A bad roofing job is expensive twice: you pay for the work, and then you pay again for somebody else to put it right. The pattern behind most complaints is familiar. A stranger offers a quick fix, names a figure on the spot, asks for cash and leaves a roof that is no better, or worse.
Spotting that pattern does not need expertise. It needs a pause between the offer and the decision, and a few questions that a straightforward firm will answer without fuss. This guide lists the warning signs in the order you meet them, describes the quote you should be given in their place, and explains the cancellation rights that protect you when you sign at home.
It is general advice for any homeowner in Andover and the villages of the Test Valley, and it applies to us as much as to anyone. If you are still choosing a firm, the companion guide on how to choose a roofer covers the positive side, and our Andover roofing page shows how we work.
Warning signs at the door and on the phone
The first signal is usually how the contact begins. A roofer who knocks unasked, especially in the days after a storm, is working to a different timetable from yours. Genuine firms do sometimes pass a house they have worked on, but an unsolicited visit combined with an urgent message is the most common start to a bad experience.
Pressure and urgency
Be wary of any claim that the roof will fail tonight, that today's price will rise tomorrow, or that you must sign now to hold the date. An urgent claim from a stranger needs checking before it is believed, and a good firm will give you time to think. Say you will consider it and see how the visitor reacts.
Cash and no paperwork
A request for payment in cash only, with no written price and no address or company name, leaves you with no record. The same goes for a van with no name on it and a mobile number that changes. Without paper you cannot show what was agreed or prove that anything was paid.
Vague scope
If you ask what the job includes and get a general answer, such as "we'll sort the roof", the scope is open. An open scope lets the price grow once the work has started. Ask for the work to be written down in plain words, and for the same description to appear on the quote.
A good test is to ask which tiles, which slope and which flashing, and to see whether the answers match what you can see from the garden. Specific answers suggest the person has looked at your roof. General ones suggest they have not.
Our short answer on roofers who call after a storm covers the doorstep case in more detail.
Claims that sound like proof but are not
Some statements are designed to sound reassuring. Each of them can be true and still tell you nothing about the work that will be done on your roof.
"We've just finished next door"
It may be true. It does not show that the work next door was done well or that your roof needs the same thing. Ask for the neighbour's address, and then knock and ask.
"Your roof is dangerous"
Scare tactics rely on the fact that you cannot see the roof. Ask the visitor to show you the fault in photographs of your own roof, taken during the visit, and to point to the exact tile, flashing or gutter. If the photographs show another roof, or cannot be shown at all, the claim has no evidence behind it.
Badges, logos and "licensed" claims
No licence is required to work as a roofer in England, so "licensed" on a flyer describes nothing the law demands. A logo on a flyer proves only that someone printed it. Treat memberships and badges as a prompt to ask, and look for evidence in the form of completed work you can see.
A price that is too low
A figure far below every other quote can mean that something has been left out: scaffold, waste, the underlay or the VAT. Ask what the price includes, and get the answer written down. If the answer changes when you press it, you have learned what you needed to know.
None of these signals proves dishonesty on its own. Together they are a good reason to step back and take another quote.
What a good quote looks like
A proper quote is a document, not a number spoken on a ladder. It should arrive in writing, on paper or by email, after someone has looked at your roof. These are the parts to look for.
The scope in plain words
The quote should say what will be done and where: which slopes, which tiles or slates, which flashings, and what is left alone. If the roof is to be stripped, it should say what goes back on and what is replaced. A one-line description is not enough for a job of any size.
Photographs of your roof
A survey should produce pictures of your own roof showing the faults. They give the quote its evidence and give you something to show a second roofer. Photographs that do not match your roof are a red flag. So are pictures with no way to tell which part of the house they show, since you cannot check them against anything.
One total price
A good quote states a single total in writing for the entire job and makes clear whether it covers VAT and scaffolding. You do not need a catalogue of figures to judge it. What you need is clarity about what the total covers, plus what happens to the price if the roof is found to be worse than expected once opened up.
Payment stages and dates
The quote should say when payments fall due and what each one is for, along with a start date and a rough duration. Our guide to roofing contract payment stages explains what is reasonable to pay up front and when.
Your cooling-off rights when you sign at home
The law gives you a short period to change your mind when a contract is made away from the trader's own premises. A contract signed in your kitchen after a roofer has surveyed the roof is an off-premises contract. Citizens Advice explains that the cooling-off rule applies if you were approached away from the business's premises and the service costs £42 or more.
How long you have
For services, the cancellation period ends 14 days after the day the contract is made, and Citizens Advice explains that the count starts on the day following the one on which you agree the contract. No seller may offer less time than that. No reason for cancelling has to be given.
If you were not told
The trader has to tell you about the right. If they did not give you the required cancellation information, your window to cancel stretches by as much as 12 months past the date it would normally close.
If work starts inside the period
A roofer who wants to start before the 14 days are up needs a request from you in a durable medium, for instance an email or a signed form. Without that, an early start does not remove your right to cancel.
The urgent-repair exception
There is one carve-out. Regulation 28(1)(e) removes the right for work where you specifically requested the trader's visit in order to deal with urgent repairs or maintenance. It does not apply because a stranger says the job is urgent. It applies when you asked for the visit, so be clear about who invited whom.
Questions that separate straightforward firms from the rest
You can test most of this with a handful of questions asked calmly. A straightforward roofer will answer them without argument, and will usually add detail you did not ask for.
Who, where and how to reach them
Ask for the full business name, a landline or a number that rings back, and an address where correspondence can be sent. Check that the name on the quote matches the name on the vehicle and the email. A firm that does not want to put its name on paper has decided something about how it expects the job to go.
Who will be on the roof
Find out whose hands will actually be on the job, and whether the firm passes any part of it to a subcontractor. A subcontractor can be perfectly proper, but the main roofer remains responsible for the result, and you should know who is on site.
Scaffold, waste and weather
Ask what happens if it rains, who arranges scaffolding, and where the waste goes. Scaffolding that blocks a public footway or road needs the highway authority's consent, which for Test Valley is Hampshire County Council, and its page says scaffolders apply for the customer. A roofer who has never heard of this has probably not worked on a roof that needed it.
What would change the price
Ask under what circumstances the price could rise, and in what way you would be told. A written answer, such as hidden rot found once the covering is off, is a good sign. A vague answer is not. Ask, too, what happens to the agreed price if you decide to add a small job while the scaffold is up, so you know in advance how extras are agreed.
If the work has already gone wrong
If you have already paid for work that is poor, unfinished or never started, the first step is to stop paying and gather your evidence. Photograph the roof, keep every message and write down what was agreed and when. Do not let anyone else start repairs until you have taken those photographs.
Your legal footing
The Consumer Rights Act 2015 obliges a trader to supply a service using reasonable care and skill, a duty that small print in the contract cannot take away. Where no time is fixed for the work, it must be done within a reasonable time. If the work falls short, you have remedies, and the Act limits how far a trader can exclude liability.
Put it in writing
Write to the trader, describing the problem, what you expect and a reasonable deadline. A calm, dated letter or email carries more weight than a phone call. Under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 section 308, a trader must tell you about any dispute-resolution arrangement that is available when you are unhappy with the outcome.
Who to ask for advice
The Citizens Advice consumer helpline, 0808 223 1133, can explain your options and what to do next.
Do not be embarrassed. A roofing dispute can happen to any homeowner, and the sooner it is recorded, the easier it is to resolve.
If a leak continues, protect the house first. Have a second roofer make the roof safe and tell you what they find in writing, with photographs. Keep that report: it is evidence of what was wrong when the first firm left, and it supports any claim for the cost of putting the work right.
