Rogue roofer scammed couple out of £1,300 for 'make believe' repairs

Lancashire County Council's Trading Standards and Salford's Trading Standards teams both investigated Christopher Parr, aged 36, from Salford.

In Salford, he targeted an elderly widow, leaving her with a badly damaged roof and £12,887 out of pocket.

Lancashire's team looked into him following a complaint from a retired couple who employed him to carry out work at their home in Rossendale.

They came across Parr, using the trading name of 'Up and Over Roofing' in November 2024 on the website Bark, an online marketplace that connects people with local professionals and service providers across various industries.

He quoted £300 to replace missing slates on their roof and while he was carrying out that work, he asked if he could check their loft. He then told them that the rafters were wet and rotten and roof battens and lining needed replacing for £2,000. The couple were hesitant but agreed after Parr warned them that if they got heavy snowfall, then the roof could collapse.

They paid him £1,300, which covered £300 for the replaced slates and a £1,000 deposit for the other work. No paperwork was provided, including the legally required notice informing consumers of their cancellation rights.

Christopher Parr was due back to carry out the work a few days later but in the meantime the householders discussed the loft with friends and neighbours. They then started to doubt that the work in the loft was necessary and so contacted Parr to cancel.  He agreed to repay their £1,000 deposit.  This money was never repaid despite numerous promises, even when Trading Standards officers spoke to him.

Trading Standards instructed an independent surveyor to inspect the roof who reported that the suggested repair to the rafters was "a matter of make believe" and that the battens and lining didn’t require replacement.

He said that the roof timbers and ancillary elements to the rear roof facet were in good order and in his opinion the suggested repairs were a deception.

He also found that the earlier work to replace roof slates was not completed to an acceptable standard and had actually likely made matters worse with some loose and uneven slates. He gave a £0 valuation to that work.

He was sentenced to 39 months at Preston Crown Court on Friday, January 17. Half is to be served in custody with the rest on release on licence. Parr has been in prison on remand/awaiting sentence for three months already so that will be taken as time served off the 39 months. 

The judge also awarded compensation of £1,300 to the couple from Rossendale and £12,887 to his Salford victim, at Preston Crown Court.

Councillor Michael Green, cabinet member for Health and Wellbeing at Lancashire County Council said:

"By undertaking shoddy work and then quoting for fictitious repairs, Christopher Parr clearly sought to con this couple out of thousands of pounds for unnecessary 'make believe' work.

"I'm very pleased that the couple followed their gut feeling and got our Trading Standards team involved and no further money was lost to this fraudster. I am pleased that he has been brought to justice.

"Our Trading Standards Officers always take robust action to protect Lancashire householders from rogue tradesmen. The message is clear - if you target our residents with misleading claims or negligent work, we will prosecute you and take you off the streets.

"Rogue traders can appear to be very friendly and plausible at the start of jobs, until things go wrong, when they leave houses in chaos and turn on customers. Please therefore make detailed checks before you employ traders. Use the Lancashire Safe Trader Scheme, obtain recommendations from friends and family, and ensure you get multiple quotes for the work you want completing.

"Obtaining early assistance is vitally important. If you need help with a possible rogue trader, please call the Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline on 0808 223 1133."