Roofing is the most common type of scam reported to Citizens Advice, the charity says, accounting for one in every 10 scams it recorded over the past year.
Fake tradespeople are charging homeowners thousands of pounds for roof work that is never completed, carried out poorly or not needed at all, according to the consumer advice charity.
In the year to August, the Citizens Advice Consumer Service received 9,000 complaints about roofing work, covering construction, repairs and weatherproofing. Of those, 2,205 — roughly one in four — were suspected scams, up from 2,098 the previous year.
One victim, a 68-year-old woman named Crystal from the Midlands, said she felt pressured into agreeing to have her roof redone and paid £5,500 in total. The original contractor sent his son to do the work instead, and the job was left unfinished in the eaves, she told the BBC.
“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.
She said workers removed lead from her neighbour’s side of the chimney, sending bricks down into his attic and letting rain into his house. The experience still troubles her, she added: “I can’t sleep. I don’t eat properly.”
Dame Clare Moriarty, chief executive of Citizens Advice, said consumers should check traders thoroughly before hiring 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 described aggressive and intimidating behaviour, with three quarters of fraudsters relying on doorstep sales tactics, the charity said.
Citizens Advice highlighted the case of Charlotte, 65, who lives alone in north eastern England. Tradesmen she found online first offered to mend her leaking gutter for £250, then told her more work was needed at a cost of £2,500.
“An hour later they said it was sorted, but they’d found another problem,” she said.
Charlotte said it was dark and she felt afraid, and that she paid £3,500 because she did not feel able to deal with whatever might happen if she refused. She said she could see no sign the following day that any work had been done.
Citizens Advice offered the following guidance to help people avoid roofing scams:
- Be alert: Always ask for references and for everything to be in writing. Be wary of unsolicited doorknockers and callers
- Gather evidence: If a trader causes problems, be sure to take photos and gather the necessary paperwork and receipts
- Know your rights: Traders must give you the information about your right to cancel in writing. If the job is not done with “reasonable care and skill”, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 also entitles you to ask for the problem to be fixed or a refund
Lord Bichard, chair of National Trading Standards, said rogue traders were “criminals deliberately preying on people in their own homes”.
He described roofing fraud as “particularly cruel” and said Trading Standards would pursue fraudsters through legal channels.
“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.
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