Eyes are on rogue traders in Sheffield who try to scam their way into people’s homes to carry out poor quality home improvements.
A roofer who took over £28,000 from Sheffield residents for carrying out unnecessary and poor standard work has been given a prison sentence of 3 years and 3 months under Section 9 of the Fraud Act 2006. He was also given a Criminal Behaviour Order which means that he will not be able to do work of this nature for at least the next 5 years. If he breaches this, the penalty ranges from a fine to a 4 years’ custodial sentence.
Patrick Rorey Cawley, 23/10/1991, traded fraudulently and gave more than one home address and whilst being the sole Director of Royale Roofing Ltd, traded as Royal Roofing Ltd to defraud consumers. He cold door knocked two of the victims whilst the third found him through an advertisement on Facebook. All three victims were harassed, misled and coerced into agreeing poor quality and unnecessary roofing work.
This successful investigation and prosecution is the result of the Council’s Trading Standards team investigating complaints from residents and preparing a case to ensure that justice was done.
Councillor Joe Otten, Chair of the Environmental Services and Regulation Policy Committee at Sheffield City Council, said: “It’s absolutely essential that we prioritise work on cases like this one to make sure that those try to take money from residents fraudulently are held to account, fined and prosecuted.
“The work traders like this carry out can be left unfinished or sometimes they can take money and not carry out the work at all or it can be of a very poor standard and not meet building regulations. Often these traders will have no formal training or insurance to carry out work and they can leave people having to pay out more money for the work to be re-done, repaired or completed.”
The Council receives many complaints about below standard work carried out by traders and the large majority of these relate to work including roofing, path resurfacing and paving, garden and tree surgery, home insulation and general building work.
Residents are being warned to be vigilant to avoid rogue traders by checking the credibility of businesses before handing over any money. Many rogue traders operate online and display professional-looking websites which appear genuine, but many are not.
These warning messages for residents’ echo those of the Council’s 2024 campaign for Rogue Traders Week. More information on this and the ‘Not Born Yesterday’ campaign is here at Sheffield City Council's Trading Standards.
Councillor Joe Otten added: “There are many genuine and honest traders who advertise their services to the people of Sheffield online but unfortunately there are a number who are not who they say they are.
“When looking for traders online I would urge members of the public to be cautious and take some time to research who the traders are and if what they are offered seems too good to be true, it generally is.
“If you do find that you have been lied to, let down or misled by a rogue trader, remember that it can happen to pretty much anyone, so don’t be embarrassed. Report it and remember that our trading standards enforcement officers are there to help keep you safe from this kind of operation. They might also find that other people have reported the same person or company, which all helps when our enforcement officers put cases together for court.”
To stay safe, Trading Standards advise all residents who are considering using traders to carry out work on their homes to ask these questions before proceeding and before giving any money to anyone:
- Is the trader registered on Companies House?
- Does the trader have their own website?
- Is the trader claiming to be a member of a recognised trade association? If so, visit that organisation’s website to check
- Can you research the trader through an online search engine for any reviews?
- Ask family and friends for recommendations
- Shop around – try to get at least three quotes to give an overview of an average price and what you get for that price
- Get it in writing – get quotes, including timescale for completion, breakdown of costs and details of any guarantees or warranty in writing. Keep all correspondence, including text messages and emails
- In the event of an emergency a quick fix could be essential but still take time to ensure any trader you contact has the required skills and qualifications needed to carry out any specialist work and still ask for a quote in writing
- Request a receipt for the work carried out and any money paid
- Do not deal with anyone who refuses to take payment via cheque or bank transfer
- If a trader says they can do the work immediately, ask why?
- Don’t make a snap decision
Anyone who has been a victim of a rogue trader who would like to make a report can contact Citizens Advice Bureau consumer helpline on 0808 223 1133 or at https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk who will forward the information to the council’s trading standards enforcement officers.
A Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) is a tool used to disrupt rogue traders. More information on this is here: https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk