Roofing scammers con homeowners out of thousands of pounds
One in 10 scams reported to Citizens Advice relate to fraudsters charging for work not done, or done badly.
Roofing scammers con homeowners out of thousands of pounds
Scammers posing as genuine tradesmen are taking thousands of pounds from homeowners for roofing jobs that are left unfinished, carried out poorly or not needed at all, according to Citizens Advice.
The consumer advice charity says that one in 10 of all scams it logged over the past year involved roofing, making it the most common scam type reported to it.
That can leave victims such as Crystal, from the Midlands, thousands of pounds worse off.
The 68-year-old said she was frightened and struggled to sleep after a rogue builder left her roof with dislodged bricks and blocked gutters.
She said she felt pushed into agreeing to have her roof redone and paid £5,500 in total, only for the original contractor to send his son instead, who left work in the eaves unfinished.
"We had heavy rain a couple of weeks after he did the job, and it ended up like a waterfall coming down the wall," she said.
Her neighbour's house was also damaged.
"They took the lead off my neighbour's side of the chimney, which caused bricks to fall into his attic and the rain to go into his house," she told the BBC.
The ordeal still affects her: "I can't sleep. I don't eat properly".
In the year to August, the Citizens Advice Consumer Service received 9,000 complaints about roofing work, including issues with construction, repairs and weatherproofing.
Of these, 2,205, or around one in four complaints, were suspected scams, up from 2,098 in the previous year.
Dame Clare Moriarty, chief executive of Citizens Advice, urged consumers to carry out detailed checks on traders before agreeing to hire them.
"Scammers exploit the fact that roofs are out of sight and reach, knowing most people can't easily inspect the work themselves," she said.
Victims also reported aggressive and intimidating behaviour, with three quarters of fraudsters using "doorstep" sales tactics.
Citizens Advice highlighted the case of Charlotte, 65, who lives alone in north eastern England.
Tradesmen she found online first offered to repair her leaking gutter for £250. The two men then said more work was needed, which would cost £2,500.
"An hour later they said it was sorted, but they'd found another problem," she said.
It was dark and Charlotte felt scared. "They knew I was alone, I didn't feel like I could deal with anything that might happen after, so I paid £3,500," she said.
But the following day she could see no evidence that any work had been done, she said.
Lord Bichard, chair of National Trading Standards, said rogue traders were "criminals deliberately preying on people in their own homes".
He called roofing fraud "particularly cruel", and said Trading Standards would pursue fraudsters through legal routes.
"Victims can lose life savings in a matter of hours and be left with damaged homes, financial hardship and a profound sense of vulnerability long after the criminals have gone," he said.