A local resident praised H&F Council's Trading Standards team for helping to "put his nightmare behind him" after a rogue roofer demanded £7,000 to fix a few tiles.
When the Hammersmith resident reached out for help, the Trading Standards team attended immediately in case the builder called in person.
The roofer rung the resident more than 40 times in a morning chasing payments. Feeling under "extreme pressure", the resident had made an initial payment to the roofer after responding to a leaflet he got through the letterbox.
He was quoted £700 for the work but, after a quick inspection, that shot up to £7,000.
Using the resident's phone, the Trading Standards team called the builder and told him no further payment would be made before written details of the work and the material costs were provided. They also said the police would be informed.
No paperwork was ever produced, and the legal name of the business was never revealed.
Making H&F safer
"Unsurprisingly, there was no further contact from the trader," said Trading Standards team manager, Marcella Donegal. "After we were contacted, we were able to intervene and minimise the resident's losses."
Cabinet Member for Social Inclusion and Community Safety, Cllr Rebecca Harvey, said: "Our Trading Standards team is working hard to protect residents from doorstep scams like this. This is the latest example of some of the work we are doing as a council to help make H&F a stronger, safer and kinder borough."
If you receive a leaflet which doesn't look quite right through the door, please send a photo to trading.standards@lbhf.gov.uk.
There is more information on the council's website about doorstep crime and avoiding scams.
