living Wage employer standard, and Self Storage Association UK (SSA UK) membership. All eight accreditations are detailed on the [accreditations page](/accreditations/).
If you are comparing removal companies and working out whether accreditations matter, a short checklist helps cut through the noise.
Yes. Bearded Bros holds Checkatrade approval and is listed on the Checkatrade platform. The Bros also hold seven other independently verified accreditations, including BAR membership (verified bar.co.uk, August 2026) and Move Assured. The full list is on the accreditations page.
Checkatrade verifies identity, insurance and collects reviews from confirmed customers. BAR membership goes further: it requires an independent operational audit covering staff training, procedures and financial standing, and it includes the BAR Advance Payment Guarantee, which protects your deposit if the company stops trading before your move. Both are worth checking; they cover different things.
Go to checkatrade.com and search by company name or postcode. Approved companies have an active profile with a verified review score. You can also check bar.co.uk for BAR membership using the Check-a-Mover tool.
Yes, at the point of vetting. Checkatrade checks that a company holds valid goods-in-transit and public liability insurance before approving them. Cover is re-confirmed at renewal. If you want current confirmation, ask the company directly for a copy of their insurance certificate before you book.
Get a quote from Bearded Bros or call Simon and the team on 01273 917898. The Bros cover Brighton, Hove and the wider East and West Sussex area, with storage at Springfield Road in Brighton and a crated facility in Newhaven.
