Rogue traders who claimed to be roofers conned victims out of £85,000

John Harrop and Samuel Smith cold-called their victims after posting leaflets claiming to be professionally registered tradesmen working under the company name Advanced Rooflines.

Durham Crown Court heard yesterday how the pair would provide a quote for works to be carried out, before purposely causing damage and hiking up the bill.

Phillip Morley, prosecuting, said Harrop and Smith took a supervisory role and employed other, also unqualified, people to carry out the work.

One victim said they caught a worker urinating behind their garden shed, and another said workers would frequently enter their home asking for cups of tea with one helping himself to fruit from the kitchen.

On one occasion a couple had asked for an internal wall to be removed and two workers used a hammer and a saw to carry out the work whilst “kicking and punching” the wall, which led to the ceiling collapsing.

The couple were then billed for the cost of the ceiling repairs.

A 76-year-old victim was quoted £14,000 for a conservatory roof which ended up costing £21,350 after Harrop and Smith diagnosed further problems which an expert later deemed inadequate and unnecessary.

Another victim, age 63, said she agreed for photos to be taken of her roof after being cold-called by Harrop and Smith, but when she went outside found a man already on her roof pulling tiles up with a crow bar.

The 63-year-old, who is a full time carer for her 100-year-old mother, said her bedroom ceiling collapsed as a result of the poor standard of work carried out and she consequently contacted Trading Standards (TS).

She went on to tell Smith that she would not be paying the outstanding amount and she had reported the company to TS.

Smith, 38, told the woman there was “no need to contact Trading Standards” and that she didn’t have to clear the bill, she could just think of the roof as “an early Christmas present for her mother.”

Harrop, of Woodhouse Lane, in Bishop Auckland, and Smith, of Oxcliffe Avenue, Heysham, Morecambe, both pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud customers of Advanced Rooflines between July 1, 2015 and May 31, 2016.

Harrop, 43, also pleaded guilty to a charge of failing to notify Durham County Council of his income.

The father-of-two falsely claimed benefits in excess of £36,000 between 2013 and 2016. He also claimed housing benefit and paid a reduced rate of council tax for the same period.

James Adams, mitigating for Harrop, described him as a doting father who regularly visited church and volunteered at a soup kitchen. He said Harrop had no intention of defrauding anyone and was simply incompetent, having thought that he was carrying out a good standard of work.

Iain Suggett, for Smith, said he too was a man of “previous good character” who helped in his community by volunteering at a local boxing club.

Both men initially pleaded not guilty to the charges and changed their plea to guilty on the day trial was due to begin.

Judge Jonathan Carroll described the case as a “dreadful case of rogue trading and cowboy building” and said he did not believe the business was a legitimate one.

He said: “There are a total of 18 separate victims although definitely more because most of these people had partners.

“It is a significant fact in this case that an overwhelming majority are elderly retired and in my judgment vulnerable.

“I accept that leafleting and cold-calling is not specific targeting but I do not accept this was a coincidence that the majority of the victims were elderly people.

“There was a pattern to your behaviour, a leaflet, a cold-call, quoting for some roofing work and then ratcheting up your bill.

“Experts have said the work was majorly unfit for purpose, some of the work dangerous.

He added: “The victim statements in this case are substantial. They describe inevitable anxiety from being fleeced and the fear of further damage and costs. They [the victims] are not affluent and they have no chance of earning back what they have lost because they are retired. This is inevitably going to have a very negative impact on their self-belief and their self-confidence.”

Both men were sentenced to 32 months in prison and disqualified from holding a business for seven years. Harrop was also given a further ten weeks for failing to notify the council of his income, to run concurrent.