Two Bogus Builders Jailed for £37,000 Roof Rip-Off

TWO ROGUE traders who charged a Lancashire homeowner £37,000 for roof repairs which were valued at £3,000 have been jailed.

Bogus builders Tom Lee and Freddy Young repeatedly demanded the householder for various sums of money as they carried out the substandard work at the property in Crawshawbooth, near Rossendale.

Preston Crown Court heard it was only when the man’s bank contacted police about the suspiciously large withdrawals that the fraud was ended.

The bank had followed its protocol, having seen their customer withdraw large amounts of money to pay for the work.

Voice notes recovered from Tom Lee’s phone included a contact gloating about the fraud, saying: “This job, love it Tom, absolutely love it. There’s loads of lemons about.”

Bogus Builders

The fraud started when two men – one of them Tom Lee – knocked on the householder’s door, saying work needed doing on his roof.

A leaflet was handed to the mid-60’s homeowner, headed ‘Roofing Repair Specialists’.

The bogus builders gave a verbal quote of £12,000 for the roof repairs, new PVC fascias, soffits and gutters, £2,000 for scaffolding and £2,000 to cut down a tree next to the house.

Asking for an immediate £3,000 cash to buy materials, the victim handed over £400 cash straight away and then withdrew the rest at the bank.

Tom Lee and Freddy Young turned up at the house over the following days, each time asking the victim to make payments to them.

Police Investigation

After the bank contacted Lancashire police, officers went to the house and found three men working there – Freddy Young and two others.

A fourth man, believed to be Lee, left prior to police arriving.

An expert witness subsequently examined the work carried out on the roof, valuing it at £3,000, even though the victim had paid out £37,000.

Describing the work as ‘shockingly poor’, the roof had to be repaired after the fraudsters’ work, which cost the victim another £15,000.

Victim Statement

At the sentencing hearing, the victim read a statement to the court.

He said: “After the incident involving Tom Lee and Freddy Young, I was left without a watertight roof for about three months.

“There were water leaks in the attic, which I tried to catch in buckets and saucepans, and water dripped from the upstairs light fittings.

“I was at the mercy of bad weather, wind and storms, and it snowed towards Christmas.

“Loads of rubbish was left on the front lawn, consisting of a pile of broken roof slates and rubble, making access very difficult.

“All the work done by Tom Lee and Freddy Young was shoddy and had to be removed before the new roofer could start.

“Some of the roof battens were not nailed down, and none of the roof tiles were nailed down.

“The edge tiles were not trimmed down properly, and there were no ridge tiles. If there had been high winds, the roof would probably have blown off.”

Prison Sentence

Tom Lee, 39, of Lower Eccleshill Road, Darwen, and Freddy Young, 27, of Heys Lane, Oswaldtwistle, pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation.

On Tuesday, 2 September, Tom Lee was jailed for 2 years and 9 months, and Freddy Young for 2 years and 5 months.

>> Read about more court cases in the news