Roofing complaints continue to cause concern across the borough, including residents recently paying vastly over-inflated prices for sometimes unnecessary work.
Residents are reminded not to accept roofing work from uninvited callers, leaflet drops or other unverified approaches, and to carefully check that anyone carrying out work is a legitimate trader.
Trading Standards continues to receive reports of residents being targeted by rogue roofers offering inspections, repairs, cleaning services, or urgent remedial work. These approaches often begin with claims that roofing problems have been identified and require immediate attention, creating pressure for residents to make quick decisions.
While many roofing businesses operate legitimately, rogue traders often rely on uninvited approaches and high-pressure sales techniques to secure work. The risks can include unnecessary repairs and vastly inflated costs, which the Bromley Trading Standards team have seen locally in the last few weeks. The risks can also include poor workmanship, incomplete work, and little or no opportunity to recover losses when things go wrong.
The key advice is to carefully check the credentials of anyone being hired, including references and reviews. If it is a company, also carefully check their information on the Companies House register, e.g. how long the business has been registered, business activity history, repeated filed complaints, frequent director changes, etc. Whilst these factors do not necessarily mean a trader is unreliable, they may indicate that further checks are advisable.
How roofing crime typically unfolds:
Roofing scams often begin with criminals offering seemingly low-cost repairs to gain initial agreement, before rapidly escalating the scope and price of the work after claiming to have discovered additional problems. In many cases, scaffolding is erected quickly, creating a sense of urgency and making it more difficult for residents to withdraw from the arrangement once concerns arise.
Once work begins, only a fraction of the promised repairs may be completed, leaving residents facing inflated charges, poor workmanship, and the prospect of paying a reputable contractor to rectify defective work. This combination of pressure tactics, grossly overpriced and often unnecessary work, and lack of accountability remains a common feature of roofing crime reports received by Trading Standards.
Protect yourself from doorstep scams:
The advice from Trading Standards remains clear: do not deal with unsolicited traders, including those at the door. Always get written quotes before agreeing to work.
Be highly selective when choosing a trader to carry out work on a property. Residents are encouraged to use Trading Standards Checked to find local vetted traders.
Actions to avoid:
- Don't accept uninvited roofing offers at the doorstep
- Don't respond to leaflet drops without carrying out thorough checks
- Don't pay large sums upfront
- Don't be pressured into making immediate decisions
- Don't assume a trader is reputable because they have a website, social media page, or printed leaflet
How to protect yourself:
- Get at least three written quotes before agreeing to work
- Check references, reviews and previous work
- Verify company details through the Companies House register
- Confirm any claimed trade association memberships directly
- Obtain a written contract and cooling-off rights
- Check and verify a trader's insurance cover
- Be wary of cash payments and requests to transfer money to private individuals
- Question traders claiming they can start work immediately
Report, advice, and guidance
If you believe you or someone you know is at immediate risk of losing money to a scam or doorstep criminal, contact the police directly on 999.
Contact Citizens Advice for help and advice on 0808 223 1133 or on the Citizens Advice website
Contact your bank's fraud team if you think you've been scammed: Call 159 - Stop Scams UK
If you have been tricked into sending money by bank payment, check out the Toolkit and UK Finance Authorised Push Payment Fraud guidance for more information on recovering lost money
Having a large-scale renovation of your roof may require building control – more information on Building Control
Report fraud by calling 0300 123 2040 or visiting the Report Fraud website
Request a No Cold Caller sticker from Trading Standards at trading.standards@bromley.gov.uk
Visit our webpage for more Trading Standards advice
For general information about scams in various languages, visit the Friends Against Scams website
Bromley Trading Standards
To keep up with the latest scam alerts and warnings from Bromley Trading Standards sign up on www.bromley.gov.uk/TradingStandardsAlertSignUpForm.
Bromley Trading Standards also runs a fair-trader directory to help you find a safe, reliable trader that you can trust, visit www.bromley.gov.uk/tradingstandardschecked to learn more.