Roofing Firm Director Admits Scamming Homeowners in Devon

A director of a Devon roofing company has admitted scamming three homeowners, leaving them thousands of pounds out of pocket for substandard and incomplete roofing work.

Leonard Doe, 44, of Bishops Grove, Hampton, Richmond upon Thames, pleaded guilty to seven offences linked to work carried out between February 2024 and May 2025 in Okehampton, Plymouth and Tiverton.

The offences included engaging in misleading and aggressive commercial practices under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, and offences under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024.

The court heard that Leonard Doe, through his company LD & Sons Roofing Ltd, targeted three customers over a 15-month period.

Roofing Scam

In each case, he carried out only a brief inspection before providing a verbal quote. Although a drone was sometimes used to inspect roofs externally, no internal inspections were undertaken. Prosecutors described the assessments as a “woefully inadequate approach” for the work required.

Once customers had paid a deposit, Leonard Doe removed roof tiles before claiming that additional work was needed at a substantially higher cost. Prosecutors said homeowners felt they had little choice but to agree to the increased prices because their roofs had already been stripped. Work that was completed was often of a poor standard.

Where customers refused to pay the additional costs, they were billed for the materials needed to restore their roofs.

The court also heard that the company was difficult to contact and that the business address listed on its paperwork was a virtual address that had never been rented by the firm.

Thousands Lost

One homeowner initially agreed to pay £5,500 to repair a leaking roof. After work began, the price increased to £11,500, despite Leonard Doe not returning to the property to reassess the work. Believing there was no alternative, the homeowner paid the higher amount before later discovering from another roofer that the workmanship was “abysmal”. She subsequently spent a further £4,900 on remedial repairs.

A second customer paid £4,600 for a leaking roofing work, but the problem remained unresolved. Despite providing a 5-year guarantee, Leonard Doe demanded a further £2,000 to fix the roof. The homeowner eventually paid another contractor £10,000 to make the roof watertight.

The third complainant accepted a quote of £2,015 and paid a £705 deposit. After work started and tiles had been removed, Leonard Doe claimed the cost would rise to around £6,000. He also suggested replacing the entire roof for approximately £13,000.

In total, the three customers paid £20,105 for work that was either inadequate or left unfinished. They later spent a combined £14,900 on repairs carried out by other contractors.

Investigators told the court that Leonard Doe failed to respond to repeated attempts to contact him by telephone and letter for a voluntary interview under caution.

Although Leonard Doe has 15 previous convictions for 23 offences, the court heard none were of a similar nature.

Doe’s defending lawyer requested a pre-sentence report, telling the court his client had struggled with alcohol dependency, which he said was reflected in his previous offending.

District Judge Smith ruled that the case was too serious to be dealt with by way of a financial penalty alone and committed Leonard Doe to Exeter Crown Court for sentencing on 5 August and he was granted unconditional bail.

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