Roofer charged me then never turned up… why can’t I use Checkatrade’s guarantee? CRANE ON THE CASE

In March, I employed a roofer through Checkatrade to restore my chimney, because it was broken and water was leaking in. 

I paid the roofer an preliminary sum of £500 to have scaffolding put up, which he despatched a third-party agency to do.

Months have handed since then and, regardless of loads of messages and guarantees, the roofer by no means turned as much as do the job. In the meantime, the chimney situation is getting worse.

The scaffolding firm has now eliminated the scaffolding, saying it had not been paid for the job by the roofer. I believe I’ve fallen sufferer to a rogue dealer. 

Checkatrade has a £1,000 money-back assure when jobs do not go as deliberate, so I acquired in contact, offering messages and proof of funds.  

It agreed I would been ignored of pocket and mentioned the dealer had now been blocked from promoting on the web site. 

However I used to be ultimately instructed I did not qualify for compensation as a result of ‘the work had not began’. I would argue it did because the scaffold was put up and I paid for it. Are you able to assist? A.T, Brighton

Helen Crane, That is Cash’s client champion replies: It is getting trickier than ever to identify a rogue dealer from the true deal. 

Listing web sites comparable to Checkatrade are supposed to assist owners root out unhealthy eggs, however they’ve a troublesome activity on their fingers because the variety of scammers has surged. 

Within the final six months alone, Checkatrade has rejected a file 668 tradespeople who failed its sign-up checks, up 13 per cent year-on-year.

And the speed was sky-high amongst roofers, with 19 per cent of those that tried to get listed on the web site being turned away – essentially the most of any commerce. 

Checkatrade says demand for residence renovations is operating pink scorching, leading to lengthy ready lists and the ‘good surroundings for unscrupulous characters to step in and take benefit.’ 

Frequent causes merchants could be rejected embrace having destructive opinions on-line, or a patchy buying and selling historical past. Sadly, yours managed to slide by the cracks. 

Initially you thought he was simply operating a number of days not on time, however when he nonetheless hadn’t confirmed as much as do the job after 4 months and a raft of excuses, you began to suspect you had been conned by a cowboy. 

This was confirmed when the scaffolders turned up at your own home to take their work down. They hadn’t been paid – and mentioned they weren’t the one agency ignored of pocket by your renegade roofer. 

You do not seem like alone on this. That is Cash has obtained plenty of emails from different readers, saying jobs they’d booked on Checkatrade had been bodged regardless of the tradespeople having been verified. 

We’re presently investigating plenty of these instances, together with one wherein wonky doorways, gaping home windows and an extension needed to be pulled down as a result of it wasn’t correctly supported. 

When looking for your roofer on Checkatrade, you’d additionally observed its assure. 

It says that is ‘discretionary’ however ought to cowl constructing work for 12 months, as much as a complete of £1,000, within the occasion it’s discovered to be ‘sub-standard’. 

To be eligible, the shopper has to e book the job by Checkatrade, depart a evaluate on the web site inside 30 days of the work being accomplished, and hold maintain of proof comparable to emails, invoices, proof of cost and pictures of the work. 

You thought you ticked all these bins, so you bought in contact to report what had occurred and make a declare. 

Reported: Checkatrade banned the roofer from its platform after A.T defined what occurred

Whereas the primary individual you spoke to agreed that you simply’d been the sufferer of a rogue dealer, you mentioned your expertise went downhill after that and you have been promised updates in your case which did not arrive.

In the end, you have been instructed you could not get your a reimbursement from Checkatrade because the ‘work hadn’t began’ – which you dispute as you had paid the £500 and the scaffolding had been put up, although later eliminated.

I contacted Checkatrade to test it out. 

It instructed me that it had made quite a few makes an attempt to contact your rogue roofer, which he hadn’t responded to – so he has been faraway from the platform and blocked from rejoining in future. Excellent news. 

‘The behaviour of unscrupulous tradespeople just like the one that permit [A.T] down is precisely what Checkatrade’s checks have been developed to protect in opposition to,’ it mentioned. 

On the assure, it mentioned you did not meet its necessities since you hadn’t booked the job straight through its web site.  

‘We now have been unable to seek out any proof this job was really booked through Checkatrade, so sadly are unable to supply compensation below our 12-month buyer safety assure due to the best way wherein this work was organized,’ it mentioned. 

‘Additionally, regardless of scaffolding being put in place, no precise work was carried out by the tradesperson below the phrases of our assure.’

The primary level is significant for anybody reserving work through Checkatrade. If you wish to be coated by the assure, it is advisable to show that you’ve got contacted the corporate and organized the work through the Checkatrade web site – not simply famous down the telephone quantity and given them a name independently. 

As I perceive it, this implies folks want to enroll in a ‘house owner’ account on Checkatrade, and get quotes and ship messages inside its inner system. 

For my part, this can be a little bit of a get-out-of-jail-free card from Checkatrade.

Be sure to’re coated: If hiring somebody from Checkatrade on the telephone, be sure to comply with up with messages – or else you is probably not eligible for its assure

Absolutely it’s conscious that the overwhelming majority of individuals will merely lookup a quantity, faucet it into their telephone and make a name. Different readers who’ve contacted us have been caught out by this, too. 

It is unclear whether or not clicking by an computerized hyperlink on the Checkatrade web site to make a telephone name can be acceptable. 

So in case you do rent a tradesperson on the telephone, I would strongly counsel following up with messages on the web site to be sure to are coated. 

Again to A.T’s story, and I’m happy to say Checkatrade has now agreed to pay you £500 as a gesture of goodwill – making you sq. for the price of the scaffolding. 

It continued: ‘We’re sorry to listen to that A.T has skilled appreciable inconvenience and stress, and so want to provide him £500 as a goodwill gesture to assist him pay for the third-party scaffolding prices he has incurred.’

I hope the following roofer you rent is extra respected.  

CRANE ON THE CASE