Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Rogue Roofing Company
I had a leaking roof after the heavy downpour on Sunday 25th. I went through Barks.com and unfortunately selected a rogue Roofer to whom I paid a huge deposit. The Contractor has not visited since day 2 of the 4 day job - he said he was pinged by the NHS covid test & trace app and could not oversee the work. He had one worker whose english was not very good, he sent the Contractor regular photos and videos of his work. The work has been signed off and he is now demanding the balance. I had no choice, but to hire an independent Roofer to check the work done against the agreed list. He found that the work was substandard, no new materials were used, there were holes and gaps left etc. I have received threatening telephone calls and text messages from the Contractor, "purporting to take this all the way." He also told his worker to rip all of the tiles from my roof, thankfully this order of criminal damage was not followed. He has also stated he will leave the scaffolding up around my home, which is a security risk. He has now stopped responding to my calls, I have left him a message asking him to rectify and complete the work. He has refused to provide an itemized invoice, report or a certificate of guarantee, which I have requested several times.
I shall contact the Citizens advice Bureau and Trading Standards and will look into employing a Solicitor. This whole, stressful process has left me traumatised and frightened of any further threats of reprisal to my home and family. Is there anything else I can do? I have the paperwork, copies of text messages etc.
Please don't respond to this post telling me how silly I have been to pay him a deposit or chide me for any of the other mistakes I made, I am beating myself up enough already. I thought I was savvy, but realize I am like everyone else and can be easily scammed by a supposedly, reputable Company.
This is a synopsis of the events to keep the post relatively short. Thank you for your kind words and advice.
Tags for Forum Posts: roofer
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Sydney on
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So sorry to hear you've experienced this, it must be so stressful. You did nothing wrong in employing this person – it's really hard to know who is a good contractor and who isn't these days.
It's great that you've contacted Trading Standards, they should take it seriously. Getting a solicitor onboard seems wise too and should the roofer contact you again, tell them the matter is now in the hands of your legal representative and you will not be making any payment until they've looked into the matter. If the roofer makes any further threats towards you or your property tell them you are contacting the police. It is technically a civil matter but it probably wouldn't hurt to call the non-emergency police number on 101 now and get some advice about dealing the harassment and threats.
Good luck!
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Permalink Reply by Jane Bain on
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Thank you MLD for taking the time to respond and for your kind words and advice. I appreciate it.
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I’m sorry you were unlucky enough to employ a bad human. Check if your house insurance has legal cover. Suggest to rouge roofer you will write a review on trust Pilot or check a trade- keep it brief & factual. It may provide some ‘leverage’. Citizens Advice Bureau will offer you a template to write a letter. Follow their advice, they are really helpful. We had a similar issue. It’s been a steep learning curve but remember, you didn’t do anything wrong. You paid a deposit in good faith, that’s all.
good luck
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Thank you Nicole. I contacted my Insurers from the beginning and the claim was rejected because it was "not caused by a storm" They said the area had probably been weakened for some time and the rain only revealed the damage. I tried to appeal and contacted them again after the the problems were identified as requiring some new timber, new Felt and the pots on the chimney breast replaced. They said it was a maintenance issue and was not covered. My argument that I could not have known about the problem until it was exposed was met by, "yes we know." They said if the Roofer provided a report, there may be aspects of the work which might be covered and I should contact them again after I got it. The Roofer said at the beginning that he would provide this, but now that he has disappeared and ignored all communications from me, the report will not be forthcoming.
His shoddy work has been revealed along with the lack of new materials used, this may be the reason he could not produce an itemized invoice.
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Hi Jane sorry to hear of your issues. Any chance you could share the name of the contractor? So I can be sure to avoid him. I am just about to appoint a roofer and I have similar concerns.
Many thanks and good luck getting it all sorted
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Thank you for your response James. I am wary of naming this Company publicly, in case if affects the legal outcome. I can send it to you privately, if we were connected.
