Roofing scam nets conmen £33,000 (From Croydon Guardian)

Roofing scam nets conmen £33,000

10:56am Friday 8th April 2011 in Your News

Croydon trading standards have issued a fresh warning to householders to be on their guard after a Thornton Heath man has lost over £33,000 to rogue builders last month. The two con artists tricked him into paying for a whole new roof and then disappeared without doing a single piece of work.

The elderly resident was first contacted on 11 March when two men claiming to be builders tricked their way into his house by saying they were doing work for a neighbour.

They persuaded him that he had a major problem and took £2,000 as a deposit on the work needed.

This was followed by a request for another £8,000 as the men claimed that on second inspection the roof was in a worse state than first thought.

On the next day they returned to the house and were able to convince their victim that he needed a complete new roof - and also to hand over more money. However this was the last that he saw of both the money and his savings.

The two are described as both being white. One was 6ft, slim-built and in his early-mid 20s with curly auburn hair and a curly short beard whilst the other was about 5ft 9 and slim with medium length black hair Councillor Steve O’Connell, cabinet member for community safety, said: “People like these two thieves clearly have no qualms about tricking vulnerable people out of their life savings. We regularly remind residents not to accept offers of building work on the doorstep - always call in a reputable firm for an opinion before handing over any money.”

Based on information supplied by Croydon Council.