Small claims court query- Roofer via Ratedpeople

hollydays

Lounesbo wrote: »

Good evening. I had an address from an ‘invoice’ he sent me on WhatsApp and from Rated people (although they didn’t have the house number). I wrote there (via recorded delivery) and this poor chap rang me up and explained that he wasn’t the roofer guy i was after. I then managed to establish that the roofer had diddled this chap’s mother. This chap reported him to the police and so I suspect that then thereafter the roofer has decided to use his name and address as ‘payback’. I know the chap I wrote to wasn't the roofer by his voice and his whole approach and really felt for him.
So angry at the roofer and myself. Should have paid by debit card, PayPal etc.

Ok. This guy is a FRAUDSTER .
How you you know this person who contacted you is genuine??

Lounesbo

The man I wrote to sounded nothing like the roofer I met and rang me back a few times after speaking to his mum. He sounded a little bit ‘simplistic’ (hopefully I’m not being rude) and not sophisticated enough to be a fraudster. He rang me back from a landline that was traceable and gave me the telephone number for his mum. He also gave me two numbers of tradesman he’d used and one was the mobile number of the roofer I used - he said this might be man you’re after as they reported him to the police. I got nowhere with the police though.The mobile number he gave me matched the one I have and he said he got his services from my builder.com.
I could file the claim with the small claims court via that man and his address but I’ve just got a strong feeling it isn’t him. I typed the ‘new’ name of the alleged roofer into Instagram and found a profile picture with an uncanny likeness to the roofer I used. That profile is private.

Also the work done was not in line with my request. I said I thought the birds were coming in via the guttering and fascia and he said no it was the tiles so as I’m meant to trust the professional i went with his assessment but it was obviously a ruse.

Also I’m sorry for my delay replying on this site. I’m not getting email notifications for some reason although I’ve tried to set up the alerts and they worked last year regarding a parking fine 🤔?

Guess my only option is Trading Standards.

I now know his mobile is with EE too.

Thanks everyone 🙏

hollydays

Try contacting my builder.com
Also try contacting other roofers who live near who advertise there to see if they know him- send them the photo
Look on other platforms like trustatrader to see if he appears there.
Do some searches on 192
You'll have to do your own detective work to start with.

Have you googled his phone number.
You could put his phone number on here, other people may search on google and find it too.
When you speak to my builder and rated people tell them the address you've got and that when you contacted it, the resident claimed the roofer didn't live there.Ask them can they confirm or deny this address has been used by him by them and responded to for the purpose of references.
You still can't rule out the " simplistic" person is part of the con..yet..
.

Lounesbo

Good morning Hollydays,
What a kind person you are. I shall message you privately with additional details but this is the phone number I spoke to him on :
07956 185416
But this is the number provided on his invoice 🤔- which I have never telephoned:
07950 479346
Thanks for all the additional leads too.
Yes, as always lots of work to do but if it helps me and others I am someone who puts the effort in.
As someone who tries to live an honest and genuine life I hate scammers and try to provide justice in this world.
Let’s see what happens
BW

Lounesbo

Evening all,
Hollydays has kindly done some back channel ‘digging’ on this character and fingers crossed that will produce the much needed address. In addition however this is the email I received from ratedpeople today which I think is wholly inadequate. I would welcome the forums views. If the roofer had been checked out properly I would never have been put in touch with him

Dear X,

Thanks for your email.

We invest a lot of time and effort each year into our vetting and screening processes and these are under constant review as we search for ways to improve our service. All tradespeople who sign up with us are screened with our partner, Experian, who are the leading global information services company. We also work with fraud prevention agencies and ensure that only tradespeople with valid Gas Safe certification numbers are able to buy gas-based job leads.

These processes help to ensure we know exactly who is signing up to our service.

As well as this, we have a dedicated team whose job it is to continually monitor the standards of the tradespeople using our service. They don’t hesitate to remove tradespeople who don’t meet these high standards.

Once tradespeople have signed up to our service, we encourage them to join TrustMark, a government-endorsed scheme that helps to check and verify the qualifications, customer service and business management of tradespeople in the UK. Tradespeople with the TrustMark accreditation will have the TrustMark logo displayed on their profiles.

We believe that combining the above steps with our 11 years in the industry gives us a market-leading process in the UK.

Whilst we’re committed to giving both the homeowner and the tradesperson an excellent experience in using our service, any agreement or contract made is between the homeowner and the tradesperson. We don’t employ the tradespeople who use our site and aren’t liable for their work, actions or omissions. We also don’t recommend tradespeople, instead giving homeowners access to tradespeople’s profile pages and sharing the homeowner checklist to help them with their hiring decisions.

We actively encourage homeowners to follow this homeowner checklist before they hire a tradesperson. This includes checking the tradesperson’s ratings and reviews, which are only left by other homeowners using our service.

Kind Regards,

The Vetting & Quality Team

hollydays

As them if they ask for proof of address, and how exactly.
Isnt this your main issue?

robatwork

Does this chancer have a facebook page where he advertises?

Lounesbo

I am also have feeling this might be my main issue and welcome advice on how to go forward either making a complaint or taking Experian or Rated people to court. I received a ‘final’ email from Rated people late afternoon (see below) and they are effectively !!!!!!!! me down.
I have looked on Instagram, Facebook, could pay £14.95 for searches on 192.com. but if I had been provided with the correct name and address I could pursue the matter via the proper channels. Instead I’m (with the help of the MSE team) having to be a detective.
How do I pursue Experian or Rated people? That’s my best avenue I feel now, Below is their reply when I asked (again) about if his ID and address had been verified:

Dear X ,

Thank you for your email.

All tradespeople who sign up with us are screened with our partner, Experian, who are the leading global information services company. We also work with fraud prevention agencies.

Also we have provided the contact details we have on file in our previous emails.

Please note we will not enter any further correspondence regarding this matter.

Kind Regards,

Customer Service

Lounesbo

His family appear to be on Facebook (found by Hollydays 👍)

hollydays

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-42783279