A REDDITCH pensioner fleeced of £2,000 by rogue roofers has gone public in a bid to warn others not to fall into the same trap he did.
Police have issued a crime number and launched an investigation into the offence which left the senior citizen fearing he could be harmed if he didn’t pay up.
Tom Bough of Winyates Green was unloading his car when he noticed three men shoving leaflets through peoples’ doors.
“They said they were from I.S. Roofing and offering free quotes and a 14 day cooling off period. I told them I didn’t want to know,” said Tom, aged 71.
“Then they said the could replace the end caps on the roof for £600, I told them no way, so they said, as a special offer they’d do it for £150 and I thought, well all right.
“Two of them got a ladder, I walked into the house and the next thing I knew, they’d taken half the roof off.”
Horrified, Tom asked what they were doing and was told some tiles were broken, birds had poked holes in the felt and it was going to cost £4,400 to put right.
He told them he didn’t have that kind of money and, desperate to get the roof back on, offered them £2,000 which they agreed to.
“I went off to the cashpoint and when I came back they weren’t there and they hadn’t done any work. I think they thought I’d come back with the police.
“They did put the roof back but I then had to get another roofer in to make good the work they’d done.”
The incident happened on April 13 and Tom accepts he will never see his money again.
“They were so plausible. They shook my hand, seemed pleasant enough, but if I can stop just one person from falling victim to them, then it’s been worthwhile.
“They were supposedly a limited company, but the police checked them out and they don’t exist,” he added.
“I was scared they might harm me or ransack the house – they could have done anything.”
Thomas has been issued with a crime number and anyone with any information on the conmen is urged to call police on 101.
Mark Powell of Powell Roofing, a company registered with Age Concern, Redditch, put right the damage. He said: “I took the broken tiles down and showed them to the police. The condition they’d left the roof in was shocking. One of them had even put his foot through the felt.
“The thing is it was only the gable end that needed doing – otherwise that roof was in perfect condition.”
A police spokeperson said: “Bogus traders operating door-to-door will often take advantage of poor weather conditions to offer their services, including flooding and high winds, which may have caused damage to your property.
“Otherwise they may try and point out ‘problems’ that don’t actually exist. Such traders can be extremely persuasive and elderly and vulnerable people are often targeted.
“The work will normally be done immediately, before the householder changes their mind, and very often any information provided by the workmen (names, addresses, telephone numbers) are false, making them very hard to trace.”
When the Redditch Standard tried to contact I.S. Roofing we got the following automated message: ‘Sorry caller we are unable to connect you at present’. We left a message on their mobile phone number to which they have not replied.
We also looked for them on the internet but the company did not exist.
