Which? Local is a recommendation website exclusive to Which? members where you can find and recommend local traders and businesses.

The website has over 100,000 moderated reviews from builders and barbers to roofers and restaurants. The website offers a platform for members to get unbiased recommendations from each other.

Alongside the huge database of recommendations and trader info, the website also boasts a range of excellent features including:

• Advice articles
• Expert ‘How-to’ videos
• Top tips from traders
• Community forums

For Which? members - Absolutely nothing! Which? Local is a free member benefit for subscribers of Which? – whatever your subscription.
If you would like access to Which? Local but do not yet hold a Which? subscription, please click here or call us on 01992 822800.

Firstly, you will need your Which? membership number – if you subscribe to a magazine, this will be shown on the cover letter with each issue. Which.co.uk members can find this in the ‘Your Account’ section of the Which.co.uk website.

Secondly, go to the Which? Local homepage and click on the 'Activate your account' button. Enter your membership number, and then fill in your desired login credentials (your chosen screen name, email and password).

A screen name acts as an alias, allowing members to protect their personal identities, when posting on the website. Which? Local is committed to protecting your privacy and will not divulge any member's personal information. For more information about our privacy policy, please click here.

At this time, login details for the main Which? website and Which? Local are not linked. This means that you may have different login details for both.

1) Have you registered?
Which? Local is a free service for all Which? members, but we do require that you register to use the service. You can find out how to register by clicking here.

2) Have you changed your email address?
You may have originally registered your account using a different email address. If this is a possibility, please contact us so we can update your account details.

3) Have you forgotten your password?
Please note that the login details for Which? Local may be different to the ones you have for the main Which.co.uk website.
To reset your Which? Local password, please click here.

4) Have you previously held a Which? subscription?
If you are unable to register a Which? Local account, you may have registered in the past with a previous Which? subscription. If so, please contact us so we can update our records.

You can find a trader recommended by our members in one of two ways:
1)    The search bar – once logged in to Which? Local start typing what you’re looking for in the search bar and our system will make helpful category suggestions for you to select. You can then select the correct category, ensuring that the postcode in the ‘Near’ box is correct, and then select ‘Search’.

2)    You can use the category menu on the left hand side of the page to manually browse through the available categories. For example, if you were looking for a Plumber you would click on ‘House & Home’ and then ‘Plumbers’.

Absolutely! Which? Local isn’t just confined to traders in your local area – you can use it to search across the UK. To search in a different area, simply change the postcode shown in the ‘Near’ box on the search bar.

Which? Local currently calculates distances ‘as the crow flies’, which means that the figure you are seeing is the straight line distance between the two points. We are looking to develop the website in the future to calculate true distances by road.

The database we use for place names plot Northern Ireland towns on a different coordinate system to the rest of the UK, this therefore means that we are currently unable to plot these towns on our map. We are looking at a technical fix which will allow us to include N.I. place names in the future.

If you notice that we have published information for a particular trader, that is no longer valid, please click on the link to 'Report incorrect information'. You can find this link directly beneath trader contact details.

No – All of the recommendations come from Which? Members.

Whilst we do not vet the traders, we do moderate each and every piece of member generated content before it is added to the site. We do this to check that people are not recommending themselves, their family, their colleagues etc.

In addition to this, we have over 5,000 traders on the website which have been vetted by Trading Standards officers. This is further explained in our Buy With Confidence section.

Each review is meticulously checked by a team of professional moderators. As part of this process, moderators use a variety of tools to ensure that there is no connection between the member and the trader being recommended. Where there is reason to doubt the legitimacy of a posted review, it will not be published on the website.

If you would like more information about this, please contact us.

To recommend a new trader click 'Recommend' (the pencil icon) on the menu at the top of the website.

Alternatively, if you know the trader is already on the website, you can also post your recommendation via the ‘Write your review’ section below their contact details. This will save you time as you won’t need to fill in the address details again.

Yes. In broad terms, negative reviews are published under the following conditions:

1) The trader/business has an existing recommendation on Which? Local

2) The service was actually used - if a trader does not return calls, refuses a job etc., the comments feature can be used as an alternative

3) The review is factual, objective and contains valid reasons as to why the service was unsatisfactory, in the opinion of the reviewer.

You can view your recommendations on the Which? Local homepage as soon as you log in. Alternatively you can find them via the ‘Reviews’ tab on your profile.

Reviews are typically published within 2-3 days of posting. If there is a delay in publishing your review, we may require additional information about either the trader or the content of your review. In these cases, you will usually be contacted by email.

Yes. Please contact Which? Local with details if you wish to withdraw a recommendation or make any changes. Once you have reviewed a particular trader, you can submit an updated review at a later date, as long as you have used the trader since your initial review.

A number of traders on Which? Local will have a ‘Buy with Confidence’ logo attached to their listing. This means that they have been vetted and approved by Trading Standards Officers.

Each business that has joined this scheme has undergone a series of detailed checks before being approved. Membership of the scheme is not given lightly – each applicant will have their complaints history reviewed and will receive a visit from Trading Standards. In addition, good references are required from previous customers and applicants must agree to abide by the scheme's code of conduct, which requires them to follow the letter and spirit of the law.

Buy With Confidence is the largest local authority scheme in the UK - currently running in more than 30 areas and growing all the time.

A business can only be listed on Which? Local if it's recommended by a Which? member or through the business' membership of the Buy With Confidence scheme (run by Trading Standards).

If any of your satisfied customers are members of Which? please point them in the direction of Which? Local to make that vital first review for your business.

Please note that all reviews are moderated before publication. If businesses are found to be recommending themselves/colleagues/family etc, this will not be published and may result in further action being taken (see our Terms & Conditions).

Yes - please contact us with details and we will investigate accordingly.

To update or edit your business details, please contact Which? Local at any time.

Yes - if your circumstances change and you no longer wish to be featured on the website, please contact us and we will remove your listing as soon as possible.

No - we do not allow traders/businesses to advertise any of the following:

• The Which? Local logo or any associated Which? graphic
• Screenshots of the website or reviews
• The reviews themselves (even if in a different format e.g. font, colour etc)
• Any ad hoc mentions of Which? Local on promotional materials e.g. websites, vans, print ads etc*