Roofing scams top Citizens Advice complaints: what to check before you pay

According to Guardian News and Media, suspected roofing frauds were the top scam that Citizens Advice heard about from consumers in the last year. The charity received more than 2,200 complaints of suspected roofing scams in the year to August in England and Wales, about 10% more than the previous year.

The pattern is consistent. Someone knocks at the door, says they are working nearby, and points out a problem with a roof that the homeowner cannot see for themselves. More than three-quarters of the cases reported to Citizens Advice start this way. A smaller number begin online: a woman looking for help with a dripping gutter posted on an online platform and was contacted by a builder who named a low price, then raised it once he was on site.

What a reader should do before any money moves

The step this scam depends on is payment before verification. The builder asks to be paid there and then, by bank transfer, before anyone else has looked at the roof or the invoice. Once that transfer clears, there is no shop to return to and no receipt that proves anything was done. A reader who is told a roof problem needs fixing today should refuse to pay on the spot, whatever the pressure. Get a second opinion from an independent roofer, in writing, before any transfer is made.

Ruwani Purcell, director of external affairs at Citizens Advice, says the difficulty is that a roof is out of sight and out of reach, so a homeowner cannot check the claim themselves. She says fraudsters use persuasive tactics to offer confidence and reassurance, use technical terms an ordinary person will not recognise, and in the worst cases turn intimidating to compel an immediate payment.

That intimidation is itself a signal. A 65-year-old woman who contacted Citizens Advice described two men in front of her in the dark, demanding money and making clear they were not moving. She paid £3,500 by bank transfer because she was alone and did not feel able to deal with whatever might happen if she refused. The next day there was no trace that any work had been done.

The practical check is simple: never pay for roof work the same day it is offered, never let someone you did not call tell you what is wrong with a part of your house you cannot see, and get a second roofer to confirm any claimed fault before a bank transfer is sent. If two people turn up uninvited and press for immediate payment, that pressure is the scam, not a sign of urgency to be trusted.