Rogue trader - got conned

UK007BullDog

Never thought this would happen to me.

"Edit: I realise my post is quite long and I needed to vent.
1. They did not get paid and I have been told not to pay them at all as they made too much damage and they would not be able to do it right as they clearly have no skill.
2. My main question id how long do I have to hang on to the scaffolding as I do not know who it is. My new roofer will take it down and I will store it. But how long do I have to hold on to it?"


I have a leak when it rains. So thought its either my 1st floor bay window, the cladding or from the top of the roof.
As my house is a 3 storey I struggled finding a company.

So I found one advertising locally with lots and lots of positive reviews on the app Neighbourhood. I then checked his company name on Trusted trader or checkatrade. 
I found him on there too. So I contacted him. Two lads showed up and said its coming from the bay window. So I want to be green I also asked them to put in side guttering and get me a couple drums to watch water for my garden. We agreed a price and he said as its bank holiday weekend and he has no other work lined up and mine is so small he could do it in a day. 

He came and he made a mess and damaged my bay window by burning it with the flames and the white plastic is now brown. Plus the layer of Bitumen is not sealed as one can just pull it up. So no idea what the did with that massive flame thrower. He damaged the sides as well by ripping part of the white cladding and burning it. 
He wanted payment and I said I will take some off for the damage. He said he will be back and said he has two more houses in this road to do. I said come back and fix the damage and I will pay the next day. There is a lot more but don't want to bore you. He came in a car with 3 other guys. Two of them mostly just standing about.




I then asked my neighbor who is a builder to check on the work for me. He looked and found all these faults and when he touched the down pipe the screws were loose and the parts were not connected. The whole thing being a dogs dinner. He then wet up the whole front of the house by climbing up the scaffolding and with gardenhose doused the roof and the front and the bay window. Well the leak appeared and I had water inside. So I still have the same problem plus they damaged my property.

So I got another firm out via Checkatrade. They found the problem comes from my roof. So they are sorting it out now and repairing the damage.

I don't mind paying the scaffolder. But don't know who he is. The new roofer said he will take it down and store it at the side of the house for me.

Anyway what are my rights? I agreed verbally and via WhatsApp to get the work done. I signed no documents. I am ready to contact the real firm about this person taking his business name. I am ready to write to the local trading standards. Being a nice person I don't mind paying for the guttering parts he bought and for the 4 water butts as well. But not for the shoddy work and the damage he created.

How long do I have to hang on to the scaffolding? I have no contract with him. He was ordered by the rogue guy. He may be an innocent party or part of all this? I don't know. Just need to know where I stand. Online it said to report them to 101 too. What would you do? I don't have no burly men to protect me but I have them on CCTV.

twopenny

Do you have anything in writing? Do you still have the message from WhatApp? I avoid these like the plague so don't know but I would guess the converstation was saved?

Print it out. I'm not sure you can use it but it's at least a confirmation/contract of sorts of what you asked for and what he did.

Photograph every thing as you have here. That's not always of use but it sometimes.

Download their photos from your CCTV and print.

Unless you have some form of contract as what was asked for and what he did you are scuppered. Do you know if he has a company or is insured? The only way you have rights is if you can sue.

You are right about the scaffold, you have no problem with that but you need to be there when it is collected and see if you can learn any more about this guy. Ask before you pay. Put it somewhere he needs to arrange to collect it.

The scaffold should never have been put against the window like that. Did the scaffold guy do that or the 'builder?'

Do not do business through a chat line.

Did this bloke not have an office with an address and a phone number?

Do not rely on online reviews, they are so easily manipulated, even the big players on the net.

Even with a smart website and address look on Streetview to see where. I've found folks running multiple businesses from a caravan in a field, one person, several sites.

In this case you've really got a problem that is going to be hard to follow up as Trading Standards - is he a trader, does he have a company. The police - unlikely to persue a case of slight property damage when they have more desperate problems to investigate. And has he broken the law? It;s not deliberate criminal damage.

If you go to the media they may be interested. But it will have to be part of a bigger problem that you'll have to prove that others have had the same. And even then it could take months to be aired with no conclusion.

greenface2

That's !!!!!!  / . woefull and careless is the understatement here . in competence at its best . How did you pay ? most of the burnt looks like it is on a flat cover not the frame so that can be changed but its back under your felt . I would put it down as a bad job and crack on . You don't need them to put this right . Would be good if they gave you your money back but doubtful . 

UK007BullDog

They did not get paid. they also managed to burn all around it and also one of the window section frame and the panel. I did not want to flood the post with too many pictures. Another roofer looked at it a friend of a friend and he said everything they did is rubbish and he was able to lift it all up Ising his fingers. he said this will leak.

My question is how long do I have to hold on to the scaffolding as I don't  know who they are.

Bendy_House

I trust the three sites where you found decent reviews will now have an honest addition? 

UK007BullDog

I will on the Facebook and the neighbourhood websites. I contacted the real firm to let them know that there are these guys running round using his company name. I have not yet heard back.

I now have had a builder and 2 roofers tell me that those guys did more damage than I had before. So should not get a penny and if they get stroppy to take them to small claims court. But the address details they gave me exists but are most likely not them.

Section62

UK007BullDog said:

My question is how long do I have to hold on to the scaffolding as I don't  know who they are.

You really need to hold on to it until it is collected... when it is, try to (discretely) get a picture of the vehicle and make a note of the reg number.

Scaffolders work on trust - they have to when leaving their valuable plant on other people's property for months at a time - and generally take great exception to other people interfering with it, let alone disposing of it.

If the people who put the scaffolding up have a relationship with the roofers (I suspect they probably will) then they aren't the kind of people you'll want to have to tell them you've given away/scrapped their property.  Making a note of the details of the vehicle that collects the scaffolding will be useful if the real owners subsequently come to collect it.