Rogue trader fined for shoddy roofing work

Stephen Robert Thompson, of Whessoe Road, Darlington, pleaded guilty to consumer protection offences at Peterlee Magistrates Court following an investigation by Hartlepool Borough Council’s Trading Standards Team.

Thompson, 31, whilst trading as Right Price Roofing Ltd, charged the couple £5,000 to fit a full new roof on their home but the work carried out was so poor that it needed to be completely redone by a different roofing company.

The couple had earlier decided to have their roof replaced as they were approaching retirement and wanted a new roof to last them through their retirement and had used pension money to pay for it.

Thompson’s paperwork stated “payment due on completion of work”, so the couple believed that the company would do a good job as they believed that they wouldn’t have to pay until the end.

However, on the first day of the job, and after taking the original roof off, Thompson asked for £3,000 to buy the new roof tiles. As they now had no roof, the couple felt they had no choice but to pay the money ‘up front’. A couple of days later, Thompson asked for another £2,000 for more materials.

After the payments had been made, several problems with the work started to appear. The workers began to fail to show up as promised before eventually walking away from the job completely. Whilst the work was still ongoing the roofers put their feet through two bedroom ceilings causing damage to both which were not repaired. The general poor quality of the work meant that the roof leaked in various places and the couple had to wait months to have it redone.

Photographs of Thompson’s work on the couple's home

As part of their investigation, Hartlepool Trading Standards instructed a Charted Building Surveyor to review the standard of the work. The surveyor concluded that the quality of work was not fit for purpose and it needed to be stripped and redone. On the basis of his examination it was his opinion that the company was not capable of carrying out the roofing which they advertised.

Ian Harrison, the Council’s Trading Standards and Licensing Manager, said: “The quality of this work was horrendous and my sympathies go to the homeowners who had to live with the worry and disruption caused. Significant damage was caused to the property which took many months to resolve.

“I am pleased with the result in Court today and hope it sends a message to other cowboy builders that we will investigate shoddy work and not hesitate to prosecute those responsible.” 

If a trader has carried out unsatisfactory work on your home, for advice you should call the Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 0808 250 5050. All information provided will be forwarded to your local Trading Standards department for review.