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Rogue Traders
How to spot a Rogue Trader
Every year thousands of homeowners fall victim to rogue traders posing as professionals. They will often agree to carry out work immediately and for a very low quote, but the quality of work is usually poor and can often end in costly disaster.
Last year, rogue traders cost unsuspecting homeowners across Britain over £1.36 billion** in botched jobs and poorly finished repair work.
Popular things they will say:
"You have loose tiles on your roof"
"Your roof has been leaking"
"I see cracked brickwork on your house"
"You need to have some pointing on your chimney"
"You need some work doing on your driveway"
"I'm doing some work in the area and have materials left over which we need to use up"
"I'm doing some work for the council down the road"
"I'm doing free property surveys to check if you have any rising damp"
"Your brickwork is acting like a sponge soaking up the rainwater"
(Ignore this popular line as bricks are supposed to behave like this!!)
Brian Berry, Director of external affairs at the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) says:
"If you are targeted by a rogue trader, do not engage in conversation with them. Say you need to compare prices or that you have to discuss it with your partner, son, daughter or friend. A quality tradesperson will have a queue of customers waiting to have work done on their homes – they will not have time to knock on your door."
** Figures supplied by Trading Standards.
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