Rogue roofer who carried out 'incompetent' work ordered to pay more than £4,800
A rogue roofer who told a Stourbridge couple their roof needed urgent repairs and carried out “incompetent” work has been ordered to pay almost £5,000.
John McDonagh, 25, trading as Chessington Roofing, pleaded guilty at Wolverhampton Magistrates Court to three charges under the Fraud act of dishonestly making false representations.
He also pleaded guilty to one charge under consumer protection regulations of failing to give cancellation rights.
The court heard how an initial unsolicited knock on the front door escalated from an agreement to pay £20 to clear the gutters to the false claim that the roof needed to be repaired.
McDonagh, of South Okenden, in Essex, removed two roof tiles he claimed were obstructing the gutter, told the couple the roof battens and lining were rotten and required repair and showed them a piece of timber he claimed had come from their roof.
The couple agreed to pay £1,000 for repair work they were told would take a day – but became suspicious when McDonagh only took an hour and a half and then demanded full payment in cash.
The court was told that the couple paid £480 and arrangements were made for McDonagh to call again the next day. The couple then contacted trading standards and when McDonagh returned, a trading standards officer seized the piece of wood he had claimed had come from the roof.
Distress
An expert examination subsequently confirmed the wood had not come from the roof but was a piece of fencing timber, that the roof battens were not decayed and that the so-called repairs carried out by McDonagh were “totally incompetent” and had no value whatsoever.
McDonagh was given a 12-month community order for 200 hours of unpaid work.
He was also ordered to pay £1,000 compensation to the homeowners, £3,790 costs to Dudley Council and a victim surcharge of £85.
Councillor Nicolas Barlow, Dudley Council’s cabinet member for health and adult social care, said: “This prosecution sends out a clear message we will protect consumers from the activity of rogue traders who flout the law and carry out unnecessary and sub standard work.
“This kind of activity causes a huge amount distress to the victims who have worked hard and saved to pay for repairs to their homes and are then badly let down.
“Homeowners should be aware that a trader is required to give 14 days cancellation rights, unless the work is urgent and the customer has requested waiver of these rights in writing.
“In this case, the home owners were not given cancellation rights and were persuaded to allow the totally unnecessary roof repair work to commence immediately, preventing them the opportunity to seek professional opinions, further quotes or advice from family members.”
