A father-son duo who attempted to charge a Dulwich resident £18,000 after starting “abysmal and worthless” roof works have been ordered to pay their victim £6,000 in compensation.
Surrey-based roofing contractor James Robert Hearne Junior, 25, and his father James Robert Hearne Senior, 45, were sentenced at Croydon Crown Court on May 10 following an investigation by Southwark Council.
The council first became aware of the scam in December 2021 after staff at the unnamed resident’s bank blocked a £4,000 transfer to the roofers.
Trading standards officers learned that Herne Senior’s firm, T&H Roofcare Limited, was originally contracted to carry out guttering work at a Dulwich property but the job was swiftly passed to the son’s firm, Drytech Roofing Contractors Limited, and advised that a new roof would be needed.
Hearne Junior’s team began to strip tiles off the roof without the homeowner’s consent and a cost of £16,000 was demanded without information about cancellation rights, which is required by law.
The next day Hearne Junior claimed “the beams need to be stabilised with noggins” and added another £2,000 to the bill.
The homeowner was pressured to pay a £4,000 deposit when a large section of roof tiles was missing.
When the payment declined Herne Junior increased the quote to £14,000 for the front of the house only.
Following a period of intimidation, the police were called and Southwark’s Trading Standards intervened.
An independent surveyor’s report confirmed there was nothing wrong with the roof originally and that the work carried out by Herne was “abysmal and worthless” and Hearne Junior’s statement about beams was “complete nonsense”.
No guttering work had been done.
The report concluded it would cost some £6,000 to repair the roof.
Hearne Senior was sentenced to 150 hours of unpaid work and 10 hours of rehabilitation as well as receiving a nine-month suspended sentence.
Meanwhile, his son was handed 200 hours of unpaid work, 20 hours of rehabilitation plus a 13-month suspended sentence.
The men were told to each pay £3,000 in compensation plus £1,000 in costs and a victim surcharge of £100.
Councillor Natasha Ennin, Cabinet Member for Community Safety at Southwark Council, said: “It’s important to exercise caution when getting home improvement works done. Unfortunately, we’ve seen an increase in rogue traders operating locally so we all need to remain vigilant and do the necessary homework to avoid falling foul of unscrupulous criminals.
“Our advice to homeowners would be to avoid dropstep cold-callers and mass leaflet drops. Instead opt for traders personally recommended by friends, family or neighbours. Failing that, it’s a good idea to use a recommended trader scheme backed by trading standards team.”
