'Roofers took my savings for job I didn't ask for'

A 91-year-old antheral says helium mislaid his beingness savings to rogue traders who came to repair a fewer escaped tiles but ended up replacing the full roof.

Allan, from Hornsea, East Yorkshire, said helium was visited by builders aft Storm Darragh past December, believing they would hole immoderate insignificant damage.

Instead, helium claims they enactment up scaffolding, replaced each of his tiles and gave him a measure for £31,680.

Humberside Police is investigating.

Allan said a passing model cleaner told him helium had a escaped slate successful the days aft Storm Darragh swept crossed East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.

On Sunday 15 December, builders arrived and started putting up scaffolding.

Allan said helium cannot retrieve whether helium asked them to come, oregon whether it was a acold call.

"A ladder appeared, 3 radical appeared and started stripping the roof, truthful I thought good they cognize what they are doing, and spot by spot each the slates disappeared," helium said.

"They were enactment connected the backmost of a wagon, and past they drove distant with them and came backmost and started putting caller slabs connected the roof, conscionable similar that."

Allan said helium was confused by the size of the occupation the roofers were doing, and that helium had not asked for it.

"It was truthful overwhelming," helium explained. "Once it started determination wasn't thing I could bash astir it."

Allan claimed nary terms for the enactment was mentioned, but erstwhile it was finished helium was presented with a measure for £31,680.

"I deliberation helium knew however overmuch wealth I had due to the fact that I had a slope connection successful determination [the adjacent room]," Allan said.

"It was each the wealth I had."

Allan said the roofers told him that if helium paid them upfront, helium would beryllium capable to assertion the enactment connected insurance, but erstwhile helium contacted his insurers NatWest Home Insurance, they said they could not screen the outgo for remedial enactment that they had not signed disconnected successful advance.

A spokesperson for NatWest encouraged customers to interaction them earlier agreeing for immoderate repair enactment to beryllium done, "so we tin counsel connected their assertion and validate immoderate enactment that needs to beryllium carried out".

They added that they would beryllium providing Allan with "ongoing further support" aft the scam.

The BBC has seen the punctuation and invoice, some dated 18 December, which Allan paid successful afloat by cheque.

Dr Tim Day, the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) pb serviceman for doorstep crime, scams and user vulnerability, said this benignant of scam represents 95% of his caseload - and often the intelligence toll connected victims is acold greater than the fiscal one.

He said that probe by the Home Office successful 2003 suggested older victims of rogue trader transgression were two-and-a-half times much apt to person died oregon gone into residential attraction successful the 2 years pursuing an incidental than those who had not been victimised.

"It is, unfortunately, robbing radical of their independency and it's nary exaggeration to say, rather literally, it's sidesplitting people," helium said.

He added that the marketplace was "flooded" with rogue traders similar the ones who targeted Allan.

Fraud is the astir communal transgression benignant successful the UK, amounting to astir 40% of each transgression successful England and Wales, according to the government.

Dr Day said the authorities should bring successful a compulsory nationalist licensing strategy to marque traders much accountable.

"Currently, you've got a concern wherever anyone tin acceptable themselves up, you don't request immoderate experience, oregon knowledge, oregon training, and they don't request to beryllium morganatic successful immoderate way.

"The commercialized that they represent, arsenic is often the lawsuit astatine the moment, tin purely beryllium a means by which they perpetrate fraud."

A spokesperson for the Department for Business and Trade said determination was "no wide grounds that a licensing strategy would amended standards".

They said the section supports the TrustMark strategy for helping radical to find competent traders, and that section authorities would person caller powers from April to let for tougher fines against businesses that rip disconnected customers.

Allan said helium had accepted that helium had mislaid his money, but erstwhile his household tried to telephone the roofers to effort to get the scaffolding down, they did not respond.

The scaffolding was near connected his spot for much than 2 months earlier different builder offered to instrumentality it distant for him.

Allan's adjacent friend, Fred Bree, said the grade to which helium had been taken vantage of "beggars belief".

"Allan is simply a precise arrogant and autarkic man, helium doesn't question assistance - but he's vulnerable," Mr Bree added.

The section Trading Standards squad astatine East Riding of Yorkshire Council said it saw akin scams "day successful time out".

The details for the steadfast connected Allan's invoice look to lucifer up with a institution that was dissolved successful 2022, according to Companies House.

The BBC has decided not to sanction the institution for Allan's safety.

Humberside Police said it was investigating a fig of lines of inquiry.

Det Insp Mark Hawley added: "Those who take to defraud and transportation retired specified unscrupulous crimes against aged and susceptible radical are a disgrace to our society.

"I would ever promote anyone who is suspicious that they, oregon idiosyncratic they know, whitethorn beryllium a unfortunate of fraud to speech to idiosyncratic astir it. If it seems excessively bully to beryllium true, oregon you consciousness nether unit to marque a speedy decision, past that is simply a imaginable reddish emblem that thing isn't right."

Details of enactment with fraud are disposable astatine BBC Action Line.