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Permalink Reply by Christopher Fowler on
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In February, I had a roofer come in to give a quote to repair a leak in the roof of the rear part of the house. They tore off about one-third of the roof - tiles, roofing felt, etc - in the process of "identifying the source of the leak", and ended up demanding £28,000 to fix the whole roof. They ground me down with continual arguments until I agreed to give them a significant deposit to start work the next day. They did not do this. I phoned and emailed them for return of the deposit. I am pursuing them through the civil courts for recovery of the deposit, plus interest, plus cost of repairing all the damage they did to the roof, plus compensation for the effects of the damage. The civil court system is so overloaded that I am still waiting for a court date, and I am not optimistic about getting the money back even if I get a favourable court judgment. The building trade in London is full of fraudsters and crooks. The only way to get an honest builder who will do a good job is to go on personal recommendation. Fortunately, we now have one, who will come to give a quote next week. I am very pessimistic about ever getting back the deposit I was stupid enough to give to the original roofers. I am so sorry that you have had similar problems, and I wish you the best in getting back your money, and in getting your roof properly fixed. And to other home-owners: learn from my example, and don't get duped and conned. It can happen to anyone, because the fraudsters are so convincing, and it is so easy to scare home owners about potential damage if repairs are not done immediately. Don't rely on the police for any help. We had them round, and they refused to do anything, even about the intimidation and malicious damage, washed their hands, and said it was a matter for the civil courts.
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Oh my goodness Christopher, there are many similarities to my case. I was also told that immediate repair was needed due to potential long term damage, fire etc. I was quoted £18,000 and paid £11,000 deposit for new materials, labour, scaffolding etc. I should have been wary when they re-used all of the old tiles, instead of replacing them.
I have been threatened for the £6,000 balance, which I have refused to pay due to the uncompleted and substandard work. He said he will strip the tiles off and not remove the scaffolding. I doubt I get any money back, because it was a direct Bank transfer. I contacted my Bank, who to be fair, tried to stop me making the payment, alerting me it could be a scam and making me go through several loopholes before releasing the money. At the time, I was convinced the Contractor was honest and would honour his commitments. I was so wrong.
I shall contact the Police today, despite them not being able to offer any assistance, this Company may already be or can go on their system. The Which scam website is also very helpful.
I hope people on this site will learn from our experiences Christopher. I am sorry you are going through this and wish you success in your case.
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Thank you for your sympathy and kindness, Jane. You were even more unfortunate than me, as your builders have stolen about three times what they managed to steal from me. No bank will do anything. The Met Police won't do anything; and, in fairness, they are so understaffed, underfunded and overloaded, there are a lot of crimes they can't deal with (property theft of any kind, for example). I looked on Haringey's trading standards pages, but could find no way of making a report to them. In any case, they are so understaffed and underfunded, they are barely able to stop local restaurants from killing us all with infections due to the bad state of their kitchens. As for Which, they do have lots of good advice as to how to get proper competitive quotes and avoid scams, but they can't do much after it has happened. Despite a lifetime of dealing with builders and other types of repairs etc, and being a well-educated person, I was _still_ beaten down and stupid enough to give the roofers money. Thank you for your good wishes about recovering the money. I wish you the same. There have always been "rogues" in the building trade, but now, in Britain generally, there is so much corruption, fraud and scamming, that it is impossible to be sure of getting what you pay for. It is a very sad state of affairs for a country which has always been admired for its judicial system and police service. But now the rot starts at the very top, the PM and the cabinet, and the entire body politic is rotting before our eyes. Sorry to be so "gloom and doom". I am just "venting", but I know that is no help to any of us. Good luck, and don't give up.
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Christopher, I feel your pain just reading your words. I am trying to resist the anger and sadness I feel, because I know then my Scammer would have won. He has taken my money, but I still have things in my life, that makes me happy. I think he will eventually scam the wrong person and will be dealt with appropriately. I contacted the Police tonight just for a reference number and for them to have it on their system. I am aware its a civil matter and does not fall in their remit. I shall continue to look at ways to possibly recoup some of my money. I contacted the CORC (Confederation of Roofing Contractors) who have been a tremendous help with the different logistics and protocols needed to navigate this mess. He is not one of their members, but they are still willing to help me. They are a great source of information. You can contact them through their website www.corc.co.uk or send them an e-mail at enquiries@corc.co.uk
Take care.
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Permalink Reply by Hugh on
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A note for next time/other people. As far as I’m aware, there’s nothing intrinsically wrong with reusing old tiles. It all depends on the state of the particular tiles and your attitude. I had my slate roof completely redone about 20 years ago. It was suggested to me to reuse old tiles for the rear roofs and new ones for the front, which is what I did. I seem to remember then being given the choice between a more costly welsh slate and a cheaper Eastern European alternative.
Sympathy to you both on your horrible experiences.
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