Elderly Rockingham couple lose $18k to roof repair conmen

A fresh warning has been issued to WA households after an elderly Rockingham couple paid $18,000 to two conmen posing as roof repairers.

The men approached the couple's home in Hillman, telling them their roof required cleaning, tile tuckpointing and minor fascia board repairs.

Without providing a formal quote or clear scope of work, the men began the job over the weekend.

The couple were left with no contact details, only a business name and a bank account number.

They were then instructed to obtain a bank cheque for $18,645 and to deposit the cheque directly into the bank account.

Consumer Protection believes this act was an attempt to bypass bank surveillance security cameras and obscure the money trail. 

In another recent incident, a Parmelia couple were approached at their door by an uninvited man driving a white Ute, who used high-pressure sales tactics to secure a roof cleaning and repair deal.

Initially quoted $1950, they were then coerced into paying $,145 – allegedly to cover GST – while the man stood over them during the bank transfer.

Afterwards, the couple discovered that no tiles had been replaced, no repointing had been carried out, and a significant mess had been left behind, with new water leaks emerging.

As with the Hillman case, the man provided neither a formal quote nor any contact information.

The homeowners later discovered their security camera had been deliberately repositioned away from the front of the property, preventing any footage of the man being captured. 

Commissioner for Consumer Protection Trish Blake urged the public to immediately turn away these itinerant traders if approached.

“These conmen move from town to town using high-pressure tactics to push overpriced roof restoration jobs – often delivering little to no actual work,” Ms Blake said.

“They are in clear breach of the Australian Consumer Law by disregarding the mandatory 10-day cooling-off period for unsolicited approaches. During this time, no payment should be made and no work is legally permitted. 

“What’s particularly concerning in these latest reports is the group’s failure to provide formal quotes or contact details, leaving consumers with no way to follow up. Without a written quote – which sets expectations and offers legal protection – victims are further being denied their right to seek a remedy.

“Consumers looking to get this work done should always seek multiple written quotes to compare price and value, and research traders in advance by requesting references and viewing examples of previous work.

“Under the ACL, traders are also required to include the GST component when referring to the price of goods or services.

“Paying by credit card is also a good option as it potentially provides the protection of getting a chargeback if the goods or services aren’t delivered, unlike payments made via bank transfer or cheque which offer no such recourse.” 

Anyone who receives a knock at the door from traders offering roof restoration services should say ‘no’ and call Consumer Protection on 1300 30 40 54 or email consumer@demirs.wa.gov.au.

Information such as descriptions of offenders, vehicle registrations numbers or business names used, and CCTV or security camera footage can be provided to Consumer Protection.