How can you tell a dodgy roofer? The warning signs to look for

A knock on the door from someone who has noticed a problem with your roof is the classic opening. After a gale the knocks multiply. The caller says a ridge tile looks loose, or the moss is lifting the slates, and offers to fix it today while the crew is nearby. Sometimes they are right about the fault. The trouble is the method, not the diagnosis: a stranger has no history with your house, no photographs and no reason to stay in touch once the cash is in hand.

A roof problem seldom needs an answer the moment the caller asks for it. Water that has been getting in slowly can wait a day or two while you collect a second opinion, and an urgent leak can be made safe with a temporary cover before a lasting repair is planned. Anyone who says the price is only good today, or that the offer disappears when the van leaves the road, is using time pressure to stop you thinking.

Watch for the other tricks of the doorstep too:

• a request to go up on the roof without you watching
• a claim that they have leftover materials from a job down the road
• a pitch that begins with a low price for a small fix, then grows
• a reluctance to give a business name, landline or address

Our answer on doorstep roofers goes further into what to say at the door. The short rule is to thank the caller, take a card if they have one and say you will arrange your own survey. A genuine roofer accepts that. A pushy one does not, and that reaction is itself the sign you were looking for.

The next sign appears when you ask for the price in writing. A professional quote names the property, describes the work, states the covering and materials, and gives one total price with a note on VAT. A dodgy one is a number on the back of a business card, a text message that says "about two grand" or a figure that moves as the conversation goes on.

Be careful with these patterns:

• no written quote at all, only a spoken one
• a description so thin that it could cover almost any roof
• no mention of scaffolding when the house is two storeys
• a price that is far lower than every other you have received

The last point deserves a moment. A very low figure can mean the firm has misjudged the job, but it can also mean corners will be cut or that extras will arrive once the covering is off. The published cost guides show the usual spread, and our guide to what roof work costs in the UK sets out typical ranges with their sources. A price well outside the range for the work described is not proof of a scam, but it is a reason to ask what has been left out.

Photographs and proof of the fault

Ask to see the problem. A roofer who has been on your roof should have pictures of the fault: the cracked tile, the lifted flashing, the soft timber. If the answer is that it was too dangerous to photograph, or the camera was left in the van, press for evidence or find someone who will provide it.

How a roofer asks for money tells you a lot. Ordinary firms often ask for a deposit to buy materials, and that is not suspicious in itself. The warning signs are the size of the deposit, the method and the timing.

Be cautious if a roofer:

• asks for most or all of the money before any work starts
• wants cash only, with no receipt or invoice
• offers a discount for paying in cash
• suggests you go to the bank or cash machine with them
• changes the amount owing halfway through the job

Cash is the favourite of the careless and the dishonest alike, because it leaves nothing behind. A payment by bank transfer or card leaves a record and may give you more protection if something goes wrong, which cash does not. Ask for a receipt for every payment and an invoice at the end that matches the written quote. If the quote says one total price, the invoice should say the same unless a change has been agreed in writing.

Staged payments

A sensible arrangement for a large job is a modest deposit, a payment at an agreed stage and the balance on completion once you have checked the work. That way the roofer is paid as the job progresses and you are never far ahead of the work. Agree the stages before you sign. If a roofer refuses any structure and insists on being paid in full before the scaffold is up, treat it as a serious warning and look elsewhere.

Every roofer says they are reliable. The useful question is what they say that you can verify. Start with the basics: a business name, a landline or mobile number that is answered, and an address you can look up. A van with a phone number and nothing else is thin evidence.

Then look at the badges and logos on a website or a flyer. A membership of a trade body or a scheme is only worth something if the scheme itself confirms it. If a firm claims to belong to one, look the firm up on that scheme's own website instead of trusting the logo. Be wary of vague wording such as "fully approved" or "nationally recognised" with no name attached.

Reviews and the law on fake ones

Reviews help, but they can be manufactured. Since 6 April 2025, under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, submitting or commissioning a fake consumer review, or one that hides the fact that it was paid for or otherwise incentivised, is on the list of commercial practices that are always considered unfair. That makes fake reviews unlawful, but it does not make them disappear. Read a spread of reviews rather than the top few. Look for detail about the actual job, dates, replies from the firm and a natural mix of comments.

Check that the reviews describe work in your area and that they are not all posted in a short burst. A business profile on Google, with a real address and photographs of finished work, is a reasonable starting point. Use it, and then ask the firm for the details of a recent customer you can speak to, or a job you can look at from the street.

One of the quieter signs of a dodgy roofer is what happens to the paperwork around cancelling. When a contract is made at your home, it is an off-premises contract, and the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 let you cancel a service contract, with no reason needed, at any point up to the end of the 14th day after the day you entered into it. The trader is meant to give you clear information about that right.

If the firm never tells you, the cancellation period does not simply end after 14 days. Under regulation 31 it is extended, by up to 12 months after the day on which it would have ended. A roofer who leaves the information out, or buries it in small print, or hurries you to sign and start before you have read anything, is either careless or counting on you not knowing.

Starting early, in writing

A roofer may start inside the 14 days only at your request, and for a contract made at home that request has to be recorded in writing that you can keep, for example an email or a form you have signed. You can lose the right to cancel once the work is fully done, but only if you have been told that you would. If a firm starts the next morning without any request from you, that is worth noticing.

Urgent repairs are different. If you rang and specifically asked for a visit to deal with an urgent repair, the cancellation rights in that part of the rules are set aside for that visit. If you want to withdraw from a contract, write to the firm promptly and keep a copy.

The most damaging sign is not about paperwork at all. It is a roofer who frightens you. You will hear that the roof is about to collapse, that the whole thing must come off, that a cheap fix will not hold and that anything less than a full replacement is a waste of money. Sometimes a roof does need replacing. Often it needs far less.

A fair verdict comes with evidence. It says what is wrong, shows photographs of it, names the options and explains why one is better than the others. You should be able to follow the reasoning. If the explanation is full of jargon and short on pictures, or if it jumps straight to the biggest job, ask for the smaller option in writing and see how the firm reacts.

Moss is a common example. It looks alarming, and a caller can make it sound like the end of the roof. Often it is a cleaning job and a check of the tiles beneath, as our page on roof cleaning and moss removal explains. Loose ridge tiles are another: they may need re-fixing, not a new roof.

The second opinion test

When a big job is proposed, pay for or arrange a second survey from a different firm and compare the findings. If two roofers looking at the same roof reach very different conclusions, ask both to point out the fault in the photographs. A good survey will be repeatable.

If you have already paid and things have gone wrong, keep every message and photograph and read our answer on how to complain about a roofer.