Nuneaton’s hideous roof has ripped off locals, overcharging them by £82,500

An appalling rogue roofer in Nuneaton ripped off locals by overcharging them by £82,500. In one shocking case, Darren Bullaman Lee, 27, of Gilfil Road, Hill Top, charged a resident more than £43,000 after he was called to look at a leaking gutter.

He also targeted three other householders – some in Nuneaton and another in Leamington Spa – ripping them off, collectively, to the tune of £82,500 by overcharging them for work on roofs that was largely unnecessary. But Warwickshire County Council’s trading standards put an end to this again.

Trading standards officers said his tactic was to start with a lower quote before finding more and largely fictitious “problems” with the roofs he was working on. Then the costs started to rise.

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Three of the victims found Lee on trustatrader.com where he was advertising as Your Choice Roofing, The Crescent, Spalding, England, PE11 1AF. All four said his actions left them “depressed” and affected not only their mental health but also their finances.

He pleaded guilty to four offenses under the Fraud Act 2006. At Warwick Crown Court on Wednesday 12 June, Lee was jailed for two and a half years and given an 8 year Criminal Behavior Order and a eight years. Order to disqualify the director.

The mitigation heard in court largely related to Mr Lee’s drug addiction, which he said had driven him into debt. A Proceeds of Crime Act investigation has begun and the matter will return to court on November 7, when compensation, confiscation and costs will be considered.

Judge Matthew Walsh said his membership of a trusted trader scheme gave his victims “security and peace of mind” so Lee could convince them work was needed on their properties when, in fact, the work was “completely useless”. ‘. Addressing Lee, he added that this was “just a device for you to get your hands on their money”.

Chronology of the crime of fraud

A Nuneaton resident asked Lee to repair some cracked cement on his roof and renew his chimney masonry. After a fee of £1,200 was agreed, Lee told the resident that the roof battens were rotten and needed to be replaced, along with the felt.

He also claimed to have found earthworms. Thicker and heavier battens were needed, he argued, to support the roof. Lee priced the work at £16,000 and the resident eventually paid him £16,200.

However, an expert surveyor employed by Warwickshire Trading Standards examined the roof and found that the ‘strengthening work’ had no purpose or positive effect on the structure of the roof and was therefore completely unnecessary and unnecessary. There was also no evidence of decay or rotting of the roof timbers.

In the second case, a Nuneaton resident contacted Lee after being told his roof might be leaking. Lee looked at the roof from the outside before claiming a “complete roof repair” was needed.

He quoted £4,200 before later inflating the price to £18,000, again after discovering more “issues”. When the consumer refused to pay, Lee threatened to tear off the roof tiles.

The county council’s expert surveyor concluded that the work carried out by Lee was of no value as it did not benefit the structure of the roof. He also examined what remained of the original roof and declared it to be in a good and structurally sound condition and in absolutely no need of work.

Lee quoted a third Nuneaton resident £11,000 for a completely new roof with new tiles, battens and felt, with all work guaranteed for 15 years. After the work was completed, Lee claimed that the roof was not strong enough to support the new tiles and that further structural “work” was needed. Lee argued that the warranty could not be issued unless this additional work was done.

Lee also painted a wall and inflated the price of this work. The landlord eventually paid Mr Lee £22,000. The expert Trading Standards expert found that the roof needed no reinforcement and indeed the new tiles were lighter than the ones they replaced! The work was also too expensive.

In the fourth case, a householder in Leamington Spa asked Lee to come out and look at a leak in his gutters, but ended up paying the rogue roofer more than £43,000.

Lee claimed that his slabs were the cause of the problem and that scaffolding should be erected. He then claimed that the boards were disintegrating and should be replaced along with rotted battens. Costs rose further to include the removal of an asbestos roof from the garage, which the resident was told would be done professionally. However, this was done without specific protective measures being taken. The owner eventually paid Lee £43,150.

Sentencing Lee at Warwick Crown Court, Judge Walsh said his membership of a trusted trader scheme gave his victims “security and peace of mind” so Lee was able to convince them work was needed on their properties, when the fact that the work was “completely unnecessary”. Addressing Lee, he added that this was “just a device for you to get your hands on their money”.

However, an expert surveyor employed by Warwickshire Trading Standards examined the roof and found that the ‘strengthening work’ had no purpose or positive effect on the structure of the roof and was therefore completely unnecessary and unnecessary. Furthermore, there was no evidence of damage or rotting of the roof timbers.

A second Nuneaton resident contacted Lee after being told his roof might be leaking. Lee looked at the roof from the outside before claiming a “complete roof repair” was needed. Lee quoted £4200 before later inflating the price to £18,000, again after discovering more “problems”.

When the consumer refused to pay, Lee threatened to tear off the roof tiles. The expert surveyor concluded that the work done by Lee was of no value because he did not benefit from the roof structure. He also examined what remained of the original roof and declared it to be in a good and structurally sound condition and in absolutely no need of work.

Lee quoted a third Nuneaton resident £11,000 for a completely new roof with new tiles, battens and felt, with all work guaranteed for 15 years. After the work was completed, Lee claimed that the roof was not strong enough to support the new tiles and that further structural “work” was needed.

Lee argued that the warranty could not be issued unless this additional work was done. Lee also painted a wall and inflated the price of this work. The landlord eventually paid Mr Lee £22,000.

The expert Trading Standards expert found that the roof did not need any reinforcement and indeed the new tiles were lighter than the ones they replaced. The work was also too expensive.

In the fourth case, a householder in Leamington Spa asked Lee to come out and look at a leak in his gutters, but ended up paying the rogue roofer more than £43,000. Lee claimed that his slabs were the cause of the problem and that scaffolding should be erected.

He then claimed that the boards were disintegrating and should be replaced along with rotted battens. Costs rose further to include the removal of an asbestos roof from the garage, which the resident was told would be done professionally.

However, this was done without specific protective measures being taken. The owner eventually paid Lee £43,150.

‘Terrible’

Speaking after the case, Warwickshire County Councilor Andy Crump, cabinet member for community safety, said: “This is an appalling example of how a rogue trader took advantage of some very vulnerable Warwickshire residents to defraud them of over £82,000 sterling.

“Rogue traders are warned that if they try to operate in Warwickshire, our Trading Standards Service will approach them and prosecute them.”

People can report rogue traders to Warwickshire Trading Standards via the Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 0808 223 1133. For more advice people can also visit the website here.

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