How to spot a rogue roofer before he's on your roof

A con-man was jailed this month for taking over £140,000 from homeowners in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire for roofing work. Every one of his victims could have stopped him with three questions. Here's what they are.

What happened

In June a Nottinghamshire homeowner answered a Facebook advert about a small leak. A man calling himself "Craig" turned up, quoted £1,800, and gave her the name of a real roofing firm he said he worked with. She checked the firm. It was legitimate. He wasn't.

Once he was on the roof, "Craig" found "serious hidden defects" and the price became £50,000. She paid £48,000, mostly in cash, because the supplier "only took cash". When she rang the firm he'd named, they had never heard of him. He turned aggressive and walked off the job. An independent inspector then found the work he had done was defective. Putting it right will cost her another £28,000.

His real name was Stewart Langton. He was already banned from taking on building work under a criminal behaviour order. In interview he told police he'd gone back to "what I do best, ripping people off". He admitted six more frauds across Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Birmingham, including a £30,000 new roof that wasn't needed and an elderly woman he drove to the bank himself. Derby Crown Court gave him four years and ten months.

None of this was sophisticated. It worked because the moves are the same every time, and most people don't know what they look like.

Why this makes my blood boil

I'll be honest, this makes my blood boil. We fix more bodged roofs than roofs that have simply worn out. Somebody buys a ladder off Facebook Marketplace on a Saturday and by Monday they're a roofer, with no training, no insurance and no intention of being around when it leaks. There is nothing to stop them, and something needs to be put in place that does. Until it is, the only protection you have is your own.

Do your due diligence, and always try to get three quotes. It costs you nothing but a few days, and it is the one habit that would have stopped every case above.

The three questions

Ask these before anyone goes up a ladder, and ask them again the moment the price changes. A genuine roofer answers all three without blinking. A rogue trader fails at least one of them.

1. "Will you put that in writing, with your company name, address and landline on it?"

"Craig" quoted £1,800 out loud. The £50,000 was out loud too. A spoken price is not a quote, it's an opening bid, and it can grow as fast as the person saying it wants it to.

A real quote is itemised and on paper or in an email, with the trading name, a fixed address and a landline you can ring. If the roofer finds a genuine extra problem once he's up there, the same rule applies: he comes down, shows you photos with something recognisable from your own house in the shot, and sends you a new written quote. Then you get time to think and to get a second opinion. Anyone who wants an answer to a five-figure number while they're still standing on your roof has given you your answer.

2. "Which company are you, and can I check you myself?"

The homeowner did check. She checked the firm. What she didn't check was whether the man at the door actually worked for it. That's the gap this scam lives in: borrow a real name, and the homeowner's own research does the con-man's work for him.

So check the person, not just the name. Ring the company on the number from its own website or Google listing, never a number the trader gives you, and ask whether they have someone of that name on a job at your address. Look the company up on Companies House, which is free. If they claim a trade scheme, find the scheme's register yourself and search it. We're NFRC Competent Person Scheme registered (contractor no. 12701) and Trading Standards Buy With Confidence approved, and both registers are public. Anyone genuine will be glad you looked.

3. "Why can't I pay the company by card or bank transfer, after the work?"

"The supplier only takes cash" is the line that should end the conversation. No roofing merchant in 2026 insists on cash, and no legitimate roofer needs £48,000 of it in instalments. Cash can't be traced, can't be charged back and can't be recovered. That is exactly why he wanted it.

The normal shape of a roofing job is a deposit after you've seen and signed a written quote, never before, and the balance on completion. Pay a deposit by credit card where you can: under section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act the card provider is jointly liable for purchases between £100 and £30,000. If you pay by transfer, it goes to a business account in the company's name, not a personal one. And if anyone ever offers to drive you to the bank, stop, and ring someone you trust.

The price jump is the moment to stop

Small leak, big discovery, huge bill. That escalation is the whole method, and it's the same in every case Langton admitted. A small job becoming a large one while the trader is on your roof is not proof of fraud on its own. Roofs do hide problems. But it is always the moment to come down off the decision: get the photos, get the new price in writing, and get at least two other roofers to quote the same work before you agree to anything. Three written quotes side by side show you in a minute whether a price is fair. A roofer who objects to a second opinion is telling you why.

Remember too that if you agreed the work in your own home, the Consumer Contracts Regulations give you 14 days to cancel. A trader who pushes to start the same day is usually trying to run that clock down.

If it's already happened

• Stop paying, and don't let them back on the roof
• Call your bank straight away. If you were tricked into a bank transfer, it may have to refund you under the authorised push payment fraud rules
• If you paid by credit card, ask the card provider about a section 75 claim
• Report it to the Citizens Advice consumer helpline on 0808 223 1133, which passes reports to Trading Standards
• If you feel threatened, or they come back, call the police
• Get an independent roofer to inspect and photograph what was, or wasn't, done. That report is your evidence for the bank, Trading Standards and any claim

How we'd answer the three questions

We survey your roof free, with no call-out charge, and send a fixed, itemised written quote within 48 hours. You can check us on the NFRC Competent Person Scheme and Buy With Confidence registers before you decide anything. A materials deposit is taken only once you've seen and signed the written quote, with the balance due on completion, and we'd far rather you paid by card or transfer than handed anyone cash. If someone else has quoted you, or has already started, we'll look at it and tell you honestly what we find.