How to Spot a Rogue Roofer in West Yorkshire
Never agree roofing work on the doorstep. Ask for a written quote from a checkable address, refuse any large payment before work starts, and take your time comparing prices. A genuine roofer does not need a decision today. Check any trader against a scheme such as TrustMark or Which? Trusted Traders, and remember that for work agreed in your home you normally have 14 days to cancel.
There is no licence to work as a roofer in the UK. Anyone can buy a ladder, print a leaflet and knock on your door tomorrow. That is worth knowing up front, because it means the responsibility for checking sits with you, and the checks that matter are quick and free.
Most of the damage we see repaired in Leeds and the towns around it was done by someone who turned up uninvited. Here is how that usually goes, and how to stop it in about ninety seconds.
What does the doorstep approach look like?
It follows a pattern. Someone knocks, says they are working on a roof nearby, and mentions they noticed something from their scaffold or their van. There is a slipped ridge tile, a cracked chimney, a gap in the verge. They offer to take a look while they are here.
Then come the photographs. A phone or a drone comes back with pictures of a genuinely alarming roof. Whether it is your roof is a different question, and you have no way of telling from the ground. The price starts high and drops fast if you hesitate. There is a reason to decide today: the scaffold is coming down tomorrow, the materials are left over from a job up the road, the team is only in West Yorkshire this week.
Nothing about that sequence is how roofing works. Scaffold is booked and paid for per job. Materials are ordered per roof. A roofer with a full diary has no reason to be knocking on doors in Morley on a Tuesday afternoon.
Which jobs get pushed the hardest?
Four, because they are hard for a homeowner to inspect and easy to make sound urgent.
Chimney work. A stack you cannot see and cannot reach, described as unsafe. Chimneys do fail and repointing is real work, priced around £650 to £1,500 for a single stack with new flaunching. The scam is the urgency and the multiple of that figure.
Roof coatings. A sprayed or painted coating sold as a cheaper alternative to a re-roof, sometimes with a long guarantee attached. Coating over slates or tiles can seal the roof against the ventilation it needs, and some mortgage lenders and surveyors take a dim view of sprayed foam in a loft. It rarely solves the fault underneath.
Moss removal. Sold as an emergency. Moss on a Leeds roof is normal and mostly cosmetic. Scraping it off aggressively breaks nibs and loosens slates, which creates the work the same crew then quotes for.
Verge and ridge pointing. Real work when the mortar has gone, and the easiest thing in the world to sell to someone who cannot see the ridge line. A dry fix system is a sound solution when the bedding has failed. It is also sold to people whose ridge is perfectly tight.
What does normal look like?
| Red flag | What a normal job looks like |
|---|---|
| Turned up uninvited | You found them and called them |
| Price quoted verbally on the doorstep | Written quote sent after a survey, itemised |
| A discount if you decide today | The quote is valid for a stated period, usually 30 days |
| Large payment before work starts | Deposit only where materials are ordered specially, or payment on completion |
| Cash only, or an account name that differs from the business name | Bank transfer to the named business, with an invoice |
| Mobile number only | Landline or business address you can find independently |
| Vague company name, no paperwork | Company or trading name you can look up, VAT number if registered |
| Photos of a roof you cannot verify | Photos with recognisable features of your own house in them |
Nine checks before you agree anything
- Get it in writing. A quote that only exists as a spoken figure is worth nothing.
- Find the address. A business address you can look up on a map, or a registered company you can find on the Companies House service at GOV.UK.
- Get two or three other quotes. You cannot judge a price without comparison, and a genuine roofer expects you to shop around.
- Refuse to be rushed. Say you need to think about it and watch what happens next. Pressure is the single most reliable signal.
- Do not hand over a large sum before work starts. Materials deposits happen on big jobs. Half the contract value up front does not.
- Ask for the scheme. TrustMark and Which? Trusted Traders both run checkable registers with their own search tools. If a trader claims membership of a scheme, look them up on the scheme’s own website rather than trusting a logo on a van.
- Ask to see a public liability insurance certificate and check the dates and the name on it.
- Ask what happens to your money if they go under, and whether any guarantee is insurance backed.
- Never let anyone into the loft or onto the roof if you did not invite them there.
None of these requires you to know anything about roofing. They are all checks on the business rather than the work.
What if you have already signed?
For most contracts agreed in your home, you have a 14 day right to cancel, and the trader is required to tell you about that right in writing. If they did not, the cancellation period is usually extended. Citizens Advice sets out how this works and how to send the cancellation.
Do it in writing, keep a copy, and send it by a method that gives you proof. If work has already started at your request within the 14 days, you may owe something for what has actually been done, though that is a very different conversation from paying the full contract price.
What if you have already paid?
Report it. Trading Standards act on reports made through the Citizens Advice consumer service, and West Yorkshire Trading Standards build cases from exactly these reports. If you paid by card or the amount was over £100, speak to your card provider about a chargeback or a section 75 claim. If you paid cash and the trader has vanished, the report still matters, because it protects the next household on the street.
Tell your neighbours too. Doorstep crews work a street, then the next one. In terraced areas around Morley and Churwell they can cover a lot of doors in an afternoon.
Getting a second opinion
If someone has told you your chimney or ridge is dangerous and you want an independent look, that is a normal thing to ask for. We survey the roof, photograph what is actually there and put the findings in writing, whether or not there is work in it for us. Our chimney and leadwork page explains what genuine stack repairs involve, and the Morley page covers the stone terraces where this comes up most.