A rogue roofer has been banned from working on people's homes for 10 years after he conned two women out of around £6,000 for work he never completed.
Clare Larton, prosecuting, told the Burnley Crown Court that Muir, of Sedberg Street, Preston, was trading under the name AL Roofing when he quoted for the work in January 2023. Neither of the women were given written notice of their cancellation rights, she said. The woman said the younger man spent 10 minutes on the roof, before waiting in a nearby alley to be picked up. The same day, Muir told the woman the work was now complete and she would have to pay the £1,000 balance.
On February 3, Muir returned to the house and began tearing down the verges and throwing them to the ground, saying they would need to be replaced at a cost of £200-300. The woman agreed to the work but again, Muir did not provide notice of cancellation. The following week, Muir began work on the house along with three other men, including his father. Before long the defendant showed the homeowner a piece of split timber and told her it had been pushing against the gable wall which was in risk of collapse. He said a repair would add another £4000 to the job but dropped the price to £2000 when the pensioner insisted that she couldn't afford any more.